Last Saturday a lot of people were downcast and angry from the sneaky Marcos burial, but I’m thankful I still got to end the day in delight. Saw the Nutcracker ballet for the first time (happy music and smiling dancers–sure to uplift!), and went to a live nude drawing/painting session that lasted til 11pm…the kind of geeky thing that makes me super happy!
I painted over 10 works, in full appreciation of the human body. This is a great hangover from reading Big Magic earlier this week, which really brought me back to making delight a part of my daily life. I think it is possible to fully engage the difficult (ie climate change, politics, economic strife, uncertainty), and yet find joy in the everyday. It is not self-serving escapism when seeking joy is done consciously, and it can even be considered a radical response or protest to the difficult.
In college I came across an interview with Pope John Paul II which asked him how he remained joyful amidst so much suffering and hate in this world. He said that the worst has already happened–we killed God–and yet something beautiful came out of it–we were saved.
Even if you frame that in different words, the message is the same. Joy and delight are powerful ways to actually engage fear and helplessness. We don’t forget or cast aside the difficult, but we go to battle, all in, and with an armor built from within.
Nude drawings and paintings from this session are available for purchase.
Here’s a slideshow of the rest of my loot (click on the arrows to view next):
