First sent on ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER

Dear friend,

Wanted to send you a quick message on Thanksgiving. Lots to be thankful for and joyful for!

But isn’t the world burning down?

Truth be told, it does seem the world is burning down. But the Stoic thought:

Given the fact that the world is burning down, despite all of that … what can we still be grateful for?

Also:

Does it even make sense to ‘force’ yourself to feel grateful?

On giving thanks

Thanks. Thank you. Thanks (GIVING).

It seems perhaps Thanksgiving is best when it is active — when we literally GIVE thanks in some sort of action. For example a lovely lady named Susan (random person we met on some Facebook group) went around the town the other day and dropped off 8 Pumpkin Bread loaves (she said tongue in cheek that ‘everyone knows that pumpkin bread is just pumpkin cake!’ But what I thought was so impressive about Susan:

She was the active agent — driving around town with her husband and dropping off her (very delicious) pumpkin cake/bread to a bunch of strangers! (8 people)

And this is something I have learned:

We feel the happiest when we are GIVING gifts unto other people (socially).

So a simple thought:

If you’re feeling depressed and alone at home, perhaps this can be a good chance to give someone a quick phone call, FaceTime, or some sort of thanks you can give a friend or family member.

For example, calling a friend and telling them why you are grateful to have them as a friend.

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A brave and exciting new year for photography

Thanksgiving will pass, and quickly Christmas will pass; the New Year is upon us (2021). Perhaps this can be seen with excitement:

What NEW new photos will I create this upcoming year?

Perhaps this also means the joy of allowing yourself to switch up your style. If you’re a monochrome guy, switch to color (or vice versa). Perhaps you can use an ultra-wide angle lens this year. Perhaps you can delete your Instagram and start your own blog.

Thanksgiving photo project

Simple idea:

Look back at your old photos (pre-COVID) or earlier in 2020, and use this opportunity to find gratitude for all the other fun and joyful activities you engaged in this year!

For example, it still trips me up I went to Mexico City and Cuba in January earlier this year. Looking at these old photos and reflecting on all these delicious restaurants and experiences is joyful; to recollect an old experience is almost like re-experiencing it for the first time!

Find a photo you love from earlier this year or pre-COVID (2020) and upload your best one to arsbeta.com

A brave new you

What awaits you? A brave new you.

BE STRONG!
ERIC

What I’m reading and thinking

1. Aristotle: Metaphysics [ePub Direct Download]. Interesting ideas which we can apply to photography (motivation, movement, elements, first principles)
2. Thinking about Crypto-technologies and the future. Met a guy at the gym who was an original investor in Chainlink (they solve the ‘Oracle’ problem in Cryptography). Perhaps the future of the internet (beyond lame Facebook and social media and Google) will be some sort of de-centralized internet, and trust networks? Some earlier thoughts I had on Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies for photographers. I am personally invested in BTC and DGB and thinking about the future of internet-or-technological based currencies will be very interesting.
3. The joy of music: Listening to a lot of Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald over dinner, and thinking about the Nietzsche quote: ‘Life without music would be a mistake!’ Lesson: listen to more music during the day!

More turbo thoughts on my YouTube and podcast.

JUST SHOOT IT.

At the end of the day, you’re always in a state of ‘becoming’ as a photographer. You’re always changing, your environment is always changing, and your artistic and aesthetic tastes are always changing.

So just keep it simple; shoot freely, openly and child-like. Every day is a new day, and every day, you can shoot new photos!

ERIC