Week One
Barriers
Stair Master
Only a few short years ago I flew up these stairs, confident in my strength and balance.
I now move with deliberation; each step claims my focus and attention. I no longer claim mastery over this simple activity.
Time Flies....
When I was young and waiting impatiently for a special occasion, each day would crawl by — minute by minute. Now that I am a senior and willing those minutes to continue to crawl... They FLY!
Days turn into weeks and weeks into months, in the blink of an eye.
Uncertain Instability
I am always aware in the back of my mind that I am more vulnerable than I used to be. This vulnerability combines with the idea of nighttime and what you avoid doing or hesitate to do, given the darkness.
Nighttime has become this strange land one hesitates to cross into. You need a youth passport to find the excitement that you used to find going out as night.
Because the photograph came out so shaky it kind of reconfirms my physical instability, even though it is difficult making something out of what is captured in the image.
Barrier is Night Time
For this photograph I had to rig up a spot in order to get the camera steady. Although I was outside, it looks as if I am looking out, trying to figure out all of these different boxes or spaces, and the wildfire smoke is coming through.
The Unfinished Painting
The unfinished painting talks about working women and I relate to that. The working woman and I have a lot in common, including putting oneself last. It is me, multitasking. Piling up hay, raising a kid that you can barely see on the side, grandma over there, and a man somewhere in there.
Other barriers along my life reduced my abilities now. There is acceptance of my limitation; sometimes anger. I feel worth by doing and try to stay positive. Postponing myself has a lot to do with tiredness.
I want to finish the painting because there is a purpose to it. The purpose of this painting is texture. Texture is what intrigues me in every aspect of my work.
The Sense of Loss of Energy
I asked myself why I sometimes delay being with others.
I was a bit embarrassed recognizing that I have a condition that sometimes makes me tired and I need some extra sleep. Even though I can look like I am hyperactive in many ways — I still fight this daily.
Myself My Barrier
My number one barrier is myself.
All of the internalized fears, insecurities, anxiety, and self-judgement.
I am trying to work through some barriers and increase my internal awareness and power to break the cycle.
Seeing the photograph makes this challenge real. The physicality gives it more strength and power since I am calling it out.
An Obvious Barrier
I took this photograph because it shows a fence, an obvious barrier. My barriers are not this obvious.
They are hidden.
My pain is invisible to those around me which creates additional barriers such as fear and judgement. I have everything that makes me old inside, but it is so hard to tell when you look at me.
Healthy Barriers
We put a gate to protect what is beautiful; what is precious.
We do this also to protect what is precious within ourselves.
Having the Courage to Ask For Help
A person with disabilities can have many barriers and can be dependent on others for their daily care and needs to live a fulfilling life.
They can teach us about humility, that it is okay to ask for help. Limitations can be isolating if we are not able to reach out and ask for support.
Don't we all have limitations in some ways or others?
A woman is holding the words of a song so the person in the wheelchair can read them. This is the only way that she can read the song lyrics.
Orderly Peacefulness
Serenity.
Peaceful, yet guarding. Barriers, yet freedom.
The boat stalls reflect a controlled and orderly barrier; things are in order, the water is calm, the scene is peaceful.
Freedom is beyond. You can escape if you look beyond the masts. The open ocean is out there.
Leaving the Island
I am a third-generation islander.
As an islander, life has always meant the B.C. Ferry Corporation. Traveling back and forth to the island has always been a barrier.
It is a barrier that one can feel, eliciting strong feelings. You know you have to be prepared for it, keep it together, and not lose it.
Intensive Animal Husbandry
Intensive animal husbandry is a barrier to heart health, humane treatment of animals, preservation of the Amazon rainforest, and reductions in greenhouse gases.
As I have aged the world has changed and so have my views on what I eat.
Cows have families, and with those eyes... their look melts my heart.
I am distressed for their lot in life.
Barrier to Rational Thought
I was raised as an atheist in a fact-based science family that disdained what religion was responsible for. My Dad used to say "if reason worked with religion, there would be no religion." Religion is the biggest barrier to rational thought there is in the world.
Religion influences everyone's life in every which way. It has influenced my life in many ways.
The cross has to have science to illuminate. The insanity is obvious.
Private Beach
This photo shows a beach in Connecticut. It's peaceful and surprisingly uncrowded on such a sunny day.
The reason for that is that only a few privileged people have access to it. We could have used it as guests at a bed and breakfast we were visiting, but when I took this photo, we were just checking it out as we were leaving.
The U.S. state of Hawaii believes that, like air and water, beaches should be accessible to everyone. But Connecticut has different laws. It made me sad.
Limited Finances
Money, of course, is money.
Having too little money creates barriers in my life and in the lives of many others; for housing, health, and education. Lack of money determines where I live, travel, and socialize.
Inappropriate Restriction of Accessibility
Barriers stop forward progress. They are an irritation, a frustration. But they have other aspects, depending which side of the barrier you are. They could provide protection. That protection could help you move forward; not beyond the barrier, perhaps, but in a different direction.
How does a barrier make me feel? Knee jerk reaction is irritation. Indignation, even. I feel slighted because I'm not allowed in somewhere. But I quickly look for a way through, around, over or under the barrier. I quite like a challenge. If a barrier is a problem, I will work to solve that problem.
An example of a barrier that irritated me is the sign on the ladies' washroom door at the Nanaimo Library (downtown). It says "For access, see front desk." Users have to sign in with a time and initials. The door won't open until someone at the front desk does something to unlock it. The only way I can think of why it makes sense is that it keeps the users safe.
Unfriendly Sign
There's another sign inside the washroom that might shed some further light on the situation. It seems strange and disturbing to have a sign indicating how to use the bathroom in a library washroom.
It is shocking to me because I grew up during and after World War II in a rough part of London, England, but when I went to the library it was a haven of civility.
The sign seems ridiculous and not very helpful. If someone is in desperate need of somewhere to wash, and you are not going to allow them to do it there — one might at least tell them where they could go to wash.