See The Light

If you want to learn the truth of something imagine looking at it from the side you can't see.

Dana Bate
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I used this idea once before, about 2 years ago. I don't remember what I wrote about and can't find that entry at the moment. But I'm a bit older and wiser(?) now.

I know I wrote about my great drawing teacher Gregory DiLessio, who one day had us draw the model as if we were seeing her from the opposite side of the room. It was a very tricky exercise. I was seeing her from the side so it wasn't that hard. I can't imagine what it was like for those seeing her from the back.

When it comes to politics, religion and social issues I read what those I disagree with write and say and respectfully try to imagine seeing the issues from the opposing point of view. It's just as tricky as the drawing exercise.

But now I've assumed another level of that exercise. From the smug anti-narcissistic practice of standing in my own shadow, I now contemplate myself in my mental mirror and wonder, and try to imagine what I look like from the other side. I want to know who the invisible individual is, the one not made of skin, eyes, tongue, organs, blood and bones. Who is the individual of pure spirit, of pure idea? When the mortality is dropped and let go off, when the old man is put off, what is the new man, the man that has always been there but who has been covered by the imperfect.

In simpler life forms the root, stem and blossom of the flower may easily and gracefully collide with it's real, invisible being. In art the human figure may be defined by the important parts of the figure, the cranium, rib cage, pelvis and the legs, arms and jaw attached to it. But it is the real story, the invisible story of that figure that the artist tries to capture in his drawing. or painting.

I try to look past the mask I see in my mirror and imagine what I look like from the face that is looking back at me, the nonmaterial, unsubstantial face. What invisible figure is apparent, beyond age, race and gender, beyond limitations. fantasies and illusions.

I think the secret is not in us but beyond us, on the other side of us. I look at other people and know there is a spiritual creature there not represented by the human figure I see. Who are the substantial ones, those I see on the street or those I see in my dreams?

I was told by my family that "light" was the very first word I uttered in the wisdom of my infancy. Creation begins with light. And then what follows, love (in its universal sense), power, joy?

After all these many decades I begin to see only slight slivers of light, but enough to tell me it's there. I continue to look for it in myself and in all those I meet and know, because I must.

DB - The Vagabond
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AUTUMN QUESTION

(This is not a contest.)

At what event of the past do you wish you could be present? Why?

1 response so far.

dbdacoba@aol.com

Thank you.
DB
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Wash Out The Mouth

Even so, one step from my grave,
I believe that cruelty, spite,
The powers of darkness will in time,
Be crushed by the spirit of light.

Boris Pasternak
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Johann Goethe called the devil the spirit of negation. It is too easy to fall into that diabolical pit of darkness and negativity. The crafty devil always begins by telling us something true. The serpent in the garden said they would not "surely die" and they didn't. And that's when the trouble started. The three witches in Macbeth start off by saying Hail, Thane of Glamis, which he is. Then they say Hail, Thane of
Cawdor. And that's when the trouble starts. They go on to say Hail that shall be King. He soon becomes Thane of Cawdor legitimately. But to become King he has to murder the King.

When the public mouth tells us something that turns out oo be true we tend to trust it and believe whatever else it has to say. And that leads us into negative behavior. If we keep following we end up in the hospital;, the prison or some other form of hell.

All those who follow the spirit of negation, who say no to every new idea, who say modern music is not music and modern art is not art, those who humiliate their children, hurt their family members and are unfaithful to their spouses, those who plunder the poor, refuse insurance payments for fanciful reasons and bail out the rich, those who ridicule people they don't like, who make insulting jokes about others to get a laugh, who tell lies, spread gossip, support rumors and betray friends, those who are disrespectful of their neighbors, over aggressive drivers and who scoff at laws, those who copy, plagiarize and blandly steal another person's ideas, those who abuse animals, torture prisoners and take revenge, those who cite scripture to justify criminal acts, those who vote against a good plan because they don't like who proposed it, those who look for ways to take advantage of other people, those who cannot forgive, try to understand or have compassion on others, those who only find fault and not value. those who willingly put people in danger, those who sell faulty products and don't care, those who would never kill the body but would kill the spirit, those who justify every wrong, harmful and selfish act by the false belief of entitlement, are all working for the devil and they don't know it.

So what can we do? We all have our own version of dark corners, our own private patch of mud to get our feet stuck in. The only answer is to beware. Beware of the smooth talking reptilian vendor of theories, Beware of the smiling prophetess of enticing improbabilities. Beware of the dommsdayers and deniers. If we have any entitlement it is the right to make a list of those things we know are right, purchase only those things and avoid the rest. We have the right to check our mental bags all the time to make sere we bring home only the best. We have a right to ask questions of every negative. And we have the right to think for ourselves. What is light? What is dark? And make the right choice. Believe me I know what I'm talking about. I've not done yet, but I relinquished myself from the dark that accused me of darkness and joined the light that welcomed me in the spirit of light.

DB
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SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest.)

In your opinion what is the most amazing thing that could happen during this decade? Make it as outrageous as you want but keep it within the realm of what you consider a possibility.

15 responses so far.

Answers will be published the first day of Summer.

Thank you.

dbdacoba@aol.com

DB - The Vagabond
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