Paintings

Being human is by far the most exciting experience I have had. Not that I could have chosen otherwise but lately I have been thinking of the things that identify all of us as humans and realised that while we have stretched far and wide for descriptions, they have been with us all along.

We see our weaknesses and strengths is unique places, the pause we choose for a picture, the choices we make with our time and money, the words we choose to employ and even the nature of our investments. That is simply the way we are, we are displayed in everything we do and in all we touch. 

In a way, it seems that while we live we make paintings of ourselves and yes we can look to those paintings for explanations. Of course it is much easier to observe those paintings of others and make very thorough descriptions of them than it is to look at ours and see where amendments are needed.

There is a desire to ignore the paintings we make, to blind ourselves to the reality of who we are, who we hate. Our ability to hide from who we really are keeps many of us in circles and cages very much undesired. It is as if to behold ourselves is to die, to be hit with shame so great it would bring the world to an end. 

The beautiful reality however is that to behold ourselves is to fall deeper in love with ourselves, not the mistakes we have made or the accomplishments we have under our belts, but who we simply are. We are endowed with beauty unimaginable, and strength amazing. In each of us, civilized or otherwise lies treasures yet to be tapped. 

There are wells of love on the inside of us, a strange ability to create and see beauty where it is still hidden or/and in some cases is hidden. Who tells us that our children will be wonderful people? We do, we tell ourselves of the beautiful future that will be even when there is no proof that it will be. We rely on our ability to desire good, to love with little or no expectation of good returned. 

But there are times when all we see is darkness, when this ability to create and see beauty is hidden or when we choose to put it aside. In those times we hide from who we are and focus on all the other nothings. When we are tempted to ignore who we are, to avoid our paintings, we should remember that there is beauty in who we have been made and that beauty can turn the dark into light again. 

When we truly see, we learn how to move in the right direction.