444 - experience
It’s 444 day!
Hi, I’m Max. I’m a photographer and yoga teacher based in Sri Lanka. 444 is my monthly piece reminding me to trust my path. I hope reading this offers reassurance to yours.
This series breaks down my last month into something 4 me, 4 you, and 4 us. This will land in your inbox on the fourth at 4:44 from wherever I am in the world. Today being the fourth of the fourth brings a smile to the face.
It’s month two from my Hiri home on the south coast. The property is receiving needed rain after weeks of sun.
My street dog house mates have doubled since March. Four dogs have decided to call this place home.
Mango season nears meaning more monkey visits. They start their heist by flanking the palm leaves on the property’s perimeter. The street dog patrol cuts the monkeys’ morning mango raid short.
My ‘buy me a coffee‘ page is not about coffee. It exists to show the impact small groups of people can have in the world. The ripple effects of love and kindness. Between 444s I’ll share heart-felt projects I’m involved with. Anything I raise above essential photography costs I donate to the causes.
Find my ‘buy me a coffee’ page here.
Shoutout to this month’s supporters Jogi, Gwood, and Zach! <3
4 us - everything is a win if the goal is to experience
A glow continues to carry with me after reading this piece by @yearlyblues. Comforting words with countless nuggets of gold. Its relatability is like a warm hug. Soft. Close.
‘maybe a life doesn’t have to be impressive to be complete. maybe it just has to be felt.’
4 me - sitting in experience
Most of my past month consisted of burnout. Everything shutdown from my biggest pause in 15 months.
Connecting with my new living area I made it difficult for myself to justify rest. I graded myself for not optimising each moment.
Reading everything is a win if the goal is to experience was a relief. The part of me that couldn’t open my heart to squeeze the life out of every day was heard.
This first season of stopping is for nothing. A period where good habits fall away and poor ones creep back. A cycle of forgetting so I get to remember.
I needed to experience this frustration to check-in on my relationship with rest. Learning how supported I am when I let go to life’s rhythm. A forced block expanding my awareness to limitations and appreciating the small things.
4 you - sadness as a gift
Adrianne Lenker’s ‘Sadness As A Gift’ played in my head when reading everything is a win if the goal is to experience.
The two are symbiotic.
‘We could see the sadness as a gift and still / Feel too heavy to hold’ - Adrianne Lenker
‘how insane that I get to experience longing, which hurts so much but also proves that there’s something in me capable of reaching.’ - @yearlyblues
We can communicate these perspective shifts in countless ways. They all carry the same essence.
A low or difficulty indicates feeling.
Existence.
Being alive.
The sadness, as heavy as it is, shows how strong you experience love.
A gift.
‘...I want to hold everything closer. even the boring parts. especially the sad parts. because sadness means I cared. sadness means something touched me deep enough to leave me a bruise.’ - @yearlyblues
Listen to ‘Sadness As A Gift’ by Adrianne Lenker here.
I first heard the song through this beautiful breakdown of its parts on Song Exploder here.
Sending love,
Max
