BREATHING THROUGH THESE TIMES

What a summer we have had and how much the world has changed! My life has swung from being immersed in climate change action, to the shock of the bushfires, to quietly watching the corona virus unfolding 🦠 (and I’ve just discovered that my iPad has a new emoji). Through this time I’ve steadily returned to my favourite patch of bush to paint. I’m not painting exciting scenes or grand views. I’m painting the everyday bush. A place where I sit quietly to observe, to understand more about something very ordinary. I’m getting to know this community of beings by just sitting with them and painting some of their portraits.

Perhaps I’m becoming more tree-like and this attitude is helping me to breathe through the panic of our times. Our concerns are real and the quality of ‘tree-ness’ quietly whispers to me ‘be very still and allow the wind to pass. Keep breathing’.

When the fires ate the trees everybody realised how important the trees are. How these magnificent beings offer shelter to other creatures, enable us all to breathe, cool the planet down and influence rain cycles while creating community. I’ve been involved in growing 30,000 trees for bush recovery. Trees really need our help at present. I think this means actively helping the bush to recover until trees are established, stopping damaging actions like logging burnt and ancient forests, rethinking our relationship to our earth and changing our values. These are all vital steps for any healing, of the planet and ourselves.

The corona virus is showing us that we are only as invincible as the most vulnerable. We are all discovering that during these times of physical distancing, social connection with generosity really matters. We are challenged to think beyond ourselves and create boundaries to preserve the most vulnerable. Unless we redistribute wealth, the whole system will fail. The rich can’t get richer if nobody can afford anything. And life without the arts is pretty depressing.

Living through these very challenging times requires us to think imaginatively and to dream. As an artist I sometimes chastise myself for not being productive enough while another part of me knows I work very hard. Still this belief system has been lurking in the background. Perhaps the corona virus was part of our psyche, waiting for that moment of vulnerability to manifest.

I also know that dreaming and imagining requires a lot of time. I heard a good quote on the radio the other day. It went something like this, ‘the art of wasting time is to create space’. Time slows down. The pressure is released. We hear ourselves more clearly while considering each other’s needs. Sometimes it take a dam good wrestle with ourselves before we get to this point. Yet, it’s at this point, we can all consciously dream up the next step.

Thankyou for reading my post and looking at my work. Please feel to share it with anyone you think may be interested.

Warmly, Lynn