I was inspired by thisismylife's recent blogging challenge on @liketu, 'The 30 Pictures 30 Stories Challenge'.
They were originally inspired by rubencress '30 day not-so ordinary ordinary items challenge' and both challenges are a great way to encourage daily posting on hive.
This challenge is pretty open-ended; please feel free to follow my formula, or thisismylife's or rubencress' challenge structures listed in their posts linked above 🔼
The only stipulations are that you post one picture a day with a personal story attached to it for 30 days.
Write your story/anecdote to the best of your ability, and use the tag #30stories and/or the #notsoordinary tag if you're following rubencress' challenge. It is also advised to use the #challenge tag.
As I am a professional writer outside of hive blockchain, and as I only dabble as an amateur photographer, I thought I would follow thisismylife's challenge format to tell some stories and anecdotes about my strange life.
It is no secret that I have a strong ambivalence toward organised religion. Yet, only a three-minute walk from my front door sits The Anglican Cathedral, and the truth is, I love this place.
The gothic arches and vaulted ceiling whisk me away to realms of fantasy adventure whenever I visit the Anglican cathedral. It also holds that quiet atmosphere of prayer that lends itself to creative endeavour.
Religious politics, schisms and re-writes of scripture, have obscured the simple truth that the prophets were guiding us toward. The fundamental similarities between what all the prophets said, pointed to the importance of silencing thought and sublimating the ego.
They were pointing to a place of meditation where creativity thrives because as much as I’d like to deny it, the greatest onslaughts of creativity and productive writing I’ve ever experienced have come from that great unknown.
I visited The Anglican Cathedral when I was stuck on part three of the last fantasy story I published on hive (see below) and within twenty minutes of quiet contemplation the plot direction started to emerge and the difficulties I’d been wrestling with over certain characters dissipated in a flash of inspiration.
If you would like to review this story for the current 
Red Days (Part 1) can be found on this link.
Arrows in Flight (Part 2) can be found on this link.
The King's Gambit (Part 3) can be found on this link.
Deathdrinker’s Bite (Part 4 & the Finale) can be found on this link.
Often, creativity manifests from this quiet place, and it is almost like it’s given to you, or maybe it’s the subconscious and unconscious parts of the mind opening up to the light.
This is especially true with poetry.
I wrote a poem about the Anglican Cathedral called ‘Pentecostal Gloss’ that describes my feelings about the ritual of organised religion in obscuring the messages that the prophets originally intended.
Through millennia of debate, schisms and political manoeuvring, the church has obscured these messages that they should venerate.
The institutionalization of religion has driven people further and further away from the essence of their origin. Cultivating silence in the mind, and pruning ego from thought - these practices grow greatness of heart.
This is something that is realised, not taught.
As my picture shows at the beginning of this post, it is a matter of perspective.
To see the myriad specks of reflected light illuminating the truth through a stained glass window, you need to ignore the motifs expressed in that glass.
Empty your mind, look at it all from halfway up a stone staircase and that light will change. The perspective will shift... and creativity will flourish, grow and thrive from that shift of perspective.
Thanks for reading 🌿
All photos and media design used in this post are my own.
Camera: Samsung S7 Smart Phone.
