A Glance Into my Crazy Artist's Mind....
I have always been in love with trees. They merge worlds, connecting earth to sky. And when you walk among them you can hear their voice in the leaves and feel their breath beneath your feet.
One summer, not long ago, I visited the California Redwoods and discovered that giants are real. When you stand at their feet you can hear them groan. What do think they would tell us if we could discern the notes?
There is something in God's creation that you can feel if you sit within it and listen. In the crashing of a wave or the call of a raven. Nature does whisper to us. It has an energy and a life that vibrates. Whatever we want or don't want to believe we are all connected, as cheesy as that sounds.
As a writer and artist I feel like I need to be extra careful to listen to the voice of our strange planet. Perhaps I've always been writing worlds. I remember, as a child, finding a shell and my dad telling me of the place where it had come from. A mysterious world beneath the sea. I was so fascinated with the ocean. For many years I fancied that I had been a mermaid once and decided to try being human for a while. My draw to the sea was so strong. I could sit for hours and watch the waves. Just the smell gave me a thrill (still does). But then, my imagination as a child was vivid. And, still today, I try so hard to retain that. I feed it as much as I can. Of course having four little pixies of my own doesn't hurt.
I'm also a compulsive people-watcher. I don't go to the mall to shop, I go to study the strange beast we call human. Children especially (they get so colorful at the mall when their moms are trying to shop). They're fascinating because they're discovering every moment. And they are still able to believe in things they can't see. Blind faith. Of course Faeries are real! They brought Tinkerbell back to life when they chanted in the audience at Peter Pan.
And teenagers with their lust for life. They love stronger and hate stronger then any other creature on this planet. If you want to see someone truly live, watch a sixteen-year-old.
I still remember that feeling of my insides shaking. I had to do...something. Pierce something. Tattoo something. Paint something (I think every inch of my furniture had art on it). You need to leave your mark on the world. You have to know your life is going to mean something. "Rachel was here."
Maybe I still feel that urge...
And then there's love. The bond between a man and a woman. I can't tell you how much this fascinates me. Most likely because I was blessed with a wonderful mate. My best friend and my lover. What humans miss out on in life when they don't truly make that connection. And sadly most don't. They wander, lonely and searching. Their heart will break a hundred times, and for each time they will break another's.
But if we live as Christ, then to die is gain. Love is death. Each moment we truly love we die. But then our lover gives us their own life in return and the circle is formed and repeated again and again...
