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Kennemer Dunes 360° today. Preparation [ depth, focus, trust, unity ]

Min/max temperature: 4°C/15°C; humidity: 72%; precipitation: 0 mm; sea level pressure: 1018 hPa; wind from ESE 4.9 km/h; visibility: 24.0 kilometres; Clouds: Overcast 4500m.

"[ LM: ] Do you think the formula for a good picture is preparation?
[ Hall: ] Yes, I think it definitely is. All the ones that look unprepared were usually prepared the hell out. It's very difficult to get an "unprepared" picture that works by going unprepared."

Conrad Hall as quoted by Leonard Maltin in 'The Art of the Cinematographer, A Survey and Interviews with Five Masters', page 126, first published in 1971 by Dover Publications, Inc. New York 

"A […] sculptor looks into a quarry for lump of marble. He selects a particular specimen because what he wants to sculp is […] 'already inside'. It only has to be freed. In [ Taoism ], the metaphor of the 'Uncarved Block' is used […] to denote the True or Original nature. In this state, nothing has yet been done to manipulate, change or improve the block; 'it' is already present. This means that whatever is done to it will only result in a blurring of the original, leading us away from what is also called 'The Source'. […] Charlotte Selver […] writes: "The sensations from within are like stars, which only appear when the artificial lights are turned off. When there is quiet enough, they can be very precise." [ It ] is not to be identified with physical stillness. Selver's 'artificial lights' don't necessarily connote external stimuli. [The ] readiness manifests itself in clinging neither to silence nor turmoil; it can be present, so to speak, in the midst of battle. It is a prerequisite for timing, and thus, in The Way of the Samurai, for winning. […] According to Selver […] as soon as more readiness, more openness for what is happening develops, we find that the first thing in which we can recognise this increased openness is our breathing. […] "When the heart is touched, when the inner is touched, when we really allow something to -- as we say so nicely -- touch us, then something in ourselves opens, becomes awake and interested, and simply makes us breathe. We don't make ourselves do it. It makes itself felt." A person's liveness is directly proportional to the degree to which the person is awake, alert and connected to the environment."

Michael M. Tophoff in 'Chan Buddhism: Implications of Awareness and Mindfulness-training for Managerial Functioning', page 27, 28 203, 204, 205, 209, first published in 2003 by Michael M. Tophoff, The Netherlands

"Michelangelo once remarked that one test of good sculpture was roll it downhill, and whatever broke off would be nonessential."

Nathaniel Kaz in 'The Art of the Artist', page 172, first published in 1951 by Crown Publishers, Inc., New York

"For whether we are content with our illusions or frightened by them, we are equally possesed by them, and hence the non-attachment of Buddhism and Taoism means not running away from life but running with it, for freedom comes trough complete acceptance of reality. Those who wish to keep their illusions do not move at all; those who fear them run backwards into greater illusions, while those who conquer them, 'Walk on' […] 'Walk on!' for we can only understand life by keeping pace with it, by a complete affirmation and acceptance of its magic-like transformations and unending changes. By this acceptance the Zen disciple is filled with […] wonder, for everything is perpetually becoming new. The beginning of the universe is now, for all things are at this moment being created, and the end of the universes is now, for all things are at this moment passing away."

Alan W. Watts as quoted by Yasuo Kuniyoshi in 'The Art of the Artist', page 97, 98, first published in 1951 by Crown Publishers, Inc., New York