This exercise lists several different methods to aid one in noticing the way mood and atmosphere are part of normal experience. I am going to attempt to describe the state of mind I am in/enter into when I take a long trip by car.
First things first: I love long car rides. I am not sure if this stems from childhood vacations where my family would pile into our huge van and drive 27 hours or so to visit my maternal relatives in Maine, or from a simple introverted delight in the lengthy solitude that often accompanies road trips.
My state of mind when driving on an extended trip starts with frantic, nervous energy that eventually dissipates into a calm focus.
I think this image is an excellent representation of what that calm focus I experience while driving is like. Mostly because this is a photograph taken while I was on the road (super dangerous, don’t do this at home, etc) but also because this photograph is in motion. Despite the calming subject of the sunset, ultimately the motion of the photo indicates movement beyond the serene snapshot in time.
