Hello friends, While walking in downtown Portland, Oregon, I was waiting at a crosswalk for the light to change. I glanced left, and there was a tiny piece of art affixed to a parking sign. It was a portrait of a person with peachy skin and long dark hair, among city lights, and it made me smile. Now, I know nothing about this artist. Perhaps they have paintings hung in galleries. Perhaps they sell art full time from their online store, or at weekend craft fairs. Who knows, maybe their work is even in a museum somewhere. But regardless of what the real story is, this artist decided not to wait for someone to walk into a gallery, or find their work online, or come across their paintings at a summer craft fair. This artist was bold, and decided to make their mark, here on a city street, in just the right spot on a metal sign. I’ll likely never meet this artist, though I have met other street artists over the years, having tracked them down after seeing their work stapled to utility posts or slapped on street signs just like this one. Regardless, this artist touched my life, just for a moment. And now I’m passing that brief exchange of beauty with you. We’re all a bit like this, aren’t we? We all make our mark on the world around us. We all affect people in passing. The only difference that might exist between this artist and the rest of us, is that this artist made a choice to affect someone else. They reached out on purpose, not knowing who would be on the receiving end of their gesture. How often do we affect one another, and more importantly, how often do we choose to put ourselves out into the world. How often do we choose to make even one small mark, one gesture, one connection? And when we do choose, what is that mark today? And what connection might we choose to make tomorrow? Best wishes - Thorn
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Hello friends, On one of my recent walks, I saw a sign stapled to the utility pole which read: “This is not a time for disbelief. This is a time for new beliefs, a time to remake the impossible.” Yes, indeed. It is also a time to take stock of what we do believe. What are our ethics? What are our core values? How do we wish to live? When we focus only on what we do not want, we tilt the world in that direction. Our thoughts and emotions become consumed, our bodies and actions dragged into the...
Hello friends, When I was a teen, one of my favorite films was Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi. With a score by Philip Glass, it portrayed a world that moved too quickly, a human made world that had become too mechanized, too out of control. The title was said to mean “life out of balance” from a compound Hopi word that roughly translates—or so my research shows—corrupted or chaotic life or existence. That film made a powerful impression on my young self. I sat in the dark theater as the...
Hello friends, As I write this, cold, hard rains have returned after a brief false spring. The tulip magnolia buds that were just beginning to bloom lay in husks on damp sidewalks. Pink camellias lay in slick heaps, a danger to those without sturdy shoes. There’s a lot of danger in the world right now, for far too many of us. One thing that is getting me through is gratitude. In the wash of bad news, I see people showing up for one another. I see communities rallying to protect themselves and...