where destinies cross

Last night when I could have been emailing an artist friend I searched for her with google. I don't know why. I have her website, her email address, her phone number.

It was a surprise to find her name in another artist's blog. I enjoyed reading the blog, and found that the writer shared many of my views. Somehow it is reassuring knowing you are not a lone voice, even if you are unsure of exactly what you are wanting to say.

The timing (of course) was perfect. I had been blogging along steadily, and trying to keep up the spirits of a friend who needed me. Sometimes that is a little difficult when your mind is in the studio, it is easy to become torn if you think about it. Better to follow your intuition and trust that you will find the time you need for your other work later.

But my happy blogging was becoming very heavy blogging on the peace blog. My daily dose was sometimes a burden, as the cares of the wider world were in front of me every day. It got me thinking again, the same dilemma. How do we build a culture of peace?

Do we have a moral responsibility to be educated about the bad things that are happening in the world? If we are likely to be pulled down into negativity reading such things, is this actually subversive? Do I do a better job building a culture of peace if I stay aware but essentially focused on happiness in a local place?

I went to sleep with this dilemma. I woke up to find that Sophia Elise had not only linked to my blog, but had written some lovely things about my work. It gave me so much heart, knowing that we can spread kindness, share ideas, and focus on the positive so quickly, so efficiently, so creatively.

From reading this I went on to edit the English version of the peace blog. It told of an artist who was murdered in her peace work, her creative way of looking for hope and drawing attention to how things can be. My heart dropped so much that I didn't re read my editing. My energy levels sank so much that I was almost impatient with my friend who was relying on me to lift her spirits.

I came home and read, and read Sophia Elise's blog, following the links. Sharing her kindness lifted me.

Finally I noticed the message in the work that was in her entry where she mentioned me. "Where destinies cross and hearts intermingle immortality shines through". I no longer believe in coincidences. Our paths were meant to cross, and somewhere in that message I will find what I am looking for. I am leaning towards replacing the word "immortality" with "peace" for now.

The title of her post was "Internet creating opportunities to unite people on the same path". My blog name is "There is no path" (from "Travellers, there is no path, paths are made by walking" Antonio Machado). Sophia's blog name is "LIFE IS THE COLOUR YOU PAINT IT".

What I think I am trying to say is that if we paint our days with too much heavy sad paint we forget to see the sun. A plant needs both sun and water. Yes, we must be aware of all that is happening around us. But we must also be able to see the sun, to nurture the tiny seeds of hope. If the sun is blocked even hope does not grow.

I really do want to work towards the dream, the dream of world peace. I do believe in the peace blog and the work we are doing. But most of all I believe that life is the colour you paint it, and we must choose the proportions carefully because it is far too easy to mix a murky grey and "kill" the painting.

The path I hope I am making as I walk will be a colourful one, with just enough grey to show the full effect of the sunlight. If the object is a warm colour, the most effective shadow is a cool colour. If the object is cool, the shadow should be warm.

We need to work out how to make the palette in our blogs shimmer with hope, life and vibrancy to keep the energy of peace workers at a high and potent level.

Back to the drawing board?