( … among other places.)
Once when I was a little child, I was at my father’s parents’ house when a friend of theirs brought a beautiful shining crystal. Their friend, my grandparents explained to me, was a Strahler – a mountaineer and a seeker of crystals and gemstones. What a vocation! I was enchanted, and for a while, when asked what I wanted to become later in life, I answered that I would be a Strahler. And, by another route, isn’t that what I became? Or what I realized I already was?
What’s more, the verb strahlen in German means to shine brighly, to radiate, and, when ascribed to a person, to beam. I am reminded of that whenever I meet someone who has stepped into their vocation and embodies their true self – something I’m working to move ever closer to.
These kinds of ruminations take courage to share, as they may seem self-absorbed or creating a story in hindsight. But first, better to author your own story and create meaning in your life. And second, more and more I find that one of the artist’s (and the teaching artist’s) jobs is to look within and learn about who they are so they can nurture it and bring it to bear in their work, and so may inspire others to do the same.
Here’s something that I wrote last year when I was in the middle of an exploration that I hope to pick up soon, and the above memory was on my mind: Notes for the current and future expeditions.
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“These kinds of ruminations take courage to share, as they may seem self-absorbed or creating a story in hindsight. ”
I am overly engaged in social media. I admit it. Interestingly, I have a lot of thoughts/observations that I censor because I worry about just what you mention in the above quote. And as I read what you write here, I’m thinking maybe those are the best things I could be writing.
I’m really enjoying a hundred quirky legs. Cheers.
Thank you very much for your reply, Jeff. I think it’s inevitable that this happens – I know of noone who is completely honest on social media. And In a way social media are not worth our trust. That’s why I’m posting this on my own site, even if just a handful of people will read it. Almost noone ever comments on anything here and I have no idea if anyone reads the comments – but who cares, it’s a conversation between two people, not a performance for others. Thanks again for your thoughts, I appreciate it!