Time For Balance

Dear Painting Friends Worldwide,

Yes, there is a lot going on right now in our world, Pandemic, Civil unrest, financial collapse, global warming, racial upheaval to name just a few. You know all about it .And there are a lot of people speculating about how the present moment will effect the future. Many voices hope there will be more permanent racial, health, financial equality, and better decisions for the environment going forward. But there are equally as many people in the most powerful and wealthy civilizations on this planet who hope for the opposite, people who feel equally strong about preserving their long held beliefs, status quo and accustomed ways of life… People who believe the fundamental unquestioned story told for thousands of years and based on Patriarchal principles will be disrupted by unprecedented demonstrations sweeping out planet. Many of these people feel disenfranchised, afraid, angry and threatened.

I believe that nothing will change for the better in a lasting way if the needs and sense of pride of all people are not addressed. For this, we need a new story, a new cultural myth.

The Old Story

Humans naturally believe a creation story that their family, tribe, lineage believes. A story that permeates their life… a story that helps them make sense of a chaotic world, makes them feel safe, belong, have pride, gives them a reason to be. As you know people will fight to the death to defend their beliefs, their stories, their status.

The ancient prevailing myth our civilization is built on is: A white male God created man in his image to concur the world, build a paradise on earth, and like God, decide who and what shall live and die. Part of the story is that the job of the white skinned leaders was to concur and teach the dark skinned inferior people the right way to live and to enslave and use them in the effort to concur nature and build Gods Kingdom on earth. Another part of the story is that man is inherently flawed so we can not achieve this Utopia.

I don’t think that humans are inherently flawed. They were just barking up the wrong tree, just writing a now outdated story. I believe that the intoxicated pride and power of kings and their story tellers in the 10 thousand year old “fertile crescent” where grain was horded and civilizations were born, neglected and forgot how to live in unison with nature. Now is a pregnant time, a time to reset the course of history, to rewrite the story.

In a 2018 NPR Interview Ruby Sales, a Black Social Justice worker for 50 years and Master of Divinity from Princeton University, speaks to this essential and neglected issue and suggests why so many white folks follow our current president.

“What do you say to someone who has been told that their whole essence is whiteness and power and domination? And when that no longer exists, then they feel as if they are dying or they get caught up in the throes of death, addiction. What do you say to someone who feels like they’ve been eradicated because whiteness is so much smaller today than it was yesterday. Where is the theology that redefines to them what it means to be fully human? . It’s a crisis of meaning. We talk a lot about black theologies, but I want a liberating white theology. …. So as a black person, I want a theology that gives hope and meaning to people who are struggling to have meaning in a world where they no longer are as essential to whiteness as they once were.”

I do not know what the new story is that includes disenfranchised white people but I hope it is being written now. I do believe that young people from both camps are writing a new story of inclusion. The new story must involve spirituality, but not the kind that is found in old dogmatic religions. It involves the kind of awe filled spirituality that is found in shared art experiences, music, dance, song, sculpting, poetry, painting, story telling, athletic experiences, shared building, listening and reconciliation ventures that touch and open previously frozen Patriarchal hearts.

Let’s paint – pray together.

There is room in 1 Day Virtual Zoom Sessions on Thursday, June 18 & Saturday, July 18.

And new space is open in August 23-28, 2020 retreat in Switzerland – See details and register.

Love and bless, ag