I was talking with my best friend last week about how I can get intimidated and feel “less than” certain confident people who can very easily articulate why they believe a certain thing with facts and figures, societal impact, pros and cons, etc.
I can deeply feel what I believe and what I know to be true in my body.
My body knows the complexity of the issue, the pros and cons, the impact, but a “feeling of knowing” in my chest is not something I can necessarily bring out in an intelligent way in a conversation about the issues.
My body knows the heart or the essence of the issue, but sometimes I can’t get that knowing to come out of my mouth.
That’s when my friend had a mic drop moment. She asked…
“When has facts and figures ever changed anyone’s mind about anything? It’s the feelings behind it that always drive change.”
🤯🤯🤯
Of course facts and figures aren’t going to make the change.
It’s our humanity that makes the difference.
It’s our connection. Our compassion. Our love.
It’s our desire to express our humanity and our desire to see and be seen, to know and be known.
We need art for that.
This conversation was floating around in my head when my book coach made a suggestion that completely cracked me open.
Hear about that story on this week’s podcast episode, and how I might be starting to call myself gulp a poet.
Links Mentioned
- The Creativity Cocoon
- Art and Self on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
I feel that way all the time.
My artwork has been a help to release the feelings…but the results are not easy to share with others… because the images “break the rules for being polite. In my heart, I sort of rebel and say to myself… you need to get this off your chest/mind… nobody can do it for you… and if “they” do not like it or appreciate it… tough…
Sure, it would be nice to be paid for my work (I did get three of a set of six related images into the Chicago Art Institute gallery… but they were intense and are not what people want on their walls.
I once sent YOU some of them… you might remember the Medusa pulling the snakes (male genitelia) out of her head/hair.
To top it all off… I am not able to remember things properly any more… which has put me into a research study re: Alzheimers. It is the beginning of a new journey in a number of ways… but also a deterioration of my confidence about nearly everything. I find it … odd… that I can express this… but it is not all that goes through my head… I also have memories of those that have “gone before me” and am in preparation for my own “absense” in whichever form it will come.
When I think to try to create… it all sort of just disolves…. disolves… d i s o l v e s… ……..
On the other hand, I seem to be able to think (sort of) and express my feelings and thoughts…. but just not as art. I set out the equipment… but it does not becone nor make any images to leak into my brain nor fingers. Attention span is very short… more like a flash of wishing… that…
that…. ????
I always love hearing from you Maralyn. Thank you so much for sharing your heart with me. <3