There but for the grace of whoever or whatever or however…

thoughts about the role of artists in times of immense challenge

It is a time like this one

when planetary plates shift violently, with no warning

or when oceans rise up with overwhelming waves

or when hurricanes and typhoons fiercely sweep across the lands

It is when our natural world reminds us

of our insignificance

and

of the miracle of our existence

that

our daily pettiness

seems particularly idiotic

our greed for material things and need for control over others

seems breathtakingly self-destructive

Imagine

if all the energy

if all the resources

we use to fight each other

   believing that such battle will lead to
   well-deserved and justified survival

were instead entirely available

for celebrating the gift of our lives

as well as

for healing and recreating communities
   uprooted by events entirely beyond our mortal control

Bless the responders

the brave ones
who defy the aftershocks and other dangers

the selfless ones
who offer aid with the fullness of their hearts
   and the best of their talents

But

with each passing day

the immediacy of the horror drifts away

for those not directly affected by location or loved ones

we return to our life of routine

led by people who govern or otherwise direct our lives by fear

As artists, what can we do

what is our role

As artists, we are sensitive and keen observers

we know

how to witness

how to observe events in context of a bigger picture

As artists, we are creators

we take what we see

and

through our art

we can help craft a perspective for being in the world

informed not by fear but

informed by the commonality of our hearts

we can help craft a way of being in the world

that does not include battling against each other

that does enable us to celebrate the gift of our lives

that does enable us to continue in the face of inevitable natural challenges

it is through our art

that we present

and celebrate

our potential

our possibilities

our gratefulness

To Garden Girl and Scott The Trainer, Thank You.

2007 was The Year of Fifty. It has been a good year, filled with celebrations and accomplishments and a sense of beginning, of commencement. 2008 will be The Year of Can and Will. The inspiration for 2008's theme came this past Monday from Scott The Trainer, who shared his belief that believing you can do something will make it so. Like doing pushups (he had me do 36 of them today). Like believing you can lose weight without significantly changing your eating regimen (this is a stretch for me - he's 34 and not a 50-year-old woman with a hormone-encouraged mid-section, but I loved his enthusiasm).

This blog, inspired by my dear friend Garden Girl, will be an integral part of the coming New Year. When it came time to type in the name of this blog, “the art of mahalo” is the phrase that immediately came to mind. It will be a companion site for MahaloArts.com, the site through which I will share and distribute my work. For both sites, the foundation, the essence, the spirit, will be gratitude (“mahalo” in Hawaiian). I like the notion of approaching gratitude as an art, as an act or process of creation. I aspire for every action I take to be done so in gratitude.