Inspiration
Has your thinking ever been uplifted and freed quite suddenly and unexpectedly? Perhaps you were walking in nature, or an art gallery; listening to music, reading, or staring out of a window? Here are some triggers of inspiration for me: I wonder what are yours?
René Magritte: Clairvoyance (La Clairvoyance), 1936
Yes I would jazz up the colours if I could, but the idea in this painting speak to me: am I seeing people, and the world, in terms of possibility and promise? What good is emerging if we apply ourselves to truly seeing what is in front of us?
Frantisek Kupka: Piano Keys, Lake, 1905
It seems to me that in life there is often an unseen harmony: a lyrical song, or steady bass note, that is there if we really listen. In practice that might mean realising, years after an apparent failure, that in fact good emerged from the ashes of disappointement. This painting reminds me to listen for that song.
René Magritte: Towards Pleasure (A la recontre du plaisir), 1962
A fresh, cool night, ready to welcome the day. When I look at this painting I see the contrast between cool, expansive nature, and the hard hat of societal constraints. In the space in between lies the freedom to choose who to be.
Akseli Gallen-Kallela: Keitele, 1905
The cool, clear waters of a lake stretch ahead and invite calm meditation. Can you hear silence, the distant call of birds, or a raucous BBQ party at a Finnish summer cottage? I love them all!
Alexander Calder: Triumphant Red (Rouge Triomphant), 1959-1963
A many-faceted system moving in calm harmony… embracing difference. Which piece are you?
“Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.”