syn (prefix):
“things that are like one another”
aesthete (noun):
someone with deep sensitivity to the beauty of art or nature.
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Put those definitions together, and you describe a collective of people with intense appreciation and curiosity for the world, and its unfathomable beauty, around them.
They are the kind of people that light my soul on fire. These are the realms where I feel most at peace and inspired, and have decided to spend most of my life inhabiting and endeavouring to capture through words and visual media.
This is my favourite photograph I have ever taken; that of a Taoist devotee in a trance, who, mid-procession with hundreds of other entranced devotees with graphic facial piercings, spotted me crouched beside an offering table — hiding from the fireworks and explosives being hurled in all directions — grabbed this lotus flower and handed it to me just as I had the good mental presence (through some shock) to hit the shutter button.
The lotus flower, I later learned, symbolises peace and purity through suffering; rebirth and resilience in the way its roots grow through mud and swamps and other such mucky places — and still, every day, it arises beautifully anew and sparklingly clean. Additionally, lotus seeds can survive for a long time without nourishment, re-germinating up to two centuries later.
While the gift of this flower awed me at the time…I had no idea how much it would come to represent what I am slowly embedding into my life’s work, philosophy, and faith in how the Universe works.
Hello. I’m Lauren —
kindred aesthete.
I’ve led a varied life and meandering path, one that weaves me in and out of writing and gypsy-wandering more times than I can count. I fall away, and the Universe summons me back — with outstretched hands holding lotus flowers, with stories and synchronicities that remind me how much more is happening than my eyes can see, and how much more I am here for.
Previously, I courted this mysticism as a freelance photographer; now, I do so through the slow, slow writing of a book I plan to publish here in chapters. So, watch this space, if you wish.
Meet Paola: My Book Project.
(Chapters TBA soon!)
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Welcome to my — as yet unnamed — book project
Read along as I unfurl my biggest creative project ever in real (slow) time.
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Table of contents
Every piece of this crazy book project in one place. For now, everything is free — happy perusing.
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Prologue pt. I
The first of three(!) parts. Keep enthusiasm, patience, and trust close to your heart as you read.
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Prologue pt. II
The second of three(!) parts. We're getting to the point and payoff of this preamble now. Much love to you all for sticking with it.
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Prologue pt. III
The last of three(!) parts. Phew, we made it, and I'm honoured you have taken the time to cross this desert with me. You're a legend along my own Personal Legend.
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The way appears when you let it
How to get lost and find your way back into your own story...through story.