Heart Versus Mind

There is a constant battle raging in our lives. It happens quietly behind the scenes, often without our own knowledge of the struggle. This battle is one happening between our heart and our mind.A few days ago, I came up with this image idea because I could feel my heart and mind pulling in two different directions. I struggled between wanting to feel certain emotions and knowing that they were not the best to be felt. This type of war that rages within us daily is felt by everyone. At some point or another we have felt the pull of the heart while knowing full well the mind says differently.IMG_4180It could simply be the difference between wanting to taste that one delicious slice of cake while knowing how many calories you will have to burn off later. Or wanting desperately to chase after your passions and dreams while knowing it would not be as stable as having a full time reliable job.Whatever the war is over, we have all felt the tug between heart and mind. Through my photography, I wanted to represent that struggle in a way that is both beautiful and complicated. The tense hand of the mind compared to the delicate draw of the heart. Logic versus feelings.Merritt_InternecineBTS8Image in mind, I set out to create as the day was fading into night. Dressed in a lacy dress with nothing other than my camera and spider-man sock clad feet in galoshes I ventured into my favorite field.For me, the photoshoot has always been one of my favorite steps in my creative process. During that brief moment in time, I am able to shed the skin of who I am and dawn the persona of a new character. These characters that I create have tiny bits of myself in them so they are never completely foreign to me.However, they have so much of one small aspect that those thoughts, feelings, or memories consume all the other parts of myself. I become a new person and live out the story I am creating.Whether I am dancing through the forest, floating above the grass, or peacefully standing in a meadow, the photoshoot is always my favorite part. It is the physical aspect of photography. It is the reality that I will be able to twist into the fanciful. It is stripping away all the masks and leaving raw and untouched feelings on the surface.[gallery ids="1094,1093,1095" type="columns"]After creating beneath the remnants of the sunset I took those precious images back inside to begin the long process of editing them. While the photoshoot is my favorite part of creating, watching the image transform from nothing into something is also a beautiful part.Without the magic of photoshop, my images would be nothing more than a photo. Because we live in an age where magic comes in the form of a computer software I can see the images living inside my mind come into existence. The images can go from simply being photos to having meaning and depth. That process is always amazing to watch.Merritt_InternecineBTS7Finishing an image, encapsulates the original emotions and feelings into something visible that will last forever. The original story and emotions that went into the image are now on display for all to discover and connect with. By completing an image, I am giving away part of myself for others to enjoy.The story behind this particular image is incredibly personal to me, yet is a universal feeling experienced by everyone. I created it to put into visual form that which can only be felt.We cannot see emotions. For better or for worse, they go undetected to the eye. Yet with art, we are able to give these emotions words, visuals, sounds, etc. Art allows us to connect with others without having to say anything. It is a language understood by all because it reaches out not just to the person, but to their emotions.Art connects to the heart while engaging the mind.

Merritt_InternecineBTS1(Mid-Editing)

We will always be faced with struggle in this world. On the outside and on the inside. Our mind will often pull against out heart and vice versa. This inner battle can feel daunting and insurmountable.

Yet with every struggle we encounter and every trial we go through we are reminded that we are indeed human. Everyone goes through these things, they are unavoidable because they come with being alive. The pull in two different directions, the knowledge that one might be better than the other but the realization that whatever we choose will only go to show that we are living.

We are alive right this second and because of that we will struggle, we will feel pulled in two different directions. However, we will continue living. These choices we make are not final. Whether we choose logic over feeling, know that it is not the end. Tomorrow we will have the chance to make more choices and more decisions. Each one adding to the story that is known as our life.

Our story is vivid and meaningful. The choices we make shape who we are. Our emotions and our memories help us to tell our story and communicate it with others in whatever form we desire.

I choose to communicate my story through images as well as the written word. Know that your is story is always worth telling. How will you choose to communicate your story?

Merritt_Internecine

"Internecine"(Destructive to both sides in a conflict; mutually destructive) 

As the sky lights up with the comforting colors of sunset, there is a tug on the mind. Pulling lightly with an almost forceful grasp it contrasts that of the heart, which gently invites like the whisper of a breeze.

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Fragments of Decay

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Tangled Thoughts