UNRAVELLED

When we unravel the ground feels unsteady and we could tip over any time. Our emotions career through a dark, clouded turbulence. Even in calm moments a rumble persists in our bones. We feel vulnerable and doubt ourselves. We are all in this unknown territory even though we marginalise it. The veneer of our identity can easily crack, unpeal and slide into the dirt. The featured painting, SHRINE 11- UNRAVELLED, is a meditation on this aspect of being. 

I wanted to paint this shrine to hold myself in vulnerability. To pause and make friends with myself here when most of me wants to regain control and fit into the flow of society by following the ordinary existence of my diary. I want to know that it’s ok to unravel and be vulnerable. The earth and climate is changing, and I don’t know what I’m doing. I have no formula to fix my broken self or the climate.

When I am unravelled, I feel raw. I dissect myself through the confusion, surgically removing any extraneous self deception. I am alone on a plate, exposed. Accepting myself with honesty and being transparent is the beginning to finding my feet. Acceptance grounds me in clarity. It may sound brutal, and a lot of love and self-compassion is needed. I hold myself lightly in friendship and whisper;

‘little one, you too belong to this earth and are doing the best you can. It’s all anyone can sincerely do, and you may not survive. To connect with others in a time of crisis is a worthy act in itself.’

In this momentous time of climate change we are all vulnerable and learning to have a relationship with the uncomfortable state we are in. Denial, war, anger, self-protection, grief, hopelessness and vulnerability are all aspects of this process of change. The climate is us.

Somehow through transparency and acceptance we become more mutable. Our imagination is at the root of all healing and we begin to see possibilities. Dreams and visions are crucial for our future. As an artist I don’t want to fix broken systems. I want us all to dream up a completely different future, a different way of having relationships and living our lives. Visions are based in values. What do you value and what is your high dream for humanity on our little planet?

My high dream for today is for us all to share our values and high dream with one other person in our life and take an action to actualise that dream. It only needs to be small. The accumulation of many small acts done consistently creates change. Your behaviour and mindset change. Then to encourage the person you shared your dream with to do the same. Think of it as a collective artwork that you are participating in. Our dreams and actions are collective, and can spread like wildfire. Unravel and dream. Keep going friends.

Thankyou for reading. Warmly Lynn

Featured Image: SHRINE 11 – UNRAVELLED 

©️Lynn Lobo

Oil painting on linen

30cm x 40cm

Contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting.

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