Experience over dogma [521]
Greetings from The Borders...
I’m Christian Payne, photographer and writer. In this weekly dispatch I once again miss the personal deadline I set, panic, get distracted by something else I could do outside, go and do it, then return to the keyboard, tired but happy.
Normally I’ll seek out novelty, explore the relations between things, how we share, what we share and consume, plus where we might be going. Sometimes I even try to jot it down to share with you.
Thanks for joining in.
#TheAction
Last night I lay in bed listening to the new house. It makes interesting noises for its 25 years. It creaks and groans. Not in an aged way. In a friendly, living breathing kind of way. The wind whistles through the crow-stepped gables, the pipes gurgle and the drains gulp. So much to get used to.
I’ve never thought of myself as an animist, but there have been times I’ve felt like the places I’ve lived in were an extension of the land. Perhaps this feeling is enhanced when the nature to concrete ratio is very much in nature’s favour.
This morning after delivering my daughter to the bus stop and walking the dog, I recorded this short video.
Since then I have walked over 11k ‘doing stuff’ around the holding. I really should be sorting out my den/office/studio/storage facility/bureau of disarray. Soon.
One last thing.
Everyday this week I’ve dog walked in a different direction. I’m getting a feel for the paths and rights of way. which in Scotland is almost anywhere. I’m not shy when engaging with strangers and have bumped into a few individuals and ended up chatting for ages.
Earlier in the week I met Fraser. We chatted for ages. He’s a fencer (builds fences) and is full of amazing stories. So many in fact that at one point he stopped me and said…
“I must apologise I’m an Elevenarifer. If you have been to Tenerife, I’ll tell you I have been to Elevanerife.”
Love it. When excited in a conversation I tend to do the same. I shall endeavour to remember this term.
#ThePictures
The minimal and meditative work of Michael Kenner
Have you got a slow bike?
Sometimes Youtube throws me a curveball.
#TheWords
The title of this email came from a chat with one of my new neighbours. A fascinating couple with an interesting life. At some point I'll do an interview with them. They are big time into yoga and we got talking about gurus.
Jamie has one — and during my travelling years I certainly hoped to find one. And maybe I did. There were a few people I believe might have understood the true nature of reality and self. I know I did my best at quizzing them on such things. And all of my questions were answered. But none of them asked me to follow them. I think that’s the sign of the best of them. They encourage insight over dependency.
The most engaging ‘teachers’ I met focused on personal, direct experience and existential insight over any inherited beliefs or rigid doctrines. As someone who’d recently ditched a physics degree and was still very much in love with science, this focus on lived understanding drew me right in.
It wasn’t about following anyone, it was about immersing yourself in life, consciousness, and the present moment. No reliance on faith. Just direct experience.
“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced” — Søren Kierkegaard
Now for a micro whinge:
Anyone else feel that the more Substack grows, the more its core as a newsletter platform gets diluted?
Features pile on, clarity thins and it’s no longer about an P2P connection via email. It’s about centralisation and pumping this media balloon up beyond its elastic limit.
#TheSound
Been getting my stereo set up in the den. I’m not on a quest for the perfect sound. Good enough is good enough for me. (i.e. better than mp3)
Love this film. Simpler (but also more complicated) times.
And right now i’m listening to this…
#TheConsumed
I’ve managed breakfast outside everyday this week. I could get used to this.
This is not a health drink.
But when in Scotland and all that.
Here are a few ‘facts’ (like the name change from Iron Brew to IrnBru that happened in 1947 because it’s not actually fermented) about Scotland’s national drink …after whisky. And it’s not banned in Canada. They have a version that does not contain E124
Lidl have just opened a store in Berwick-upon-Tweed and I was able to take advantage of their Too good to waste offerings. Bargain for £1.50
#TheThings
Worse job this week was taking out some ancient fireproof rope from the wood burning stove and replacing it with some new stuff. The fire had been smoking the living room out.
Pretty sure the stuff I took out was made of pure itchy evil. Could not find a mask so wore a merino balaclava (for motorbiking) and sunglasses.
Now the smoke goes up the chimney. As it should.
#TheThanks
Massive thanks to the paying subscribers who continue to support this dispatch and the adventures/experiments that make it. You know who you are. ♥️ I shall especially remember these people when capitalism no longer sees the point in supporting human work at all as the corporations, hellbent on building endless data centres running software designed to replace human effort do just that.
Till then… If you value these words, ideas and curation, please consider an upgrade to paid…
Or if you prefer a random hat tip you can do that via PayPal
or Monzo …Either way… Thank you for reading, sharing, liking and supporting a human doing manual work with their brain.
#TheWeb
I’m still shopping for a shipping container.
I love how someone just popped up on the Documentally community map in Yaounde. If you get the chance please add your name so we can say hi.
Solar panels to be fitted to the roofs of all new UK properties by 2027.
I try not to talk or think about him.. but here is a summary of Trump’s 100 days in office.
Some of my other places include these… plus Discogs for my physical music collection, Strava for documenting exercise, my audio RSS feed stores recordings, LinkedIn for when i’m pretending to be professional… and for the really nerdy out there, I write an occasional ham radio newsletter.
A ‘view’ has never really meant that much.
The Atlantic on hitchhiking.
#TheEnd
Thanks for reading. All spelling/gramatical errors are proof of life.
I need to pick up my motorbike from Cambridgeshire tomorrow, but I’m in two minds whether to take the train or to hitchhike. I’ve checked hitchmap.com and it looks like there are a couple of decent starting points.
Whatever you are up to over the next week.. enjoy!
"You can’t know who you are until you know where you are."— Wendell Berry
Dwell.
See you out there.
Over…
Hey you moved! *scrolls back a few weeks…