Message from the Universal Broadcasting System

BEGIN TRANSMISSION:

HEY! YOU! YEAH, YOU WITH THE FUNNY HAT...LISTEN UP:

1. LIFE ISN'T EASY
2. LIFE ISN'T ALWAYS FAIR
3. IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE
4. AND THAT'S OK

END TRANSMISSION.

Well.

Everywhere I turn recently I've been getting variations on this theme, so clearly I need to ponder on it. Mainly 'cause I generally can't get to #4. I haven't been able to let it be OK. Gotta change it, gotta exercise me some CONTROL, gotta fix, make better, IMPROVE...

Maybe not so much.

There's a quote somewhere in a book I have that the great poet Gary Snyder relates that states "...no need to fix anything..." Of course I can't find it, and I can either spend the morning eating oatmeal and getting lost in my Snyder books, or I can wing it and write this entry (guess which one I'm choosing???). If memory serves (always a dicey proposition with me) it was in the context of a larger discussion about how everything is as it should be even though we're incapable of recognizing that little fact. Now that I think about it, I believe the thrust of the piece was one of active acknowledgement and acceptance of things as they are, but not allowing for the abdication of responsibility for our living. The Universe seeks its own balance and always gets the last chance at bat.

The artist I visited yesterday and I talked a lot about this; coincidentally he's in the beginning stages of a new series of work that revolves around the idea that life isn't all flowers and sunshine. This fellow is well-established and well known, and this new work is a big departure for him. I won't say much about it, except that it left me feeling pretty good about life in general. He's using a comfortable material, safe and pleasant, something everyone takes for granted, and then investing it with a message that jolts one out of complacency. It'll be interesting to she how they're received; on the first pass they're startling in their honesty, but once you get past that, you can see the irony, humor and pathos present in each piece. Added to this the work is a functional everyday use item, something not often considered as a vehicle for a message. I of course loved them and wished I could be so original, so clear, so sharp. He reminded me that it's taken him 40 years of work to get to them.

But, as usual, I digress and I do have a point: (and I've probably said this before, but please indulge me)

Ultimately, I think we have to live our lives as best we can (and if you're a maker, and everyone is) make our stuff and let it stand on its own, without explanation, justification or excuses. We just need to be a little kind and generous of spirit to everyone and ourselves, allow for differences, and know that every day is composed of good stuff, bad stuff, and going mad stuff; it's all part of a whole. We do the best we can, and as someone reminds me frequently, "just keep going." And we're all in it together. So we should try to help out when we can, and ask for help when we need it. (ok, just cause I don't always do all this doesn't mean it's not a good idea...)

'Nuff said about that for now.

Linkage for anyone that makes stuff, a discussion group that started and I've been reading but haven't joined yet, but might...

Unflinching Illuminations

and another one, for all of us: (via Superhero Journal sometime in January...)

All is One

and finally a little thing, what I'm thinking about a lot lately, from Brian Andreas StoryPeople



Have a great Friday!