Reflections about “Art”

Carol A. Hand

Approach the art of creating
as a sacred ceremony
emerging from spirit
as a path
for honoring and celebrating life
knowing deep in our hearts
intentions matter

***

Raindrops And The White Rose, by Audrey from Central Pennsylvania, USA (5 August 2006) – Wikimedia – Creative Commons

***

Loving thoughts will vibrate
in whatever we create
long after we are gone
as the essence of light and new possibilities
like the scent of rain and roses
and the peace of sun-kissed pine
blessing all those who follow

***

Endings are never easy for me. They signal times of transition. Yet, as I walked to my car Saturday after my last class of the semester, I had a sudden realization. Regardless of my circumstances, I have always found ways to express creativity. The subjects and media changed based on what was close at hand. Sewing, singing, drawing, studying pond-life under my microscope, making pottery, hooking rugs, tying macramé art, knitting, gardening. Learning about life and crafting useful things that were colorful and well-made proved to be a form of peaceful meditation. I could daydream and reflect. My spirit needed to express creativity. It gave me a quiet space to think and time to breathe love into being.

Under different conditions, I worked with people, developing innovative programs and experimenting with different ways of supervising staff, evaluating programs, conducting research, and teaching.

Creating living art, if you will, is like building sand castles that dissolve in the waves of time. Gaining fame and fortune was never the goal. The only legacies my “art” left were the interventions and projects others believed they had created (and in reality, they were essential and made it possible) and the memories for me of what had been possible to create in the past.

During times of transition, I have learned to ask myself a crucial question. Why not create again, and again, in each new now with whatever opportunities and media are available? There are grandchildren to love, gardens to revitalize, and endless issues to ponder and thoughtfully address in creative ways.

The privilege to dream of possibilities is accompanied by the responsibility to work toward their realization. I don’t claim it’s an easy choice. I have no power to change others who don’t seem to be able to see and honor the wonder and beauty of life. Despite the deep sorrow that accompanies witnessing disrespect and destruction and the seeming futility of giving voice to the art of change, I still believe simple caring actions matter. I’m just not sure what form that will take for me in the coming days…

***

Sun-Kissed Pine – May 11, 2018

***

34 thoughts on “Reflections about “Art””

  1. Carol, I too share your belief that “simple caring actions matter.” For me, those actions depend upon opportunities that arise in the course of my day. Art is, indeed, a wonderful way of connecting with our inner selves and with others. Blessings ❤

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    2. Thank you so much for your lovely, thought-provoking comments, Rosaliene, and for sharing such important insights about art. It’s something that is regularly features on your blog and interwoven throughout with crucial social justice concerns. I send blessings to you as well, dear friend. ❤

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  6. Lovely message, as usual, Carol. When it comes to making change we can only be accountable to the change we cause within ourselves. The rest is part of the great consensus and that is driven by power, whether it be the power of money or of the masses. We can witness, and we can enter the place of satyagraha which means non-violent, non cooperation. In my world that means a lot of boycotting!

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    1. Sha’Tara, I apologize for such a belated reply, but wanted to you to know how much I appreciate your always thoughtful comments. Thank you. ❤

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  9. (…)

    You know, it’s springtime right now, and the other day I was walking in the nearby wood when suddenly my eyes fell on a beautiful wild flower. As I was looking at that particular flower I noticed other flowers just beside it –maybe much less beautiful, but each with a different colour, each with a different shape. Once I was leaving a school where I gave evening classes when a 17-year-old female student of mine waved to me and said in a voice filled with awe : “Teacher, look over there !” She pointed with an almost trembling hand at a car that was parked across the street. Between us, my heart leapt when I saw the car. It was just marvellous. (Didn’t I say temptation is so powerful !) I understood why the girl was looking at the car with such reverence. Well, I too went around in that wood, walking slowly, going from path to path, looking with such wonder at all those wild flowers, examining, like a passionale botanist, the shape, the colour, the peculiarities of each flower. When you are in such a place, looking with your heart rather than with your eyes, you can’t help asking : But why did God make this flower grow here, at this particular place, where nobody would see or care about it ? How many people would come and spend half an hour going from flower to flower and looking at their colours and shapes ? (….)

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    1. Thank you for sharing such beautiful reflections and powerful insights, Jinan Al Kalim. I apologize for taking so long to reply, but I wanted you to know that I am deeply grateful for your comments. I send my best wishes to you.

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  10. Thank you for these words, Carol. My thoughts also as I navigate this mission I’m on, never knowing what road will be the best to take or which door to step through next.

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  13. I like to think most people have a natural urge to create, we are all artists in some way whether baking a cake, doing woodwork, creating a garden or photography. People; from those with health problems to prisoners, benefit if they take the opportunity to create something… anything!

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