99 Times
Look Once More
Paintings tell me stories.
This painting took me to task. It said:
Shut up and listen.
I sit in the corner of this gallery, a wonderful presentation of artwork that has deep meaning to you. You have created something wonderful. And you’re pissed.
You have worked for 6 months on this project. You have poured it out onto these wooden boards. You have dug deep to bring meaning and truth to the world. You have done a brilliant job.
Before I go on, before you look honestly at my composition, I must tell you:
You do not waste anything in this world. No effort goes unanswered. No energy leaves and fails to return.
You are not throwing pearls at swine. You are not teaching dogs to perform card tricks. You are learning.
You are learning that this is a long haul. You are learning that your thoughts, while steeped in God and honesty and hope, are dangerous concepts for this distracted era.
Your thoughts have not been tried and found wanting. They have proven difficult to accept. Or they have been observed as difficult and avoided.
You are standing directly over the target. Bombs away!
Trust it.
Just look at me for a second. Look and do not try to apply meaning. How do I make you feel? How do I teach you? To most, I am just a pretty picture that is a bit scary. Scary because looking more deeply may lead to a change in thought, a challenge of mind and a difficult pill to swallow.
You have already accepted the truth about this world and the world beyond. You are already fighting the war of souls.
How do I make you feel? Calm? Hopeful? No. I make you feel acceptance that there is a whole world askew and believes it is upright. Nobody is safe. Nobody is secure. Nobody gets out of here alive. Only God can save us.
Remember:
“There is a law written in the darkest of the Books of Life, and it is this: If you look at a thing nine hundred and ninety-nine times, you are perfectly safe; if you look at it the thousandth time, you are in frightful danger of seeing it for the first time.”
— G.K. Chesterton, The Napoleon of Notting Hill[1]
This Gallery is about Art, life and God. It is about truth and Lansing. It is about your goals:
1 go to heaven
2 do simple commerce
3 show people they are not trapped.
Your mission to serve God is being comprised by your impatience to be successful as an artist, to sell art and to be heard.
You have done the work. You have done it with great intention and purpose. Let go, let God. Someday, you will know how your effort and energy will manifest. Until then: Pray unceasingly and do not worry.
You were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.
And so is everyone else!
I love this painting. I love this writing. I love what you’re doing. Keep doing it. You’re a constant reminder to me to keep doing it too. You, and your art, are a part of my story. Keep telling the story brother!