Humility
“Do not act out of selfish ambition or conceit, but with humility think of
others as being better than yourselves.” (Phil. 2:3, ISV)
In the pursuit of art and life humility is such an essential element to ensure that we always maintain. In photography we have to avoid the comparison trap, whether that comparison is seeking selfish praise from others or thinking we know everything about this as an art form. There will always be those who are better and there will always be something to learn and areas that we can improve in. Instead of comparison, find those who are better and know more and be a student of their work. Lifelong learners humbly realize that this is a journey and not an end in itself only resulting in empty praise.
I am sharing my work on this site both in photography and words with the sole purpose of hoping that someone somewhere in the world is blessed by it and possibly catches a glimpse of the handiwork of our Creator who spoke it all into existence. My prayer is that any progress that I make to improve will never become an act of selfish ambition or conceit but that I will indeed keep a spirit of humility knowing that most are better than myself.
The photograph that I have shared with this post today was chosen because it was one of the first I recall taking a dedicated multi day trip with the purpose in mind to see a place to capture an image. Palouse Falls in the state of Washington is a place I have often described as a landmark that “no one comes across by accident.” It is the state falls of Washington but for a state falls I have often wondered why they picked something so incredibly remote. It sits in the Palouse region of Eastern Washington approximately 55 miles North of Walla Walla somewhere in those rolling hills nearly equidistant between Pasco, Walla Walla, Spokane, and Pullman but not really close to any of them.
The reason this photo reminded me of humility is due to the sense of a nervous fear that came over me as I took various images of the falls and it was a bit humbling. I started to think to myself, “what if none of these actually turn out?” We drove hundreds of miles into the middle of nowhere, nearly lost fillings from our teeth, and thought the car would bust to pieces on the ridiculously rough road into the area. For what? So the pictures would be failures? It was in this moment that I came to terms with the fact that if nothing “turned out” it would be completely worth it because we were able to see this amazing place that God made and I was able to learn a bit more about photography and enjoy the time with my family.
We should approach life in the same humble manner. In context, Philippians 2:3 is preceded by instructions to encourage others in Christ, comfort in love, participate in the Spirit, have affection and sympathy for each other and to have the same love and be of one mind. In other words, hold each other up in this walk together. Don’t tear others down in conceit and don’t build yourself up in pride. Beyond verse three the context goes a step further to command us to look not just to our own interests but the interests of others. Imagine if we all lived this way as humanity!
As I close, take time today to build someone up that is in your life. Bless them with kind words or teach them something that will benefit their life. One at a time, person to person, this kind of humility might just change our world.
