Our dreams are too small for what already exists.
"To the happy many" is the dedication at the beginning of Chris Marker's Le Joli Mai. The film starts with an examination of what it means, on the personal level, to be happy. Later in the film, things are seen in a broader social context. We experience the reality of civil malcontent and it is at this point that someone speaks the line- "Our dreams are too small for what already exists".
The film ends with these lines of narration:
As long as poverty exists you are not rich.
As long as despair exists, you are not happy.
As long as prison exists, you are not free.
Wow, sublime.
ReplyDeleteRealmente fantástico onirico ... tão ... tão real ...
ReplyDeleteWe are all little dots... too minute. But we make do and make the best out of the tiny world each having.... huh, no limit to dreams!!!
ReplyDelete~bangchik
Amazing, truly beautiful images. I love the big spaces between each photo as it makes for time to enjoy each one without looking too soon at the next. Only one comlaint though ! WHERE IS ANGELINA ???????
ReplyDeleteawesome boats. they are so calm and peaceful.
ReplyDelete..and our senses are limited in what we perceive. I am going to order this documentary. I am intrigued my this type of film and hooked on the Documentary channel. These are wonderful thought provoking photos as usual.
ReplyDeleteSue
'Our dreams are too small for what already exists' is interesting - I'm going to ponder this.
ReplyDeleteLike the fifth picture very much, as it seems to me, he is still able to find the balance, even while being asleep (within dreams).
ReplyDeleteHope to make some reality, keep some insight, helping me to be happy, as maybe tomorrow it will this one I try to make come true.
I love the group of three sailboats. Very serene. Reminds me of home. The sleeping stranger on the bench changes the mood for sure. Good choice of quote to close out your post.
ReplyDeleteThe nest on the dead tree is a great vision - some little round things bring hope for new life - new chance - or new suffering - but how do we know we are happy if we never experiensed the sorrow.
ReplyDeletetake pictures last weekend photos of sailboats too .. lol funny to see yours too, are precious! and the colors are warm and fantastic catch. kisses!
ReplyDeleteI actually missed seeing your flowers. As to the quote from the film...Lots of people are happy that social equality is not their goal. Even "religious people" see happiness in the next life.
ReplyDeleteI look at the chair picture - I can't figure it out - you are a master of the mystery - always loads of new for our senses!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post, I love the first sentence about dreams. It really does make you think.
ReplyDeleteI love all the pictures, but there is something really neat about the empty chair and it's shadow
I attended two joyous weddings last weekend. When the Pastor was saying a prayer of blessings to the couples (on both occasions), I was reminded to be grateful to God for just letting us to make decisions for ourselves. Thank God for letting us dream dreams!
ReplyDeleteThese are powerful images!
ReplyDeleteI love the quote and feel it suits the first image perfectly. Very thought provoking - thank you.
So great! Love all of it.
ReplyDeleteHappiness must come from within.
It's the boats which captivate me: mirages drifting into infinity. and I am drifting too, without conscious thought, without even a dream.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment.
The film ends with really fantastic lines
ReplyDelete( so true ;)
Your shots looking all so peaceful :)
Great post !!
Beautiful pictures, and the boats are just remarkable..Love the message in your post!
ReplyDeletePoverty, despair, and prisons are all valid parts of "what is." Perhaps those who feel separate from the world, (illustrated by guy sleeping on bench) are arguing with reality because it doesn't match their dreams. Maybe the sailboats represent richness, happiness and freedom, while the dry branch conveys despair and the empty chair equals poverty. Just guessing, intriguing post!
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures and a wonderfully contemplative post. I think the movie you've mentioned is a poetic masterpiece that should be seen by as many people as possible.
ReplyDeleteI thought the boat shots would be my favourite until I saw the sleeping man and the lonely chair... now I don't know anymore! Brilliant post!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos and interesting quotes!
ReplyDeleteI think everyone has said what needs to be said better than I could...
ReplyDeleteI was wondering though, how you find such interesting objects to photograph?
The commentary is very meaningful, also.
solo la nostra anima nasce libera, pura, ricca ma non di denaro ma di nobilissimi pensieri ed azioni...peccato e' che noi uomini non sappiamo farla vivere e farla crescere come realmente dovremmo...non sappiamo rispettare, amare, tollerare, condividere con gli altri...noi stessi creiamo poverta', odio, differenze, infelicita'...
ReplyDeleteI love your photos! Great job!
ReplyDeleteWoW...some very beautifully captured shots!
ReplyDeleteYOU following ME is a great compliment. I love your photography. It's Art.
ReplyDeletetotally captivating images - just beautiful! as well as the words....very very nice!
ReplyDeleteAll of those pictures look like dreamscapes. Very mysterious.
ReplyDelete* * *
Please visit me at The Chrysalis Stage and Esoteric Uncovered.
twitter
facebook
Powerful, thought provoking images, love them all
ReplyDeleteThe boat images are absolutely sublime.
ReplyDeleteA Master Craftsman.
Lovely post, always look at the bright side, hopes and prayers make things possible.
ReplyDeleteHauntingly beautiful images....and words. So true, about our dreams.
ReplyDeletebonjour Prospero...:)
ReplyDeleteun très beau post....assez émouvant....
tant que la pauvreté existe on ne sera jamais riche
aussi longtemps que le désespoir existe on ne sera jamais heureux
tant que des prisons existent on ne sera jamais libre....
c'est ce que je pense en me levant tous les matins....
j'éprouve difficilement une joie pleine et sereine....trop de souffrance partout Prospero....
les photos que tu as choisi sont belles ...subtilement un peu voilées...ce voilier est superbe....tout est bon dans ce message...merci a toi ....:)
a bientot..:)
you images are so beautiful ~like the processing
ReplyDeleteof the boats...the chair seems so small
Just before seeing your post I read this somewhere, and it seemed to speak to the same so I went back for it:
ReplyDelete“Contemplation may initially lead us more deeply inward, into solitude and silence, but true contemplative experiences always bring us back to a more profound awareness of how deeply we are each connected to all of creation.”
Christine Valters Painter in“The Practice of Contemplation as Witness and Resistance,” from The Way, 46/4 (October 2007), 44
your photos here made me feel acutely the loneliness we tend to consider part of the human condition. they're all so lonely - though hopefully the person that sat in the lonely chair has moved beyond our small, individualized dreams of what happiness is.
the narration reminded me of Eugene V. Debs statement:
"years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free."
a hard pill to swallow for our times of glorified individualism, isn't it
The sail boats are magnificent and sparkling in backgrounds of different colors.
ReplyDeleteThose are such enchanting photographs. Great post.
ReplyDeleteVery nice today!!
ReplyDeleteYou have shared some powerful words to accompany your amazing photos. Thank you for depth of this post!
ReplyDeleteSpirithelpers
I feel very moved by the guy on the bench! I'd love all the boats framed on the wall!
ReplyDeleteThese photos are just wonderful. And the text....Something all the privileged naysayers of the world need to think about.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and thought provoking!
ReplyDeleteIncredible photogrpahs Prospero.... the treatment is great... thoughtful post and comment... still have to think about it though but I have a hunch it is pretty accurate... :)
ReplyDeleteVery touching thoughts and the pictures have left me speechless!
ReplyDeleteGREAT POST!
The eternal question, what is happiness; am I happy, what makes you happy? What does it mean to be happy? Lorenzo de medici, born 1449
ReplyDeletesaid:" Quant'e bella giovenezza; Che si fugge tutta via; chi vuol esser lieto sia; di domani non c'e certezza!
Loosely translated: how beautiful is youth; and yet it flies away; who wishes to be happy, let him be happy now; for tomorrow nothing is sure!
My eye has caught the azure blue and the dead wood; The future and the past.
beautiful and sad:(
ReplyDeleteEach of us is truly an ant in this big world. I love your photos, esp the ones with a tint to them ( esp like the boat with the red tint). It gives them an otherworldly look and appeal. I will have to check out the movie you speak of -- it sounds like one that will make me contemplate life more.
ReplyDeleteMagnificent!
ReplyDeletei had been away for a while, feeling more frail than ever - now i am recovering from illness, and i just want to let my soul sail away in one of your wondrous boats - closing my eyes, sleeping, dissolving into that one ray of light which makes the night seem everything. surrendering, as you say. i am not able to say more right now, but i am in the boat. in that red, blue and gold as well.
ReplyDeleteI love your photos...
ReplyDeleteBecause I have worked hard, and even though I don't have much--I am rich--I know what's really important in life.
As long as I have walked through the depth of shadow, I can give strength to those who walk through the valley of despair.
As long as there are prisons, there will be those who will actually face consequences for their actions.
Your blog made me think quite deeply over this. It is a matter of perspective, I think.
I thank you.
By the way--your photo of the man sleeping on the bench is extraordinary.
ReplyDelete