Contemplating Visio Divina with My Photography

I took a look at the digital file where I store my photography and learned that I took over 750 photos during the two weeks I recently spent in Colorado. That’s actually a lower photos-per-day rate than for many trips I’ve taken over the years. However, it’s still a lot of pictures!

As I’ve thought further on my theme from last week of going deeper, I realized that I have a built-in opportunity to revisit those places in Breckenridge through my photography. Of course, I have multiple images of the same squirrel and hummingbird, as I tried to capture something approaching the “perfect” shot. I would never try to share all 750 photos with someone…that would be overwhelming for us both.

But it got me wondering. Spread out over a year, that would be less than three photos a day. What would it be like for me, each day in the year ahead, to choose one photo from that visit and use it for visio divina, or sacred seeing? Like lectio divina, or sacred reading, this practice is about using a specific image as a gateway to prayer and meditation.

I’m thinking about using my photography in visio divina as a way to listen more deeply to my soul and to Spirit—specifically as a gateway to writing. I haven’t been inspired to write much poetry lately (though I’ve been editing poems from two different poets!), but I would like to get back in the habit. Using my photography in this way might get me started.

For example, I sat with the photo above long enough to focus beyond what’s obvious. I took the picture because Mom and I were noticing the proliferation of twinberries on the trail and these berries were a particularly visible and photogenic example. Yet when I sat with this photo, I found myself drawn to reflect on leaf ribs and veins. I thought about nourishment and flow. That led me to consider human veins—I remembered donating blood as a young adult and thought about older friends who are troubled with varicose veins. I found myself paying attention and giving thanks for the way blood courses freely through my veins, bringing oxygen and nutrients to every bit of me. I didn’t write a poem (though I still might), but it did take me on an interesting journey.

I invite you to consider such an exercise yourself. What photos have you collected (or could find online) that might be appropriate for a visio divina exercise? You’re also welcome to look at my earlier blog posts and choose photos for prayer and meditation.