The word Timshel comes from the story of Cain and Abel in the Torah, but many people may know it from John Steinbecks novel, East of Eden. According to Steinbeck, the word translates to  “thou mayest” standing in contrast to the command “thou shalt.” In this shift toward the freedom of “thou mayest,” Timshel stands as a symbol of redemption, responsibility, and hope. 

For most of my life I carried a wish to live elsewhere. My eyes were attracted to the Pacific Northwest and the New England Northeast. I always figured I’d end up living near a rocky coast with enormous trees, wearing heavy-knit sweaters and drinking too much coffee. But this  changed in the past few years. The dream lost the shroud of longing and became a feather-weight source of joy. The coastal ideal became Timshel. I think of the dream image of myself in that heavy knit sweater with a flavor of “thou mayest” rather than “thou shalt,” and I feel free to love the dream rather than need it. And further, I’m free to inject the same passion into images from my daily life, whether it be on my own street or a local parking lot.