No, not like beer (Poles’ most popular alcoholic beverage) or vodka (statistically our [Poles] favorite alcohol, which helps us to get drunk).
That first drink will blow up your stomach. Also, it will make you lazy. The second one can easily damage your brain and mind. It will make you dumb and stupid.
To write this post, I was inspired by Bruce Lee’s philosophy, which he introduced in the interview made in 1971.
Listen to the Bruce Lee comment regarding being like water. He says that we should feel somehow the flow of the water. I translate it to myself like this: I should be like water, especially in my imagination. It will make my mind refreshed, rejuvenated, and pure. We should be like water in our mind, in our most profound thoughts.
Moreover, we should not fear anything. Furthermore, we always should adapt to new situations in our life — the same as water shapes the surroundings.
In every threat, we should try to notice the opportunities. We cannot hit and hurt water. But, at the same time, water can crash other things. When photographing, I always try to set my mind into “water mode.” What do I mean by that? I say that I try to switch my imagination into a constant flux state.
As Bruce said, when we pour aqua into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. I am sure that it means that we should not close ourselves to new opportunities, chances, and changes. Moreover, I know that we should be flexible not only in physical terms but especially in our mentality and imagination. When I make pictures, I always try to clean my thoughts. The same is doing water with our bodies.
When I make photographs on the streets, I do not have any plans and targets.
I only follow my instinct. Moreover, I always try to melt into the background and crowd. I want to be shapeless and formless like water. I do not have any expectations regarding my photo journey. I know that I will accept whatever will happen during my photo walk. My goal is to analyze the view and take good pictures. It is quite a difficult thing to do, but the more you shoot, the better photos you take. I am aware that only geniuses like Bruce Lee or for example David Bowie (analyze his artistic metamorphosis), Stanislaw Lem (world-famous science-fiction writer, philosopher, and innovator) or Fyodor Dostoyevsky (one of the most celebrated novelists of all the time) were able to be like water. In their minds and imagination.
Let us try to learn that from them.
We should always try to master this practice to make progress, both in life and our passion. Despite all adversity which can appear in our life, we ought to adapt to all the circumstances and conquer all our fears.
Furthermore, I am sure that we should learn how to take a hit from life.
Undoubtedly, the best way to do this is to behave like water. The rule is paradoxically both easy and hard to apply: we should learn how not to feel any punch when someone is hurting us.
