{"id":33245,"date":"2017-01-15T02:10:39","date_gmt":"2017-01-15T10:10:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=33245"},"modified":"2016-10-29T07:31:57","modified_gmt":"2016-10-29T14:31:57","slug":"dont-count","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/15\/dont-count\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Count"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Oakland,
Oakland, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Expert counting uses no beads.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Lao Tzu<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Truly rich people don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count the money in their bank account.\u00c2\u00a0They know that they are wealthy \u00e2\u20ac\u201d because they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even worry about how much money they have.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

People who are self-confident in themselves don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count the amount of social media followers they have.<\/p>\n

Photographers who create great art don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count how many exhibitions or books they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve published \u00e2\u20ac\u201d they rely on their own intuition and self-worth.<\/p>\n

An expert photographer will not let the number of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153likes\u00e2\u20ac\u009d they get on social media determine whether a photograph is good or not. Rather, they consult their own conscience, and the opinion of their friends and colleagues who they trust.<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count<\/h2>\n

\"eric-kim-street-photography-kodak-tri-x-1600-1170\"<\/p>\n

What if we lived a life where we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count, or keep score?<\/p>\n

For example, what if we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count the number of times we held our partner? That we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t \u00e2\u20ac\u0153keep score\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and feel resentful that our partner didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help us as many times we helped them?<\/p>\n

What if we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t keep count in terms of the favors we did for friends?<\/p>\n

What if we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count how many likes\/followers we had on social media?<\/p>\n

What if we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count the 0\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in our bank account?<\/p>\n

What if we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count the amount of stuff that we owned?<\/p>\n

What if we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count the number of accomplishments, awards, or degrees we achieved?<\/p>\n

Modernity loves counting<\/h2>\n

\"eric-kim-street-photography-kodak-tri-x-1600-1306\"<\/p>\n

Modernity has made counting the essence of society, economics, and life. In the past, men would count their wealth by how many oxen they owned, and how many wives they married. Today, we value our self-worth by how much money we earn, how much property we own, and how many followers we have.<\/p>\n

What if we lived a life in which we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count anymore?<\/p>\n

I would think we would have less stress, anxiety, and frustration in life. We would be more content with what we already owned, instead of desiring what was outside of us.<\/p>\n

We would work harder in our creative work \u00e2\u20ac\u201d because we wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry about the amount of external affirmation we would receive.<\/p>\n

Experiment: Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count for a month<\/h2>\n

\"eric-kim-street-photography-kodak-tri-x-1600-1258\"<\/p>\n

As an experiment, try out the following for a month:<\/p>\n