The lyrics of this John Mayer song ( from his 2 CD album titled “Where the Light Is” ) keep monopolizing my mind space, underlying every daily routine, haunting my thoughts like a benevolent ghost reciting a mantra. Other lyrics included in this selection of songs are also meaningful to me and play significantly in my mind – “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” for instance. I doubt Mayer, in 2008, could have foreseen the state of the world and its rapid dissent into the chaos in which we now find ourselves, but you never know. The artists, the musicians, the writers, the poets, the dancers, the dreamers and the writers of songs are often the canaries in the gold mines of our minds and our world, are they not?
It is difficult to sustain creativity under and against the weight of such difficult times as these, but we must. It takes more work but we must express our recognition of current events whether that means being a brilliant light in the darkness or recording your misery from your unique place inside the darkness. If you prefer to paint in direct denial of the times, then by all means do that, and your enlightened, uplifting images will offer people refuge in the storm. If you prefer to paint in direct opposition to what is happening in the world, screaming and capturing the chaos and the mayhem then by all means do that as well. You might feel one way on Monday and a totally different way by Friday morning. There is room for white or black and all points in between. Life is way more than 50 shades of gray, by the way. Whether you are a painter, a writer or a photographer – express yourself in the authentic voice of who you are at any given moment in time. You just have to do that, even if it shocks and stuns. You are the barometer of the weather you are experiencing; what you record is a journal of your personal progress and your ability to cope in the complex world surrounding you. Express it; just bleed it out. It is all a part of the universal picture.
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Art, in whatever form, can be such a refuge in chaotic times. I’m finding if I turn off social media, and the tv, and turn on music, the muse shows herself; and insists in participation.
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yes yes yes!!
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I have been listening to Dan Fogelberg’s music lately, and it is just as relevant now as it was years ago, and so is John Denver’s. It would seem that things don’t change as much as we might think. I try to keep in mind that while my life seems important to me, I am just passing through here, hopefully contributing what I am supposed to, no more, no less…and so far it is a lot. We cannot let the times and actions of others derail us from who we are and what we are here to do.
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Agree!!!!
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Though admittedly authentic, generally it would be “canaries in COAL mines” not gold mines. 😉
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Jo is such an accomplished writer that I am pretty sure she meant “gold” mine. When I thought about it, the word “gold” updates that old saying. Just a thought.
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Stan i did indeed intend to use tge word goldmine because the image of black coal was not something i like considering the subject matter of the blog. Read the comment here from Jane Jones who knows me well.
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correction !!! Stan I did indeed intend to use the word goldmine because the image of black coal was not something I like, considering the subject matter of the blog. Read the comment here from Jane Jones who knows me well.
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