Chaos – eternal, immense, uncreated – from which all is born; nether darkness nor light, nor damp nor dry, not hot nor cold, but all things mingled, eternally one and limitless.
Nikon D750 f/1.8 1/4000s 35mm 200 ISO
Chaos was the beginning. Within her void slumbered, in undifferentiated fusion, all the elements, the potential, the seed of a person. Yet, some say that Chaos was born from Mist and that Mist was the first to exist.
Mist is symbolic of things indeterminate, or the fusing together of the elements of air and water, and the inevitable absorbing of the outlines of each aspect and each particular phase of the evolution process.
It is also said that Chaos existed from the beginning together with Nyx, the goddess of Night, mother of Erebus, god of darkness, and Tartarus, the underworld.
Or is Chaos the soul’s state of potentiality – eternal, vast, uncreated, where all is intermingled, folding and unfolding, evolving and enveloping – prior to the birth to the unconscious?
Nikon D750 f/1.8 1/4000s 35mm 200 ISO
stillness–
in the depths of the lake
billowing clouds
~Issa (cited: www.haikuguy.com)*
*David G. Lanoue (a translator of Japanese haiku, a teacher of English and world literature, a writer of haiku and “haiku novels) writes that this haiku serves as a substitute for experience–or, perhaps, a clear window into experience–allowing the reader, in contemplation, to see that same lake, those same clouds, and to feel the serenity and stillness of the moment.
The above images are drawn from a 30 day photo assignment (same lens – camera wide open) and are submitted in response to Leya’s lens-artists photo challenge: chaos.
May you know serenity and stillness …
a meditative journey 
I believe chaos is everything of this. Beautiful images and an ethereal haiku. I will come back for Metta.
Thank you, Leya. I hope you find an island or two of serenity during this time of chaos.
I have my forest ♥ An island of bird song right now, and wood anemonies coming up.
Wonderful. I love your association of mist and chaos. The creation story you have retold and the photos you have used are really inspiring.
Thank you, Suzanne. May you find peace during this time of uncertainty
The misty vignette of these shots has an appealing vintage look – I like your proposition that maybe Chaos is the soul’s state of potentiality – not unlike the camera before the shutter!
I enjoy reading your feedback. Or the house during spring cleaning. Hope you find refuge in the landscape that embraces you.
What an interesting photography assignment, may have to try it. Loved your results and the way you wove them into the verse. Beautiful take on the challenge
Thank you, Tina. I recently read about a similar challenge that included limiting oneself to one “click of the shutter” a day or photographing the same place, again and again. Repeating the same place seems to be a way to see how light changes over time.
Beautiful photos, introspective thoughts. Well done.
Thank you, John. I appreciate feedback such as this…