dan abernathy - contributing to the chaos

september thirty, two thousand eight

A Cookie
Do you remember as a small child; when you were given a cookie? You would sit and marvel

with it. Perched in the sun, on a rock, on the front porch steps, or at a cool grassy spot in the lawn, you would take a bite and saver the reaction of each taste bud as they exploded with ecstasy. Holding the cookie close to your nose so is the aroma would waft into your senses, you would examine each crumb, sugar crystal and chocolate chip as you turned the cookie in your hand looking at every remaining part. Each bite was nothing but pleasure and you realized it. Each bite was enjoyed like there would be no tomorrow. This was the last cookie on earth.
Have we all forgotten this?
We, the older ones now, are still eating cookies, but they are gone in three bites washed down with huge gulps of flavored coffees in to-go cups. Our minds are rushing to where we are going, not where we are at. Is it not more important to enjoy the flavor of our lives today, in the moment, then what might happen tomorrow? We need to be ourselves in the now. The future will take care of itself, just like the past did. - dba

Some people believe the common visual emblem for Wyoming is the bucking bronc' that is on automotive license plates. I think the more common and living emblem is the American Pronghorn.

I Lost a Dream

I had a dream last night, but damned if I can remember what it was about. Post dream I thought to myself; I want to remember this one, even made a mental note, but it didn't help. This is not the first time this has happened. I have forgotten some damn good dreams. Try as I might they won't come back and I feel that I have lost something important. - dba

september twenty eight, two thousand eight

One of John Wayne’s quotes from his last movie, The Shootest was …its called and Indian Summer. It is exactly what we are having now, here in the wilds of Wyoming. I went for my daily plunge, (I say plunge now as the water temperature is dropping fast, as is my time in the water.) It is still washing my troubled thoughts away, just doing it a little faster then it was in August. It is all I can do to stay away from, or leave the lake. I just want and need to be there. This is my space to meditate, soak up the sun and refuel my soul with all of what our natural world can give us.

My studious friend

I don't know it looked cool at the time!

And I leave you today with this question;

Bumblebee
Has anyone told a bumblebee that they could not fly? - dba

september twenty four, two thousand eight

Wronged

    At some point, everyone has been wronged. It is a sickening feeling that sits heavy at the base of your soul. Left there to rot it will decay, fester and damaging everything that it touches.
    The first reaction of being wronged is revenge. With anger, you want to equalize the pain and hurt you are feeling. You want this evil person "the wrong doer" to suffer with you, to feel the pain that you feel. It is true, you can create actions that will deliver pain, but that is all that it will do. Nothing good will come from any pain and hurt that you deliver, it will not cure, or subside your hurt. It will do nothing to dampen the amber burning at the base of your core. In reality is will only damage your core.
    Put away the anger, and sit aside the revenge. Only forgiveness will truly dampen the hurtful fire from within. Forgiveness will sit it free from the pain. With forgiveness you continue and complete your course into the future. - dba

A self portrait in a damaged window.

Here are most of the people that was in the Rock Rabbit group that climbed a mountain for;
Climb to conquer cancer!

Happy Zen seekers.

september twenty two, two thousand eight

Though fall has its own beauty, It also has a sadness to me.
I know it is the season before winter.

Be Free, Be Who you Will Become

    Is it not better to be free then to have your movements governed, and your actions controlled by someone else. Your personal world should be a reflection of your thoughts, your dreams, and your emotions, not someone else's.
    Do you believe you are truly free, or have you excepted someone else's perception of freedom? Do you believe that someday in the future you will be where you want to be, you will be the person that you want to be, or have you compromise your destiny?
    You have the power. You have the ultimate control of your destiny. Do not relinquish this individual power to someone else, no mater how close they might be to you. You can love; you can be loved without compromising your individuality. You do not have to become the person of another's thoughts. You are not the person that you once were. You are not the person that you will be. You are just an individual that is on a course of being who you will become.
    What you believe will come true whether it is good or not. What you believe is exactly what you will bring to your world. Look within yourself, eliminate the fear, the imbalance and you can powerfully implement the changes needed to make your world. From the pit of your soul, from the core of your being unleash what is best for you. True love, both for yourself and for others will let this happen. Dissolve the mental chains that bind you and free the person that you will become. - dba

A beautiful, but gloomy fall day at Fremont Lake.

september twentieth, two thousand eight

Open our hearts and minds to the best. Feel the bliss and we will fallow. – dba

When you allow yourself to be drawn into the ignorance of another, you will be influenced and become something of the same nature. Never make anyone else responsible for your happiness. Never allow anyone to be in control of your inner happiness; trust what you feel. If your feelings of joy and happiness are controlled and manipulated to the point of numbness, don't except it. Seek what is yours, only yours and feel the freedom. - dba

I'm still on the search for tattoos on woman. Here are a few more and I want to thank the ladies that let me shoot them.

I have always liked cut-off jeans!

september nineteen, two thousand eight

The destructive and evil collateral damage of love is Jealousy. - dba

We should never make anyone else responsible for our happiness. What we must do is find what our inner self feels and trust it. Life is much to precious to waste time on worry. Life's moments should be joyous, wondrous, and full of life and fulfillment. Though there will be regrets, there should not be time spent regretting. With life comes sorry, but we must not bury ourselves in grief. We live life, we change, we grow and we strive to be our complete self. - dba

When you trek through a forest,
walk across a dessert,
or stroll along a beach,
do you feel it?
– dba

Another one-arm portrait.
This is where I go to refuel,
patch and restore of mind and soul.

One of the best photo shoots I had in 2007 was with Carrie. We had a grand time and I made some great photomontages with what we did. As with any art project the best work comes from a true collaboration. This is what happened when we worked together. This year when Carrie got in touch with me I was giddy with the thought of shooting her again. We got together and again made some great art. With out a doubt you will be seeing some grace these pages. Thanks Carrie, we did it again!

With the beauty of fall comes the sorrow of the approaching winter.

september eighteen, two thousand eight

Stop Stop! I promise I'll start posting again!

I know it is mid-September and I have not been posting anything. There has been a lot of reasons why, mostly I lost myself for awhile and my head was not where it should have been. I have felt like my mind and soul was trapped in a vessel that I could see out of, and being me was clear, but I was not able to break through the binding film.
Last night I went for my nightly plunge. I say it is plunging now as the water temperature has made for a limited time for frolicking. I dove into a lake of water that was as still as glass. It was so clear I could see beyond the bottom. I said my prayer, (one that I am working on the words to, which I will post below) dove in and when I came up out of the water the film, the barrier, was gone. I crawled back onto the big rock and lay there in the sun. Al was quit; there was not a sound to be heard. Then as if they came to applaud me, and my reuniting with myself, a huge school of fish started feeding in front of me. The only sound I could hear now were the fish breaking the surface. I lay there for quit some time welcoming my self back. It was a true state of bliss.

Under the noon day sun.

Earth Walk

The sun is our source of light, so it is our light giver. The sun is our source of life, so it is our life giver. I ask for the strength of the sun, the effects of the moon, I ask from the four directions, the four elements and the spirits of the earth. Help me stay true to my path and keep me strong in the journey of being me. Keep me my complete person, the person that I am. Do not let the elements of self-destruction distract me, or pull me from my path. Keep me strong and true to myself. Let nothing but love and bliss fall on my shoulders. For all that I have and for all that is given me, let me bestow this on all that touch me.
I am nothing. I am everything. I am alive. - dba

Old beaver sign on the Green River.

I dreamed I was talking to a bear, a grizzly bear. What was unusual about this conversation with the bear is that he was talking back to me. This bear had a very smug attitude. - dba

I have been called a healer.
I am not.
I am a listener.
Therefore I heal. - dba

Some more photos that have stuck to me this summer.

Dave and I shooting each other. He missed!

The places that you can find things!

The Lonesome Heroes at Rock Rabbit.

The Lonesome Heroes behind Rock Rabbit.

Love them Burks!

And the party was on.

Margaritas on the deck at Lakeside.

Email Dan; say it & I'll post it!