I’ve learned many lessons studying history. The two most valuable ones, I apply to my day to day life. The first lesson was the concept of change over time. How does a thing change over a period of time? Secondly, progress is not permanent nor is it linear. Having that frame of reference is helping me to remain optimistic in these turbulent times. We are in a period of regression, but progress will inevitably and eventually follow. The uncertainty that once induced anxiety now brings me comfort. I know now that change, for better or worse, is the only constant. For things to get better, that too will require change.

Someone, somewhere in the world, at every moment in time has experienced suffering. It is inevitable. But what do we do with that suffering? We harness it and create movements that effect change. We transform it into joy.  We express it through a multitude of artistic mediums. From cave art to museums of fine art, we have always connected to the creator in us through creating. That is art. 

So I have decided to create. Whatever. To create from my heart. However. To connect to my soul.  Whenever. To create like no one is watching even in the presence of an audience. Yes, we must resist. But we must also amplify what makes us human, connects us to each other and the cosmos.  Martin Luther King Jr. a man whose wisdom and spirit lies in a realm beyond our comprehension once said that “darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

The first project of my embodied creativity is a blue bottle tree. Blue bottles and trees are found all throughout the American South. The concept was transported by way of the Middle Passage. The blue bottles when placed upside down would trap evil spirits, it was believed. If my tree happens to trap some nefarious spirits, I’ll take it. But ultimately it serves as a reminder for me to do what I can to mitigate the negative, accentuate the positive and stay grounded. Creating feeds my internal fire. Perhaps it will burn hot enough and bright enough to be a beacon.

And this too shall pass….