Category Archives: Art

Dance to Life

Art, Blog, social commentary, ,

             

                                                                                 The Studio                                                                                                                                               Acrylic on canvas/ $ 399 / framed                                                               “It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something.” ―Winston S. Churchill

Dance to Life

When four-years-old, Mother took me to my first dance class. She enrolled me young because I tripped over my feet when walking. She thought my clumsiness would be helped by engaging in an activity that stresses balance. Mom never realized that those classes would teach me a great deal more than dance.  Though I still have a difficult time balancing, dance lessons guided me through the years.

As a mother of five with a full time job, I was, as the saying goes, “up to my ears in alligators.” I dealt with one challenge after another at work and at home. My daily diet was responding to situations like, “So-and-so hit me. What’s for dinner?” to “Earnings are down. Should we lay people off?”  Following is how dance guided me.

BALANCE: To manage a demanding schedule stress-free, I had to make sure that work and playtime were balanced. This was not always easy to accomplish, for I often wanted to bury myself in what I work or artistic endeavors.  Instead, I carved out time to spend with for friends and family, to take flute lessons, and to vacation with and without children. I retreated to a quiet place to meditate daily and get away from noise and chaos. Today, my situation is reversed, for in retirement, I’m able to vacation year-round if I want to. But that is boring so I’ve added a bit of chaos by volunteering, painting and writing.

GRACE:  Dancers learn to move with grace, a skill that guides daily interactions. The way I connect with others is important for developing friendships, creating business collaborations and insuring loving relationships. Graceful people understand the struggles between good and evil, yes and no, kindness and hostility and ignorance and knowledge.  They use their knowledge to waltz, tango and spin through illnesses, conflicts, anger and loss. Moving gracefully requires a calm, firm center that can glide delicately through the mist.

FLEXIBILITY: Body and mind become expansive when limber and stretchable. Flexibility is required when facing challenges that can’t be overcome by ordinary means. Its opposite, rigidity can turn you into an uncompromising has-been who may as well be dead. Flexibility allows for adaptation to change upon change. One truth I value knowing is that society and individuals are in constant states of transformation.

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”  ― Alan Wilson Watts

PRACTICE:  “Try again until you get it right,” was a mantra drilled into me as a child. Without developing the gifts we are born with, our talents may as well not be there. Once you discover what they are, they have the potential of providing great joy. It takes effort to overcome inertia and requires energy to train. Dancers prepare by practicing for hours each day—as do doctors, artists, basketball players, teachers, plumbers and many more. Perfected skills enable them to perform their craft with competency, ease and grace.

CONCENTRATION: Staying focused, being mindful and remaining centered reduces stress. Dancers whose minds wander while executing a leap or turn may get hurt. Those who can’t memorize their routines are unable to perform. When fully engaged in what you are doing, there is little room for worry. When in control of your mind, you are able to turn off unwanted thoughts and fears. Learning to concentrate in the moment, is an acquired skill that enables relaxation when walking through storms.

PERSEVERANCE:  Muscles and toes ache from hours of practice. Not giving up and remaining committed are difficult when in pain. When a ballerina falls, she is taught to get up and finish the performance. Similarly, mishaps occur throughout life, yet we must continue on. Failure becomes a teaching moment when it is accepted as a lesson in how to improve and not make the same mistake twice.  Perseverance requires overcoming embarrassment, remembering the goal and acknowledging small steps taken in the right direction.

STRENGTH: Moving effortlessly requires strength and stamina. Dancers learn to be aware of the weak parts of their bodies and to work diligently to make them stronger. Strength does not happen overnight. Recognizing faults is the first step towards growth. The second involves hours of hard work to overcome them. With strength comes the ability and courage to make clear headed decisions even in the face of opposition.

RISK: Dancers accept that there is a certain amount of risk in their art. Though not as bad as football, where players are prone to getting concussions, ballerinas get bloody, misshapen toes, and suffer from sprains, broken bones and back injuries that may last a lifetime. But, life is uncertain and, at times, dangerous. Walking across a street, riding a bicycle, putting money in the stock market, purchasing a house, starting a new business, getting married, accepting a challenging job, though risky, are also full of possibility.  Risk needs to be analyze, understood, and consciously accepted. Dance thought me not to be foolish and leave life to chance.

When balance, flexibility, concentration, gracefulness and strength come together,  dancers say they are “in the flow” or “in the zone.” It’s a moment of full engagement directed towards purpose and provides feelings of unabashed joy and wellbeing. Flow is motivating for it awakens a desire to achieve the next level of excellence. Once a person experiences what it is like to be ”in the zone,” a craving develops to be there again.

Several times during over the course of my life, I was fortunate enough to experience “flow.” In my twenties and thirties, when my body was young and under my control, strength, flexibility, concentration, grace and balance allowed me to dance with rapture. Another time was when I was exiting a supermarket with four children bouncing around my cart. For some reason, when I looked at them that day, an overwhelming feeling of contentment enveloped me. I was a supermom assure of my purpose at the moment. More recently, the feeling of being in the zone occurs when painting or writing.  There are times I become so engrossed in what I am doing that the outside world fades away. Being at one with my art is like being struck with lightning. I am lit and alive with aspiration, peacefulness and contentment.

Studying dance has taught me how to live. Yet, there is much more to know and I remain a willing student.

“The heart of human excellence often begins to beat when you discover a pursuit that absorbs you, frees you, challenges you, or gives you a sense of meaning, joy, or passion.” ―Terry Orlick

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Fearing Fear Itself

Art, social commentary

                                                                                                                                     Last Night’s Dream                                                                                        Fear can fill dreams with chaotic thoughts and worrisome images, producing                                                                           lasting feelings of disquiet.

                                acrylic on canvas/ 32” x 26 “/ gold painted wood frame/ $498

Fear Itself

In his first inaugural address, President Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have  to fear is fear itself.”  This comment holds true today when the public is frightened by those using fear as a method of control. Their system is working. Last week I heard an elderly woman say she was afraid to leave her house because of mass shootings and immigrant terrorists.  Churches, synagogues, mosques and schools are moved to develop active shooter plans.

The U.S. does have a staggeringly high number of active and mass shooter incidents compared to other developed nations. In 2017 there were 29 such events. Andy, yes, the number of incidents has risen steadily since 2000 when there were four. Once again a record. will be set in 2018. This week’s tragedy brings the horror of terrorism to the surface.  However, as terrible as these incidents are, they are nothing compared to the number of fatalities on our highways. And, though 37,133 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2017, driving does not elicit the same fear as imagining yourself as the next victim of a mass shooting. Why do you think that is?

We are told that illegal immigrants commit more crimes than American born citizens. Yet, when Alex Nowrasteh with the Cato Institute analyzed Texas Data to make a comparison he found that “The arrest rate for illegal immigrants was 40 percent below that of native-born Americans” and the homicide arrest rate for native-born Americans was “about 46 percent higher than the illegal immigrant homicide arrest rate.” National statistics were similar. ” Illegal immigrants are 47 percent less likely to be incarcerated than natives and even less likely to be in jail or prison.” Other studies reported in the Journal of Criminology supports these finding as well.

Interesting statistics.

  • You are  35,079 times more likely to die from heart disease than a terrorist attack.
  • You are 4,706 times more likely to drink yourself to death than from terrorism.
  • You are 2,059 times more likely to kill yourself than die at the hand of a terrorist.
  • You are 452 times more likely to die from risky sexual behavior than terrorism.
  • You are more likely to die of lightning than a terrorist attack and 6,000 more likely to    die from a fall.

The list goes on and on.  So why the hype? Why the fear?

It might may one wonder about the exorbitant amount of money spent on protecting ourselves from unlikely scenarios. Funds would be better spent on monitoring highways  and heart research.

In 2016, Donald Trump said “People are scared.” He got that right, for they are. According the the Atlantic, Americans are afraid of crime, though rates are down, of a terrorist attacks,  and of frightened unarmed immigrants. Politicians are masters at invoking fear in abstract ways to improve their chances of winning.

The Atlantic goes on to say that according to social scientists, “It (fear) makes people hold more tightly to what they have and regard the unfamiliar more warily. They crave protection. The fear reaction is a universal one to which everyone is susceptible. History shows it has the power to bring people to the polls to vote out of their usual way.  I see  fearful people  as people looking for  “Daddy” a strong individual who promises security though there is no threat. And, I see politicians as a play actors protecting their flock from the imaginary giants they created in the first place.

I witnessed this behavior pattern when I was president of OMSI.  One year we brought an animated dinosaur exhibit to the museum that frighted some of our younger visitors. Many parents, rather admit their child was too young for the exhibit, held them in their arms and forced them face the monsters saying,”Don’t worry, I’ll protect you. No need to be afraid.”  Through some children were terrorized, their parents thought their fear to be cute and funny.  It gave them an opportunity to be protectors who saved their youngsters from imaginary demons. 

“The Politics of Fear” by  Frank Fured  begins, “Fear is the most powerful enemy of reason. Both fear and reason are essential to human survival, but the relationship between them is unbalanced. Reason may sometimes dissipate fear, but fear frequently shuts down reason.” 

Fear has often been employed for political gains. After 9/11 fear was used to rally support for the illegal invasion of Iraq, and to sanction use of waterboarding. In the 1990’s Clinton didn’t want to be called soft on crime so he spoke of “super-predator”criminals, stirring a fear fueled by sensational media which pushed mass incarcerations. McCarthy incited fear over communism that caused thousands of innocent people to lose their jobs.

This past year, however, we have seen the use of fear tactics elevated to epic proportions to scare people into submission. The latest one is about citizenship. The idea that children born in the United States to immigrant families will be denied citizenship is ludicrous. If we take that idea back far enough, the only remaining people left to populate our country will be Native Americans.

During the mid-term election, ads called Kyrsten Senima in Arizona “soft on prostitution.” Where did that come from?  Numerous advertisements claimed their opponents were dealing in drugs, the cause of crime waves and the spread of gangs such as MS-13.  We are told to fear black people , proud people, Muslims, and gay people. We should fear Jews, violent crimes ( a quarter of what it was in the 1990’s). Democrats should fear Republicans and  long time neighbors if they are Democrats’ And, oh yes, we should all fear the media.

Unfortunately, fear is used so often and in such a Machiavellian way that it’s destroying the fabric of our country.I am surprised people don’t see through these fear tactics and ask themselves who benefits by your fear. Who maintains power? Who becomes wealthy?

This blatant a bid for power keeps people trembling until they fall in line. Followers will do the fear monger’s bidding like approve tax cuts for billionaires, ruin the environment for the benefit of oil and timber companies. They will put up with bad air quality, poor water and polluted oceans. They will cut entitlement programs and health care for middle and low income people. They’ll permit the sale of ammunitions to our enemies, makings millions more for the billionaires.

Whatever happened to “Love they neighbor as thyself?”  When did we stop believing in the common good, the melting pot, an American dream for all?  It is time to ignore  divisive rhetoric and return to rational thinking and behavior. When you hear fear talk, ask yourself who benefits because you are afraid?

Let’s heed Roosevelt’s words and stop fearing fear itself.

References:

University of Alabama (2016) Pubic Mass Shooters and Firearms: A Cross-National Study of 171 Countries. PubMed. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26822013.

Alertfind (2018) Active shooters in 2018: Key Stats and Facts. Disaster Recovery Journal. retrieved from https://www.drj.com/myblog/active-shooters-in-2018-key-stats-and-facts.html

Traffic Safety Facts (2018) 12017 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview.  U.S. Department of Transportation. retrieved from https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812603

Farley, R. (2018) Is Legal Immigration Linked to More or Less Crime? FactCheck.org a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center.  retrieved from  https://www.factcheck.org/2018/06/is-illegal-immigration-linked-to-more-or-less-crime/

McClatchy, (2011)  The Terrorism Statistics Every American Needs to Hear. Center for Research on Globalization. retrieved from http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-terrorism-statistics-every-american-needs-to-hear/5382818

Ball, M. (20116) Donald Trump and the Politics of Fear. The Atlantic. retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/donald-trump-and-the-politics-of-fear/498116/

Abramsky, S.(2018) Trump’s GOP is running harder than ever on the politics of fear. Los Angeles Times. retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-abramsky-trump-politics-of-fear-midterms-20180923-story.html

Life is Sweet

Art, social commentary

                                                                          

Bursting Forth  –  There is beauty all around when we open our eyes to see.

Acrylic on Canvas/  Wood Frame/ 37” x 31” / $ 599

“Oh, What a Beautiful Morning, Oh, what a Beautiful Day”

The words from the Oklahoma musical, ring true if we let them.  Life is sweet and it is ours to relish every moment. It’s time to remember that there is good in the world.  No matter how riled up we get because of politics, violence or economic uncertainty, there are moments of beauty and kindness that need our attention and appreciation. No mater what the outcome of the election, no matter how serious the illness, no matter how great the loss, the sun will still rise tomorrow, the earth turn on its axis and two rovers will send signals back from Mars.  November is the month of Thanksgiving. Let’s cherish it and encourage what is good.

The other day I watched a newborn child and thought how fortunate she was to be welcomed into the arms of loving parents. Warmth, security  and encouragement will most likely be there to help this child prosper. Looking at the tiny body, I imagined the first real smile (not from gas) she will bestow on her caregivers and the bonds that are forming forming in her first days alive.  I wanted to reach out and feel the soft fuzz sleeping eyes and a perky little mouth that occasionally moved a while she slept as though dreaming of milk.

I recently organized a group of women in my exercise facility to open hearts and purses to help a locker room attendant. The aide was a courageous Ethiopian immigrant who, along  with her Somalian husband, settled in the U.S. seven years ago. Due to an injured knee, this hard working helper lost several months of work, adding to the burden of her struggling family. The love and kindness exhibited by generous donors reminded me of how people in small towns come together to help neighbors. Americans can be very benevolent and compassionate, not like the media occasionally depicts us.

Struggling through misfortune is not easy, but if the day’s challenges are met with positiveness and zeal, it is possible to climb over and around obstacles. Not being ashamed or reluctant to ask for help and being available to aid friends and neighbors when needed, creates community. It brings people closer together and enables them to get through the rough spots and return to a state of balance.

My experience, however, is that most people, don’t want to stay very long in quiet equilibrium. Surprisingly, to avoid boredom, they insert barriers that shake things up a bit.  Having a child, attending college, accepting increased work responsibilities, challenging athletic times, sailing in rough weather, making a happy home are burdens we choose to stimulate our minds, develop meaning and create wealth. Self-inflicted problems within our control usually add to a sense of well being. 

a baby crying for hours can create unexpected headaches. Illness, accidents, job loss, housing evictions and violence builds huge fences that have to be scaled. How does one face bullying or terrorism without being permanently traumatized?

It’s certainly not easy . . . but it is doable. There is a choice. The afflicted person can wallow in self-pity or seek ways to climb out of the quicksand. Meditation, mindfulness, positive thinking and hard work are learned pursuits that lead back to balance. Remaining active even when you don’t feel like it and accepting small challenges when life feels insurmountable, provides bounce-back.

I watched my adopted boy, Seth, thrive despite experiencing a debilitating accident. He is a constant reminder of how resilient humans can be. His twenty-eight years have always been difficult. Born into an unstable family, living on the streets for four years, training to be a journeyman industrial painter, surviving a workplace accident and coping as a quadriplegic required him to invent and reinvent himself many times.  Two weeks ago, out of 2,000 injured patients from throughout the country, Seth received a national award for transforming his life so well. He lives independently in a new city, drives a car with hand controls, enjoys go-Kart racing, is on a wheelchair rugby team and volunteers two days a week as a mentor to those worse off than he. Best of all, he has developed friendships. He surrounds himself with those who share positive outlooks and stays away from constant complainers.  His cup is always half full.

I invite you to join me in a month-long wallowing in beauty, joy and thanksgiving. Look around to find good and tap into as soon as you can,  Enjoy the sunset, feel the rain, study the birds feeding at feeders or flying south in formation and see —really see each snow flake when they start to fall. Remind that there is beauty even in the midst of sadness, that there are births in the midst of deaths. This November. 

References:

NASA,(2018) Mars Exploration Rovers. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of technology.  retrieved from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory web site https://mars.nasa.gov/mer/overview/

A Way Out of Madness

Art, Blog, For Parents, social commentary,

         Solar Systems

We live in the same universe and share the same planet. Can’t we live on it in peace?

Acrylic on Canvas/ 16” x 20”/ $ 299

A Way Out of Madness

People are concerned about how our country is going to heel the current political divide before it leads to a full fledged civil war. If you don’t think  that scenario is possible they say, look at Syria. It used to be a vibrant country of 22 million that was considered a political and military heavyweight in the region. It’s rich history is both complex and diverse. Before the war, it boasted bustling marketplaces in Damascus and Aleppo with an innovative IT industry despite economic sanctions imposed by the west. It was known for having a sophisticated literary tradition, film industry, supermarkets and modern shopping centers to go along with the old. Friends and family gathering around tables for celebrations welcomed all who knocked on their door. It was a melting pot of religion and ethnicities, allowing for mixed marriages between Christians and Muslims. Syria was a cradle of civilization in the Middle East. Are we headed in this direction? Is this image from Syria a possibility for us?

A friend told me how upset she was because her conservative brother-in-law made demeaning and nasty comments on Facebook about her  liberal leaning brother. She said she now understands how families, split over political beliefs, were devastated by the Civil War. Looking back, hopefully, most people can see that war is not the way forward.

Wars benefits ammunition dealers, financiers and this hungry for power. They rarely help citizens who are instead used as fodder. They kill thousands of ordinary people, destroy homes, and leave families and friends destitute and bitter. As with our own Civil War, some people never heal and put the conflict behind them. PTSD and long lasting grudges spill into future generations.  Is war the training we want to give our children?

Who will stop the madness taking over America? It has to be tackled on many fronts but I look to our children. They view the world differently than their elders, are more accepting of differences and better educated in environmental issues. However, the quality of their schooling is not evenly distributed. Our job as adults is to change that trajectory and insure that everyone receives a comprehensive education. Perhaps they will them be able to help us stop this madness.

Let’s start with bullying, a problem that can make a young person afraid to attend classes. Programs to eliminate bullying are now part of curriculums nationwide.They begin in the elementary years and continue through twelfth grade. My hope is that graduates will not stand for the type of name calling and bulling that now invades the highest levels of government.

I was taught that  “sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never harm me.” Unfortunately, that’s not true. Labeling people horseface, Pocahantus, bimbo, dumb as a rock, sophomoric, beggar, clown , sleepy-eyes and dumpy-political-pundit is not only hurtful and ugly but is childish. Most parents don’t support this type of rhetoric at home or in their schools.  Upset parents are the reason schools now emphasize compassionate communication and bully free zones.  With this type of early training, I anticipate  our children will lead in more civilized ways.

The study of history provides ways to learn from the past, but only if it is presented in honest, complete and unbiased ways. Reading textbooks that are slanted towards the white race at the expense of other groups will not heel our country’s divide. Subjects need to be included that are often glossed over such as the Indian Wars of the late 1800s, the growth and suppression of labor unions and the racially motivated immigration laws of the early 1990s.  By understanding both sides of issues we learn to open our hearts so we can hear divergent concerns. Studying the past enables youth to see what worked and what didn’t so that they can better deal with the world they find themselves in today.

It is important that students learn how to search for truth, but even more important that teachers inspire them to want to do so.  Encouraging curiosity is the greatest of tasks.  There are consequences to complacency and ignorance. From an early age on, questioning should be encouraged. If a parent or teacher does not have an answer then the two should challenge themselves to discover what it is.  Parents can inspire curiosity when visiting national monuments like the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty or the Capital. If the budget doesn’t allow for travel, then videos, books and local museums can provide material for discussion. In either case, there is no substitute for talking to children about what is seen. Exploring deeply will prepare them to be thinkers and intelligent voters. 

With the exception of a few states, most school curriculums cover environmental issues around global warming. The teens I speak to are knowledgeable and concerned, often more aware of the human influence on climate change than older adults. It is good that they understand the science but it would also be helpful if economic factors were brought into discussions for they are at the crux of congress’s unwillingness to act. Combatting warmer temperatures requires people to change the way they live, what they eat, and how they move.

Learning where money flows, who benefits and who sacrifices tells a lot about the political debate. It is a subject that should not be glossed over if we want our children to get us out of the mess we’re in. Recognizing that there are winners and losers and debating the pros and cons of various economic, religious and political systems is challenging but also interesting to most young minds. A place to start could be a discussion of  “the common good,” for it is at the base of many political and economic beliefs. 

My bicycle riding neighbor stop me, “ I don’t believe in the common good. I believe people should sink or swim on their own merits. I started out dirt poor. I’m a self made man. It wasn’t easy, but I was determined. Anyone who works hard can do the same.  I probably will wind up living in a gated community.”

This man of color pulled himself out of poverty.  He is intelligent, college educated, earned a pile of money that allowed him engage in entrepreneurial ventures. Unfortunately, most people do not have his skills nor the support that helped him become an NBA player. Thousands fall through the cracks of poverty, poor schooling and parental ignorance. 

Public education has the potential of being the great equalizer. But adults need to insure schools have resources and teachers who are willing and able to reach out and encourage  students to express concerns, to think for themselves and to problem solve. They need to learn when they’re being duped and how to analyze fake news. Collecting  and considering information is something curious people do

Public education is under attack and we can not let that happen. The move to use public money for private schooling through vouchers will exasperate the divide. Religious indoctrination doesn’t belong in public education. Integrating schools in the aggregate, works. Giving marginal students extra help, works. Funding pre-schools works. Providing school meals for the hungry, works. Special education for those with disabilities, works. Subsidizing college tuitions, works. Fair programs will allow our children to heal the social divid and make America great again.

I’m not hopeful about our country right now. I don’t like being marginalized and told I’m not a true patriot. We are all Americans and need to work together to keep democracy working. Seemingly we don’t have the ability to get over our differences, so let’s make sure our children do. Five them the tools to govern more rationally.

  References:

Saleh,S. (2014) Five things you never knew about Syria before the war. news.com.au. retrieved from https://www.news.com.au/world/five-things-you-never-knew-about-syria-before-the-war/news-story/50aee87307f613edcd8505f7bce12d0b

Krueger, H., Hardiman, K., Kelly, C. (2015)Trump’s most notable insults. The Hill. retrieved from https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/249102-trumps-most-notable-insults

Lynn,R & Vanhanen,T., (2010)All Countries: What is the Average I! in the United Sates? IQ Research. retrieved from https://iq-research.info/en/average-iq-by-country/us-united-states

 

Art is always for sale. Contact marilynne@eichingerfineart.c