Thinking Deeply
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Hello friends, James Baldwin is one of my favorite writers. He was also a massively intelligent and cogent thinker, who held great insight into the human condition. Baldwin saw in us a breathtaking capacity for love, he also gazed unflinchingly at the worst parts of humanity, mostly our bigotry and greed. Along with his writing, teaching, and activism, Baldwin fought for a life in which he had time and space to do the deep thinking that gave rise to his insights. He also danced with friends, smoked, laughed, and lived life as a gay Black man during times when the world was distinctly unkind to people like him, fleeing to France when the US became to heartbreakingly difficult to bear. Thinking of Baldwin makes me wonder: how often do we pause, breathe, and ponder? How often do we think about the human condition instead of simply reacting to events? Also: how to we make space for joy? How do we continue to create? There are many Baldwin quotes I love, and I’ve memorialized them in several of what I call my “art memes.” Here’s one that reminds us: “We made the world we’re living in and we have to make it over.” In this one phrase, Baldwin asks us to take responsibility for our part in current events. What have we been part of making? And, now, what part must we play to remake the world? As a Black, gay man, by all rights Baldwin could have excused himself from responsibility of the making of the world, but he did not. As an artist and a thinker, he recognizes what power he did have. Baldwin lived life out loud, as the saying goes. He faced down terror and oppression and decided to love the world. We too, can love the world. Best wishes — Thorn ps: If you’ve not read Baldwin, The Fire Next Time has been my favorite for decades. I also recommend the documentary film, I Am Not Your Negro. I had a great time talking about magical practice on Within the Cauldron if you want to give it a listen. The link above will bring you to YouTube!
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, It’s Pride weekend, and I’m thinking of all the brave people who fought so hard to be allowed to simply exist. And I think of those who are still fighting, myself included. Do we want to fight? No. We’d rather just live our lives, do our work, laugh with friends, raise families, read books, and tend our gardens. Just like immigrants and other people under attack do. “The first Pride was a riot,” it is often said, and whether something is called a riot or an uprising depends on...
Hello friends, The yuccas are in full bloom right now, with dense clusters of creamy blossoms heavy as bells on tall stalks. This type of yucca is a spiky, unassuming plant when not in bloom, and then _bam_there is an astonishing wealth of flowers. While walking to a writing date the other week, I paused at a large grouping of these flowering plants, growing on the edge of a parking lot behind a chain link fence. The blossoms were buzzing with the activity of industrious bees. I paused a...
Hello friends, “The search for love continues even in the face of great odds” the paper stapled to the battered wood of a utility pole read. I paused en route to lunch with an old friend to ponder the message. I am not certain whether the person who made the sign referred to the personal, intimate, partnership type of love, or the love of friends or family, or some other kind of love. But the reason the sign made me pause is that to me, it spoke of hope. Odds seem stacked against us. Rights...