My secret for enjoying security lines AND making better travel photos

Meditation is a topic I’ve mentioned before. And right now you might be wondering “what the heck does that have to do with photography? Or travel for that matter?” Patience...we’ll get there.

I’ve often heard people say “I tried to meditate but I can’t”. That’s like saying I tried to play the piano but I can’t. I tried to speak French, but I don’t know how. Just like playing the piano or speaking another language, meditation requires practice. And maybe even a little studying can help too.

It’s not complicated, don’t get me wrong. It’s just different. Normally we charge through our day, running full steam ahead, with 100’s of thoughts swirling around in our mind like a kid’s birthday party. Meditation is not that.

Meditation is sitting in silence. Recognizing the thoughts that are swirling around and gently sending them away, to play with someone else for a while. But it doesn’t just happen. And that doesn’t mean you don’t know how to do it.

The first step is to sit. Yep just sit. On a cushion, the floor, a chair...just sit. For 5 minutes. 10 minutes. And just be quiet. Now that in itself is hard for a lot of people to do. 

When I first noticed being more “conscious” about my photo creation was when we lived in New York.

There are several ways to approach meditation. You can focus on your breath. You can try guided meditation where someone walks you through the 5 or 10 minutes of focusing on your breath, relaxing your body, or clearing your mind. When thoughts do pop in? And oh, they will! The first part of learning how to meditate is learning to recognize that there even ARE thoughts coming in. Breaking into your peaceful little rest. Oh, I see you! What the heck are you doing in here?? Then you gently send them away, and your mind is again focused on your breath.

So the goal of mediation is not having an empty mind for the entire time. It’s learning to recognize what your mind is doing. Because normally we’re pretty unconscious to it.

We go about our day, thinking about what we have to do later, what our work colleague said and what she really meant when our next dentist visit should be scheduled, what we’re making for dinner, that we really should exercise more …Oh, you know exactly what I mean. And we don’t even know it’s happening.

Meditation helps us become more aware. So we recognize the “monkey mind” that we have. And learn to quiet it down a bit. We’ll never completely shut it up - that’s a pretty unreasonable goal. But if you can get to the point of sitting for 10, 15 or even 20 minutes and focus on your breath, and then periodically refocusing on your breath as thoughts swoop in? Then you have mastered the art of meditation.

I noticed seeing my surroundings in a different, more observant kind of way.

One tool that I love for mediation is Insight Timer. It’s a free app that can really help you figure this thing out. Let’s face it, we all need help when it comes to learning something new. With Insight Timer, you can use it purely as a timer - with lovely little calming chimes and gongs and such.

I often use it that way. I just set a 10-minute timer with some soothing ambient noise (like monks chanting) and at the end of my timer, a little gong tells me I’m finished. OR there is a plethora of guided meditations that will walk you through the process if you need more guidance. I highly recommend it.

Why meditation? Why am I talking about it? Well not to be dramatic, but it kind of saved my life. And I also realized that it leaks into SO many aspects of my life, and helped me in SO many ways. Now I really want everybody to know about it, and to at least consider it.

I seemed to see things from different perspectives than I had in my previous photo experiences.

Back in the day, I suffered from pretty severe depression and anxiety. I went through years of psychotherapy, medications, and more therapy. And I’m not saying the therapy didn’t help, I know it did. But I got to the point I needed something more than talking to a therapist. I needed some sort of lifestyle tool. And that’s when I found meditation.

It has really helped me learn to calm myself in times of anxiety. When I feel that chatty, nasty bully creeping into my brain, meditation is what can send her away. And now I don’t even have to be sitting on a cushion for it to work! Remember I said that it leaks into other parts of my life? Well, that’s exactly what starts to happen.

Once I started figuring out how to be aware of the thoughts in my brain and gently send those away while I’m meditating, I also figured out how to do that in the middle of the day too. Any time of day!

So when those anxious or self-critical thoughts start seeping in? I actually recognize they’re there now and can guide them gently (or sometimes not so gently) out of my mind. They’re no longer welcome.

Now I’m not saying I’ve figured it all out and life is just a bed of roses now. That I’m skipping through life, humming along with no worries. Au contraire. Meditation has helped me get BETTER at dealing with my anxiety, for sure. But I’m still not perfect. I still have tough days where all I want is a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and a Netflix series (or 2). But in general? I’m a whole different person now than I was in my 20’s or even 30’s. And it feels pretty damn good.

I was creating photos of more than just the iconic Brooklyn Bridge and Statue of Liberty. But also of the details and moments that I observed and experienced.

And here’s where we get to the photography and travel part. Once we start being more aware, more conscious, we have a new view of our world around us. We can wait in line without being impatient or angry. We can just be there. We can push the “why is that lady taking SO long! Stop talking and just put your shoes on the conveyor belt!” thoughts right on out of there. And breathe. Relax. And enjoy the moment for what it is. Living.

Now imagine you have a camera in your hand. You aren’t worrying about what you’re doing with it. You’re being conscious of what you want to capture. What you’re experiencing. Breathe. Relax. Create. Breathe. Relax. Create.

You move around the scene, thinking about the context, the details, the feeling you have. And you create photos. You’re more aware of sights, sounds, and smells when you’re conscious. And now you want to capture all of THAT with your camera. And you will because now you’re ready to create. You AND your mind are ready.

Namaste.