Who I Am
Ten years ago I never dreamed I would be where I am today. The path our lives take does not always make sense when it is happening, but usually in the end seems to work out perfectly. The experiences we encounter along this route shape us and make us who we are.
My name is Jim Allen and I live in Lincoln, Rhode Island. I am originally from a small town in Western Massachusetts near Northampton called Williamsburg. I moved out of the area in 2004 to pursue a Master's Degree at the University of Rhode Island. I accomplished this in 2007 and got a job as an environmental consultant. Although generally interesting and quite challenging, it can be a very demanding and stressful job.
I have been interested in photography since I went to Montana in 1998 for a 5-
A favorite book of mine is The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff. Reading it about
10 years ago for the first time gave me a new perspective on things. Since then I
have become educated, have doubled my salary, and have made myself a "better" life.
But where does it end? This Chinese story of the stonecutter from the Tao of Pooh
illustrates it perfectly. Never forget what is really important.
The Stonecutter
There was once a stonecutter who was dissatisfied with himself and
with his position in life.
One day, he passed a wealthy merchant's house and through
the open gateway saw many fine possessions and important visitors. "How powerful
that merchant must be!" thought the stonecutter. He became very envious, and wished
that he could be like the merchant. Then he would no longer have to live the life
of a mere stonecutter.
To his great surprise, he suddenly became the merchant, enjoying
more luxuries and power than he had ever dreamed of, envied and detested by those
less wealthy than himself. But soon a high official passed by, carried in a sedan
chair, accompanied by attendants, and escorted by soldiers beating gongs. Everyone,
no matter how wealthy, had to bow low before the procession.
"How powerful that official
is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a high official!"
Then he became the high
official, carried everywhere in his embroidered sedan chair, feared and hated by
the people all around, who had to bow down before him as he passed. It was a hot
summer day, and the official felt very uncomfortable in the sticky sedan chair. He
looked up at the sun. It shone proudly in the sky, unaffected by his presence.
"How
powerful the sun is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the sun!"
Then he became
the sun, shining fiercely down on everyone, scorching the fields, cursed by the farmers
and labourers. But a huge black cloud moved between him and the earth, so that his
light could no longer shine on everything below.
"How powerful that storm cloud is!"
he thought. "I wish that I could be a cloud!"
Then he became the cloud, flooding the
fields and villages, shouted at by everyone. But soon he found that he was being
pushed away by some great force, and realized that it was the wind.
"How powerful
it is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the wind!"
Then he became the wind, blowing
tiles off the roofs of houses, uprooting trees, hated and feared by all below him.
But after a while, he ran up against something that would not move, no matter how
forcefully he blew against it -
"How powerful that stone is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a stone!"
Then he
became the stone, more powerful than anything else on earth.
But as he stood there,
he heard the sound of a hammer pounding a chisel into the solid rock and felt himself
being changed.
"What could be more powerful than I, the stone?" he thought.
He looked
down and saw far below him the figure of a stonecutter.
Test shot before the Basketball Hall of Fame Event at
Mohegan Sun. (Photo by Diane
Pontious)
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