I've been in a pensive kind of mood lately. There are some recurring themes that keep happening over and over again polarized conversations (these usual are political), forgiveness and understanding(usually religion and human rights).
I relate things through stories. My sons are 21 months apart in age. When they were about 5 and 7 I took them to Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY. It was a great experience, they went to a walk in workshop there and created these beautiful glass pieces I still have today. They still remember that trip fondly.
After the visit to the museum, we went into Corning itself and found a museum with photographs from Ansel Adams. This is one of my brother's all time favorite photographers because of how he captured nature in black and white film. It was a pretty big selection from the Kodak collection and was on loan at the time we went. We got to see some beautiful photos that filled a 3 story museum. On the top floor was this gallery and it had benches in the middle and the whole long room was a series of one image after another. The boys being as young as they were, were getting antsy. I said one last game for mommy then we can go. I asked them to be as quiet as they could and walk around the gallery and really look at the pictures and then to come back and get me and take me to the one they liked the best and the one they liked the least. When we arrived at their favorites I asked them why it was their favorite. I did the same thing with the one they liked the least. The docent that was working and another patron both stopped and told me how impressed they were with what I did with my children. What is striking about the story is that one of the photographs was of this view looking up into this tall pine and it was snowy or snowing. But my youngest said it made him feel happy like he was soaring. My oldest son had a different picture and it made him happy because of the power that nature held and he got to be part of it. Today the youngest is very artistic and the elder of the 2 is very into skiing and nature and being in the midst of all that power. It strikes me as they age how telling those early years were and the things that we did together and the exposure to art and literature and theater that I made sure they had at least a healthy introduction to. How their impressions then at such a young age are still reflecting in their interests as they age.
Why is it relevant? Well growing up I was told that with art we won't always like it. We may not even agree with what the artist intended. But we had to appreciate the courage, audacity, and sheer guts that the artist had in putting it up for public scrutiny or praise. It is like giving away a child when an artist puts works on display or up for sale. That they share their gift with us is the thing we need to really take away from it. Not just whether we like it or not but that we can appreciate what they intended when they created the piece. A piece of them goes into it and that is something they freely give to the rest of us. It is a gift to be valued not stomped on or treated lightly. So I've looked at art in how it moves me and what a real gift that the artist wanted to share with the rest of us. I don't necessarily agree with all the art I view. I don't necessarily like it all. It has to speak to me in a way that provokes my thinking, it needs to be symbolic to me in some way for me to want to buy it. It's all in perspective and that is very personal. But I can usually find something in an artists collection that speaks to me in very positive ways, I guess its that always looking for the 1/2 full thing.
This ties to the next theme of sorts. If you stand two people in front of a scene any scene could be a window display in NYC at Christmastime. Could be looking out from a point on a hill to a scenic view below. Could be a crime scene. Doesn't matter. Put two people side by side and they will see different things in the same scene. They will see some of the same things but they will see different things as well. It's how I feel about politics. We are taking things out of context too much. We are seeing the same thing but we see it differently. If I don't see what you do, does that mean I don't see anything? If you don't see what I do, does it mean we aren't looking at the same scene? No it means we are looking and seeing what is relevant to us in that scene. But does it give me or you the right to claim that we see it wrong? This is where I get upset with today's political conversations. We are all looking at the same thing and seeing it differently and yet we are told by one group or another we are wrong. This is where respecting someone's perspective is so important. Because when you are this polarized you need to stop amplifying the differences so much and find the common ground and then from there fairly and honestly look at what the other person is seeing and try to understand. When you do this the picture takes on much more dimension and life and there is much more fulfillment for both people. My theory on what is going lately is that people just want to be right. They want to feel validated for their position. Therefore, everyone else must be wrong. We've lost the ability to respect that they focused on the ground more and I focused on the sky and we both missed details the other sees.
So when you hear phrases like "Stop and smell the roses" "It's not about the destination its about the journey" "Put yourself in my shoes" all this implies is that you need to keep an open mind and be willing to try and understand the other persons point of view. With respect. When we start giving respect to others we will start receiving it in return. Then maybe we can really solve the problems we are facing today. Just something to think about.
No comments:
Post a Comment