The Creative Act

In a world of glossy finished products, of Masterpieces by Masters and Pulitzers by Award-winners and a long list of really great Greats preceding us all, it can take a bit of blind courage, intentionally dedicated time and a dash of wild ecstasy to allow your own creativity to bubble up and out. Each creation reveals a small piece of your lived life and a bit of your private heart, but most of all whatever it is that you produce is an expression of your pure joy. Walking into someone’s painting studio or craft workshop or writing room or gallery space can feel like entering another’s way of being. I invite you to come along into my creative private and public avenues.

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It’s not indifference

This week Elie Wiesel’s words are echoing around my brain. As a survivor of the Holocaust death camps himself, he tried to piece together the how and the why of such an horrific event. Through his lifetime of study Wiesel came to realize, “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.” As I wander about in my SoCal terrain I do my best not to listen to the outrageous lies set forth from the new broligarchs on the DC block. This is an internal struggle for me as I recall Wiesel: “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” I wish he was still alive so I could ask him how, just how can one navigate such a calculated and vicious attack on human decency going seemingly unchallenged? The list of falsehoods and fabrications broadcasted from the current White House over and over is a long one and I feel powerless to counter any of it.

Beyond staying positive, staying in this moment, staying grateful for all the gifts I receive daily, I am unclear how to combat “the flood the zone with shit” strategy of MAGA. I am struggling. All I know is it’s not indifference that I am feeling, even if all I post this week are photos of this gorgeous landscape in Southern California.

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So, how did you two meet?

People ask us, as people ask of couples who find each other despite all odds, how did you two meet? Blind date, we always respond in unison. This gets a laugh or a loud what? and we pause, because beyond that agreed upon fact our two memories diverge. Remembering before we were a we is not easy after three decades riding life’s bumps and bends, those close calls and those definitive calls too. But I love asking people how in the crazy rollercoaster of relationships did you two find each other and manage the whole dance to get where you are today? Lately I have especially loved listening to the telling, watching that shy blush of newness ignite all over again, the private-nuanced laughter and even the corrections over the details. Each story a reminder that love is just a glance away. I tell you love, sister, it’s just a kiss away…

Dramatic roses

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