Change comes one step at a time

The art of Simon Beck

I'm sitting here in the dark, laptop and tea as usual, but this morning I'm feeling all pensive, thinking about the beginning of another year. Yesterday I discovered Simon Beck's snowshoe art and could hardly fathom what I was looking at. He created this three-dimensional piece by stomping around on snowshoes in an area about the size of three football fields. If you click on the link, you can learn more about him and see some of his other snowshoe art.

Although this picture illustrates what I consider to be a masterpiece, it's no longer there. The creative process that brought it out of Simon, to imagine it and accomplish his vision: that's the nature of art. I remember being in a large square in China watching an artist write a poem with a large brush on the pavement... with water. People gathered to observe and appreciate the art as he drew the graceful Chinese characters. Some snapped pictures to preserve it, but the artist didn't seem to care. The poem lived in his head, just as this snowshoe art was created in Simon's. It makes me feel very good to realize that things like this are going on all the time, everywhere across the planet.

It also makes me realize that whatever I concentrate on colors my world. It's true that there are also atrocities and horrors happening everywhere, too. If I allow that to become my focus, that's what I experience. Sometimes I have to turn off the news, since it seems to cover little to no positive, uplifting stories but instead only death, disasters, mayhem. It doesn't have to be that way. But they do cover what interests people, don't they? I'd like to begin to change my focus toward beauty and art, and I'll start by skipping the news for awhile. Instead, I'll pick up a book or two that inspire me to look toward the better angels of human nature.

There's quite a bit on my mind, but I can't seem to get a handle on what I wanted to write about this morning. I made airline reservations to go to Florida for a visit with my sister Norma Jean at the end of this month. Thinking about the Florida sunshine and spending time with her makes me very happy. Although I was with my family over Thanksgiving, it was not possible to have much quality time with Norma Jean. For me, the best part of the holiday was after everyone went back to their normal lives and I had a few days to spend with my brother Buz and his wife Phyllis. Quiet moments without an agenda. That's what I hope I'll get to have with Norma Jean.

I just realized that this behavior, wanting to share quiet moments with my loved ones, is a fairly new development in my life. It's probably because of the life I share with my partner; he's taught me so much over the years about how nourishing quiet time can be. It was obvious when I was surrounded with so many family members that it's impossible to do that in a crowd. One begins to change imperceptibly, and then something happens to make you realize that you are different. I wonder if I still fall on the extreme end of extroversion, or if I have changed enough to see the difference on a test.

This afternoon I will go to the movies with my friend Judy. I always enjoy our time together; she fills a definite need in my life, but it is separate from my home life. Going out on Thursdays with the Senior Trailblazers fills another need. Having our modest little apartment makes it easy to step into the wider world, knowing I have this quiet place to return to. Yes, I've definitely changed, but it hasn't been easy to see it for what it is. Although we all change, it's so gradual that it's only when I step back and take stock of my life that the change begins to emerge.

It makes me wonder about Simon Beck's art. Did he see it as it is in the above picture, or did it emerge a little at a time, one footstep after another? Did he allow it to come out of himself and little by little it took form? I wonder.