I am happy to share another guest post today for our Virtual Book Tour. Today’s subject is “Bless the World with Your Eyes” at the lovely blog Consecrate the Day by Mary Ann Matthys.
I resonate deeply with Mary Ann’s invitation in her blog to focus on consecrating the day. It inspires me to consider how might photography become a way to consecrate the day to God?
I am reminded of the beautiful Jewish practice of blessing the day. In this worldview, each act becomes worthy of blessing. Gratitude is offered for the gift of every moment – upon awakening, when crossing a threshold, eating a meal, lighting candles. The Talmud calls for 100 blessings each day.
This act of blessing is really a special way of paying attention. It is a moment of remembering wonder as our primary response to the world. It is an act of consecrating the day.
Photography is an especially accessible art medium in our modern world, where almost everyone carries a camera built into their phone, or small, portable cameras with good picture quality are widely available. In my book, Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice, I suggest ways to engage your camera as a tool for prayer and way to cultivate a different way of seeing the world. Eyes of the heart refers to a kind of graced vision, that is focused more on receiving gifts, than “taking” photos. Seeing in this way is different from our ordinary way of scanning our field of vision for the information we want to find. Instead, it is a spacious gaze which savors each moment.
Click here to read the whole guest post>>
Click here to purchase a copy of Eyes of the Heart>>
Previous Virtual Book Tour Stops:
- Interview at Catherine Anderson Studio
- “Learning to Trust What Shimmers” Guest post by Christine at Holy Ordinary
- “Seeing Ourselves with Eyes of the Heart” Guest post by Christine at Ronna Detrick
- Interview with Louise Gallagher at A Year of Rejoicing
- Interview with Tara Owens of Anam Cara
- Book Review at Holy Ordinary with Brent Bill
- Webinar on Cultivating Contemplation in Your Parish through Photography through Ave Maria Press
- Book Review at Melanged Magic with Evelyn Jackson
- “Practicing Resurrection through the Eyes of the Heart” Guest post by Christine at Anam Cara
