we have painted our faces
since the beginning
to create fear
to be beautiful
to gather power
to become
other than we are
we wear ink
masks
and feathers
to get the attention
of the old ones
the four-legged ones
the winged ones
let’s face it
we haven’t come as far
as we think we have
Photo: Joshua Rondeau
Unsplash
I can’t sew. Note even buttons. My mother could sew, and my cousin can sew. My aunt, my cousin’s mouther couldn’t do much of anything…at all.
I often think my cousin should have been my mother’s kid, but alas, gentle readers, you all know we get what we get and there are no refunds, or exchanges. I would have been okay with giving my mom my cousin as a daughter, but none of us thought of it at the time.
My cousin looks exactly like her mother and I look like mine but who cares, right?
I tried to sew, for about fifteen minutes, but after that, I lost focus and everything took too long. So, I wandered away. Besides, I ended up getting knots in the thread, and wasn’t interested in untangling them, or cutting things and starting over.
Basically, I have no patience at all. I couldn’t even use oil paints, because they took too long to dry, that’s why I love acrylics and watercolor.
So, I left needle things to those two, although I do knit, using big needles, really big needles, if possible. I also don’t follow patterns, so imagine what you will. But I digress.
Here’s my point, and yes, there is a point, gentle readers. Because it’s kind of obvious, and yet, not as obvious as you’d think, I’m going to emphasis the point by using all CAPS!
EVERY ART FORM
AND CRAFT
CAME ABOUT
OUT OF
NECISSITY
OR
PASSION
BECAUSE
SOMEONE
COULDN’T SEW
OR SING
THEY FOUND
SOMETHING
THEY COULD DO
BECAUSE
HUMAN BEINGS
ARE
CREATIVE ENERGY
AND WHEN ONE FORM
DOESN’T WORK
PEOPLE SEEK
DIFFERENT
FORMS
THAT
DO
AND
THAT
IS HOW WE
GET
ART
BECAUSE
ONE SIZE
DOES NOT
FIT ALL
AND THE
CREATIVITY
INSIDE OF US
ALWAYS FINDS A WAY
TO GET OUT
always
Picture: Pixabay
The most wonderful gift we can pass on to our children, is the gift of imagination. Rather than filling their lives with activities, the time to play and dream is of great importance. Books or story telling, rather than video games and television, can stimulate the imagination of small children.
Being able to fly can last throughout a person’s lifetime. Being able to see things differently, to dream, even while awake, to believe in impossible things, is something that starts when children are young.
Even Albert Einstein said that “Imagination is more important than knowledge,” and that is something that hasn’t changed.
Creativity can be stolen from children. Shut down before it ignites and has a chance to grow. Being silly, covering the dining room or kitchen table with blankets,turning it into a tent and moving in, can create a whole new world.
While we are all stuck inside, we can move to Mars or even Pluto. We CAN do anything we like. We just have to let our imaginations run wild.
And remember, twinkle lights are ALWAYS in style. Put them up and at night, you’ll sleep among the stars.
when the urge to create
hits
there’s nowhere to run
you can’t think of anything else
but the thing that wants to get
out of you
onto paper
no matter what the medium
our vision needs to be expressed
it’s as if we are nothing more than
carriers for the art that’s inside of us
and in the wee hours of the morning
creators can be found
working
sleep forgotten
because all that truly matters
is the work itself
During the depression, when people were out of work and had lost everything, the government paid artists to create. That was a wonderful thing, but here’s the REAL kicker…those who had nothing, no jobs, or goods, had time to recognize their OWN creativity. They began to write, draw, paint and do EVERYTHING that had been in them ALL ALONG, but was crushed by the way our society has been set up to kill creativity. The Depression was actually an American Renaissance.
See, that’s the thing…the way we live makes us miserable and kills/steals, the very best of what we are and can be. Our culture rewards obedience and punishes thinking outside the box and creative expression. THAT is WHY people have to work until they pretty much die, and never have time to discover all they could have been. It was an amazing and creative time for everyone.
We all need to think about what’s being taken from us, so that we can be more easily controlled. That’s what education is for, that’s what religion is for, that’s what the government is for…they are all there to kill the you that matters most.
We don’t need to fix our culture. We need to reinvent it.
forgive
me
if
I
ask
you
to
repeat
what
you
just
said
but
I
saw
something
sparkly
and
started
writing
a
story
about
it
in
my
head
so
you
disappeared
for
a
moment
Rethinking Life 
Written
on June 13, 2019