As a human being, let alone as an artist, having a strong foundational value system is critical. I use the word ‘critical’ to direct the attention to the severity of not having a value system. It is absolutely not a cardinal sin, more often developing a value system is an obvious part of the process.

The life of an artist, life certainly in general is vague. We are born, we do things and we die. It is redundant yet a catastrophic realisation for some of us – life has no meaning, it doesn’t matter, and a certain other plethora of gimmicks and clever tricks.

As far as nihilism is concerned, it is a problem to be solved, not a final destination. This essay is not about assigning meaning or purpose, and pursuing the greater mysteries of life; perhaps that is our job as artists, as human beings.

Life is persistently vague, and time-bound, volatile, spontaneous surges of desire is how we try to make a sense out of it. “I would like to drive a Mercedes”, “it would be fun to have a million dollars”, “oh I wish I was popular”, so on. And more often than usual, a lot of people who get into arts enter through a very instinctual, a rather shallow subjective understanding. It would be a sin to degrade this humble, simple subjective tendency to cry to Nusrat Sahib, as not just is this an inherent part of the process, it is exactly what that initiates it. And as obvious as the human condition, this comes with a set of flaws, barriers and limitations.

There is also to consider the utterly brutal unpredictability of life. You do your best to enter the flow and within a second it is gone – you fall, defeated, deceived and alone. The house of cards has crumbled yet again. It would not be nice to me of me to count and remind me of my own failures. Because the universe is witness to the outrageous altitude to my hoarded pile of projects. The tragedy is not to fail, failure is an equal of success, but the dismay is of having given up. We give up so often so easily.

A value system is the only thing that still keeps you aligned with the vision even when everything else is blurry. Just the number of stories about artists and the lengths to which they’ve fallen and later risen is reason enough to be inspired.

What is a value system though, is it an ideology, a belief system, is it faith, or is it something concrete, something valid, objective, bound by the rules of law, or society, or nature?

To address this, a moment has to be spared. Soak yourself in this moment for a while, and imagine what is real. Imagine, not question. The future is just an idea, an expectation; the past doesn’t exist any more, like future it is also an idea.

Close your eyes for just a moment. And just focus on your breathe. It sounds pretentious and just for the sake of pretence, do it. Close your eyes and just breathe.

Of course, you didn’t do it, you wouldn’t because you can maybe see, guess, or maybe this exercise is too frugal that it is a cognitive tax, or maybe you’re just too tired, and it is okay, I completely understand.

What really seems to be true is this moment – the present, the now. The body is changing, the air, things, plants, trees, rivers, water, hunger, lust, desire… all temporary, redundant and vague. Now I sound pretentious.

A strong, efficient value system is the one which is embedded in this thorough understanding of experiencing life as it goes as an artist. This is the most important skill you could ever learn as an artist. As a creator, as a medium it is only real, only true when it is being experienced. The book on the shelf is a dead tree, but reading the same book opens up a portal.

A value system that is rooted in this foundational understanding can withold all forms of abuse, shame, stutters, deviations and hold you grounded, firm, and reassured. Here is a personal excerpt.

Of all the art forms, photography held an exotic restitute for all of my obsessions. The first time I held a DSLR felt like a ceremony to me – the weight, how it fit in my hands, how my fingers graced across the dials and buttons and the absolute power to just freeze a moment – and oh! the aesthetics of composition, and the subject, and the ease of digital… I felt complete.

I must have taken a million photographs, this does not necessarily reflect whether I’m good or bad, and that is not the point. Along this journey, expectations started to creep up, and like the wild ivy, it grew all around my motivation and drenched photography of its soul. What that I once reserved, protected and exercised with free will turned into a chore.

It really bothered me. I know I love to photograph and I don’t want it to feel forced. I had to sit down and talk to myself. Remember a few paragraphs ago, I asked you to close your eyes and breathe. Sometimes in life you have to do things even when you’ve imagined the results, and this intra-personal introspection becomes a necessity.

There is only one question that needs addressing – Why? The reason is the devil’s whore but the way through is through an ocean of fire. Why do I want to photograph?

Profoundly simple – why do I do what I do?

The answer isn’t as simple as the question, however, asking the right question is the closest thing to an answer. And more often than usual it is all about the basics – the foundation.

After much debate, deliberation, intellectualisation, imagination, and all kinds of thoughts and prejudices later, I resorted to a simple, concise and coherent answer.

Photography is the most effective way to exercise being in the now, and this in itself is more than any reward there could be.

Not only has the fire reignited, actually there is no concept of fire left, photography is just a state of being. Whether there is a camera or not, the now exists regardless and my experience to witness it is not bound a subject, place, a person or a thing. It just is.

It sounds abstract and even ridiculous but I really wish there was another way to explain. Maybe that is why we have music. But it is exactly how it is.

Designing a balanced, coherent and highly individual value system is not only making me a better photographer, but even a lot of you have started to notice. It has dribbled into other media, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of improvisation as a musician, my mental health has (to a point) stabilised, but most important of all, I’m enjoying it ever more than before.

Of course, there are challenges, of routines, and structures, and such challenges get resolved effortlessly. In case of existential doubts, there is a value system to realign to.

A value system that is grounded in the understanding of the process, rooted in the essence of the ‘now’, and embedded in a vision can help you find light in the darkest of nights. It keeps you above water, it keeps you grounded, it keeps you among the stars, it is your best friend.

To get you started with designing your values, here is an example – the process is a reward enough.

Sit down and talk to yourself. Why are you here?

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