Awakening the spirits
Discovered on Facebook. Republished through the Fair Use provision of US Copyright Law.
I love the notion that earth is a living spirit. It’s so deliciously pagan. It pays massive respect to the environment while simultaneously thumbing its nose at sanctimony. Go, Pagans!
As David Suzuki suggests in the meme pictured here, it’s time to change the world’s perspective. Ever since we discovered you can burn oil to make things go fast, civilization’s been hurtling toward the finish line at unbelievable speeds. Only there’s no finish line at all except smoky air, oily water, and death on a massive scale. It’s a bit like when you rush all day to get stuff done and then you realize none of the work you did makes any difference at all. And then you find you’re doing it over and over again, for centuries.
Recently, during the pandemic, did you notice how the air cleared up when everyone was at home, playing cards, watching movies, and redecorating their living rooms? Yes, there was also sickness and misery, but the change in many of our lives felt so real and so blissful that millions realized they had better choices and suddenly quit their jobs!
Artists are in a position to lead the way in finding more authentic and satisfying lives. We see things others miss. Our processes are intentionally deliberate rather than rushed and haphazard. We look for the humor, the drama, the joy, the sorrow, and seek ways to express them all with compassion, care and craftsmanlike precision. We instinctively push past the superficial in order to find a deeper meaning.
We locate the absurd within the oppressive. We grasp hope from inside horrible darkness. We latch onto dreams that reveal truer identities. We find the spirit of innocence locked away when the people around us had been too cruel to leave it unprotected, and we let it out and love it unconditionally.
“End of the Road” prints available through Cerbera Gallery in Kansas City, MO.
We help others experience more fully the love of family, the devastation of loss, the ecstasy of rebirth, and the rage caused by injustice.
And we’re in the best position of anyone in existence to understand the gentle and wise spirit contained within the powerful sciences of discovery. We can help others reimagine the world as a slower, happier, more honest place. That’s our job.