"I feel there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people." Vincent Van Gogh
A friend of mine posted this on her Instagram today. And, well, YES! Simply, YES!!!
Not last Christmas, but the one before my mom and I went to MOMA. All in all a great visit with the exception of the floor where Van Gogh's, Starry Night, lives. Mobs of people hovered around the painting taking pictures with their phones. No one was breathing in the beauty of this exquisite work. It was all about snapping the photo and then pushing through the crowds and onto the next thing.
I stood at the back of the room watching the scene for a while. All one needs to do is google the painting and thousands of photos will come up on the screen. I couldn't understand why pushing one's way through a crowd to snap a photo on a phone and then pushing back through was worth it. I had seen the painting before, so I didn't feel the need to fight the crowds and I certainly didn't feel the need for a cell phone shot of it. I'm certain this is not how Van Gogh wished for his work to be admired. Art, in any form, needs to be breathed with, so that it can breathe with you.
When I read this quote all I could think of was this moment and the disconnected connection we have built through the use of technology. In many ways we are more connected, but in so many other ways it isolates us. There are many google searchable articles about this, so I will not delve too deeply here, but when I read Van Gogh's words, "I feel there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people."
All I could think was, "And, this is a lost artform." Then I thought, "Or, was it ever a fully developed one?
Love has so many meanings and signifies so many things, but to truly love people is one of the rarest things in the world. To truly love ourselves is one of the rarest things in the world.
Take a moment, sit in silence with how you feel about the "ones you love." What comes up for you? Where is the love? How does it feel? Do you express it? Why do you love? What does love mean to you?
Love is so many things, but at its simplest and purest love is accepting another and letting them be free. Love is giving without expecting in return. Love is being strong enough to take care of you first. Love is allowing and letting and creating. Love is beauty. Love is life. Love is breathing and letting go. Love is weaving your soul into the world and being okay with whatever comes back in return. Love is...
We have lost the meaning of what it is to love, or maybe we are just now beginning to understand it.
In this day, when we have sex available at the swipe of a screen, it is so important that we sit with ourselves, that we love ourselves enough to know when we love another and let another love us too. To be patient and kind and trust our gut. To be honest with ourselves and understand the whys of our relationships.
It is time that we create unions based on love, not on need or loneliness or lust or business, but truly having the courage to love, deeply and fully and be okay with the vulnerability love will expose. It is time for us to have the courage to give and receive love. To be brave enough to be the most important artists of our time and let love be our guide.
Peace and love...xoxoxo
Yarrow