stoicism

The Photography Sage

 
 

A Sage is someone who has achieved wisdom. According to Donald Robertson in Stoicism and the Art of Happiness, the Stoics saw this person as

someone perfectly wise and good, giving the aspiring Stoic direction, structure, and consistency in her practice

In this context, a Sage would be a role model, someone to be emulated.

Many times, I like to put myself in other photographer's skin and try to see the way they would see (or the way I think they would see, at least). I also have a fictional photography Sage I try to emulate.

What characteristics would a photography Sage have?

These are some of the virtues my own photography Sage would have, and the ones I try to emulate. Of course, I fail often if not most of the time, but they give me a sense of direction and serve as a guide.

What about you? What would your role model look like?

Best books I've read lately

  • On Writing, by Stephen King. The guy knows how to write, I couldn't put it down.
  • On the shortness of life, by Seneca. 2,000 years later and the content of these three letters is still relevant. Beautiful written, too.
  • Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius. I read it as part of my study of Stoicism. Incredibly deep and humbling thoughts from the most powerful man of his time.
  • The obstacle is the way, by Ryan Holiday. A good introduction to Stoicism, and an easy read. I'm currently reading his The daily stoic.
  • Atomic Habits, by James Clear. Tips and tricks on how to build good habits and get rid of the bad ones. His is one of the very few newsletters I subscribe to and look forward to reading.
  • Buddha: a story of enlightenment, by Deepak Chopra. A book about spiritualism written by an alternative medicine advocate is probably the last thing I'd expect myself to fall in my hands. The story of Buddha is a beautiful one and this book does a terrific job. One of my favorite reads of the last few years, hands down.
  • Goodbye, things, by Fumio Sasaki. Minimalism is all the rage nowadays and I'm all on board. This was one of the first books I've read on the topic and it's still my favorite.
  • Come comida real, by Carlos Ríos. This one is in Spanish. Nutrition is another topic I've been exploring during the last few months and this book does a great job at explaining why most of the "food" you find in a grocery store isn't real food at all. It also shows the benefits of eating healthy and why you shouldn't be ashamed of it (I struggled with this!).
  • 10% Happier, by Dan Harris. How the author got into meditation and how it's helped improving his day-to-day life. Meditation and mental health is yet another topic I'm interested in, and this book is unique in that shows a person's experience with the practice, instead of a boring manual of things you should and should not do.
  • The art of creative thinking, by Rod Junkins. Stories and lessons from famous and not so famous artists. I think one should carve their own path and not necessarily repeat what others have done in the past, but I found plenty of inspiration in this book.