Tag: spirituality

This Strange Sight

A few weeks ago, during a particularly cold snap in the weather, I was headed up the steps to my studio as usual. Nearing the top, I notice a strange site. Tucked into the narrow space where the wall meets the concrete was a single dandelion head in full bloom. It looked like a tiny drop of a summer had been deposited by my doorway right here in the biting chill of an early winter morning. It was out of season but right on time. Of course, I marvel at things like this. Things that defy the status quo and provide proof that life goes beyond the laws of our limiting expectations and logic.

I stood there for a minute or so studying it the way I study anything that sparks my curiosity. This small resilient blossom had endured weather that left a layer of ice on everything. By any practical measure, it should not have survived or even bloomed. Yet there it was, bright and unapologetic in full color. I’m going to take a little creative license and call it my burning bush. Just as Moses said in the story, “Let me turn aside to see this strange sight, why the bush is not burned” Why because it was out of the ordinary. It defied logic. Well, so did my fully alive dandelion in the dead chill of winter. And no, I’m not about to deliver to you ten stone tablets of commands. Nor did I hear a voice in stereo calling my name. But I did take the time to pause and pay attention. This was a lesson on resilience and inner power beyond circumstances. And this is what I’m sharing with you on this journey.

 “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” + Ralph Waldo Emerson

Resilience doesn’t always announce itself with fanfare. Sometimes it shows up quietly in the cracks we almost overlook. It lives in the parts of us that push toward the light even when logic and accumulated beliefs try to take us in a different direction. We get to the light through the darkness. That little burst of yellow engulfed in the bitter cold, reminded me that we’re built with a wonderful inner architecture; a divine blueprint bent toward life and creativity. We all, every single one of us, have a beautifully brilliant resilience that doesn’t depend on circumstance to shine. We have been gifted the capacity to withstand more than we imagine…and come out as gold. Trusting the process gives us the resolve to believe that challenges are for us rather than against us.

And then when we need it most, something arrives. The reminders I call them. The burning bushes. The dandelions in the dead of winter. The unexpected phone call or that lucid dream. Please don’t ignore them. They are the little signs with the big meanings. We can also call it grace, intuition, or a nudge from the unseen to remind us of what’s already inside us. Not merely to break the laws of nature, but to show us that we, too, are part of something larger, something capable of lifting us up to where we belong. May we slow it down here and there to listen, to see the dandelions blossoming in the winters of our lives. To bear witness to the burning bushes. And in doing so, may we come to recognize the language that speaks to us and directs us in our our mission on this planet.

With Angels and Ghosts

“Our feet are planted in the real world, but we dance with angels and ghosts.”

John Cameron Mitchell

A few months back I was going through the county land maps to check on some property line grids. On the map I saw there was an area marked for a cemetery, in the wooded area a short way across the field from the main house. I made a plan to explore the woods to find this mystery graveyard as soon as the wheat field was harvested. I love a good adventure.

About a week or so later, I arrived home to find the wheat fields shorn, with the spiky stems standing up like a high and tight haircut. This didn’t make for good hiking so I opted to drive across the field. I put a few tools in the back of the truck for clearing away brambles and we heading out. Traveling the perimeter of the field along the wood line we finally arrived at the area of woods that jutted out toward the house.

“How are you ever going to find a graveyard in there. It’s too thick, you can’t even see where it would be.” My wife said.

“I’ll know.” I replied.

A few minutes later, I stopped the truck, gazing into the depths of the openings between the trees. I felt I was in the right place.

“It’s in there,” I said. Ignoring the strange looks I was getting from my family.

A few minutes later we stood in the dark wooded canopy surrounded by an unkept array of grown over grave sites. I started with the one closest to me, clearing away the rich dark soil and overgrowth. It dated back to the 1800’s as did the second and third ones. There were more, we knew, but the light was leaving, so we departed with some photos.

Three days later a strange dog appeared on our porch. We knew by way of the security camera. The emaciated animal’s piecing eyes spoke to me on a soul level. Through his mottled slate gray coat and jutting bones, I saw something that held me. I instantly called him Ghost because I didn’t expect him to be around long. The name stuck and so did he. Once I realized that he might be on the scene I opted for a name change. Based on the proximity of time in which we had stood in the cemetery and the time he arrived at our door (three days) the names Jesus and Lazarus were suggested and immediately vetoed, as was Spectre.

So far Ghost is coming into his own and grown on us. His bones have disappeared beneath healthy weight and a deep glossy wood-gray coat. Looking like something straight from Egyptian tombs, he is uncommonly smart and intuitive, making me question his dogness. Ghost is an angelic messenger that even in the shadows of the stark reminder of death, joy is lurking.

Open your mind. Those things we see as impossibilities and improbabilities can turn into possibilities and even profits. Don’t hold back or you may be held back by your unwillingness to tread off the beaten paths. You are a pathfinder. Some of you know there are things that have been calling you for some time now. You know it. Now is a good time to get to know it by taking your foot off the brake and hitting the gas. Our experience with Ghost is another example of living life artfully, following the curiosities that lead to adventures that turn our existence into a creative practice. Taking us from survival mode to a life worth lifing. Yes, I did mean life-ing, not just living.

Believe…

The other day in a very intense conversation I was having, the person stopped mid sentence and said these words to me, ” I saw your body language change. Remember, if your brain doesn’t believe it, nothing’s going to happen.” At that precise moment my mind glitched then morphed into an ultra clear movie projector. Everything else we had just talked about, everything I’d attempted in the past, everything I was thinking about became strikingly clear. I literally saw a light come on. Belief is an all empowering ingredient to any level of accomplishment, whether it be the completion of a sketch, a full drawing, or a sold out show at Laxart Gallery.

Napoleon Hill told us ““Whatever Your Mind Can Conceive and Believe, It Can Achieve.” It CAN achieve. In an effective scenario, the body is servant to the mind. So when your brain believes, it not only kicks the body into gear but activates the spirit which summons all manner of assistance to bring the intent to pass. Belief moves providence to move on your behalf. Belief goes beyond hoping. True belief is laced with intent which revs up the to a superhuman level of operation. The accomplishments are often followed by comments like Wow! How did you do that? I wish I could do that! That is amazing! These exclamations are the brain’s way of saying this is actually possible in a question and a definitive statement. Think about it. We all have so many reminders of this. One that comes to mind at the moment is the photo of Gabrielle Union and Zoe Saldana standing in front of one of my paintings on a movie set.

Belief is so powerful, it’s never limited to the mind in which it is activated. It’s like a fire. The more you stoke it the warmer everything around it gets. Martin Luther’s beliefs reformed the church. Albert Einstein’s beliefs shifted understanding, relatively. Martin Luther King’s belief motivated and mobilized a nation. Hitler’s belief nearly destroyed one. The power of belief is there for us to utilize as we will. That instance when you first believe will create a paradigm shift in your story. The moment when you can exclaim this changes everything, everything can change.