How Could "U"?

Well Alphabe-Thursday friends we are nearing the end of a long journey. Before we reach our destination we have a few interesting 'hills' to climb. This weeks assignment, the letter "U" is one of those uphill challenges.

I traveled by dictionary from Uaupes to Uzbekistan and via the Concordance from Unbelief to Uzziah, yet I floundered in indecision. I found myself Uninspired. You would think that with two University degrees I could figure a way to undue, to unravel this unmistakable dilemma that was undermining my ability to complete my assignment. You "u", you "u", you "u"...what is there in "u" for me? Should I wax poetic? Will I have to pull a rabbit from a hat? What can I photograph? Am I running out of creative juices?

As I traveled by dictionary, I found an enormous number of "Uns"...as in uninspired...almost all of them complete downers. These "Uns" quickly segue to the "Ups"...as in uplifting. Well, I thought, "I am a sucker for uplifting". Still, nothing, nada...I was wallowing in an uninspired funk.

" The unrighteous unbelievers, unified in their uncircumcised, ungodly unbelief..."

Downer, downer, downer...The Concordance was of little help...far more "Uns" than other prefixes...way to dark. So much for religion pulling me out of my uninspired funk. But wait! There is one "un" word there on that page, mired in the muck of "uns", struggling to free itself like a dove caught in a snare. A good "unword", close to my heart...Understand? That's it! Understand.

So it is... with this newly liberated word that I will begin this unbelievably unique journey (I know, I know you were hoping, praying that this was coming to an end).

I once participated in a six-week long, mind/body wellness group. One night the subject of love came up in discussion. The question was proffered, "what is love", and can you easily and in few words describe love? I thought about it for a few moments and decided that love is measured in the willingness, perhaps outright desire, to understand another person. That out of the desire to understand will come a relational experience and, if we are lucky, love will blossom. Understand?

So, all that is sounding pretty good so far, but how can I photograph understanding? Perhaps not directly...perhaps only in a backdoor fashion vis a vis the relational experience as I have attempted to exhibit in the first two photographs below. These two photographs are part of a series I am working on titled, "A Bridge to Love", with all shots taken on or from Chattanooga's Walnut Street pedestrian bridge.

playing my Ukulele while overhead

a UFO travels to Uranus

All the while pondering the Umbel-like flowers

of the blunt-leaved milkweed, while

the HappyMrsC plays my Ute drum

with Utilitarian Utensils.

Whew! What a journey! Maybe "V" will be easier...

Thanks much for your visit. I know it was not easy. Please take the time to visit Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday and take in the unbelievable posts to be found there.