By guest blogger Mary Swanson
I just had a birthday. It always astounds me, how old I am. I can remember being 9 years old and impressed with how old I was. Now, at 62, I’m amazed that 1) I’ve lived this long and 2) I’m still trying to accomplish what I set out to do in life.
Do we all think there will be a time when we get life solved and can sit back & enjoy having everything “together” ?
I can look back over the decades and remember in high school talking with my boyfriend about the ‘meaning of life.’ He said, “Nobody’s ever figured it out, why waste your time?” But to me it didn’t feel like a waste of time. I really wanted to know.
I came across a new word (new to me) the other day: Autodidact. It means someone who is self-taught–without “formal” training. It has a little bit of a pejorative edge to it–an autodidact doesn’t have certification (like the therapist in The King’s Speech) and is therefor, to certain people, a bit untrustworthy.
I confess, I am an autodidact. I have educated myself in pursuit of an answer to the question: what on earth are we doing being alive? I’ve never known what to call this pursuit. It’s not like it’s listed in college course books.
I picked up a degree and some certifications along the way but my life-long course of study has not taken any traditional path. I would say I am a student of the Arts. I studied the art of literature, painting, acting, writing, directing, relationships, motherhood, sisterhood, gender relations, poetry and mother nature. Along that path I found the transformational experiences of meditation and learning to read energy–to see how things come together and hold together or get stuck or are flung apart.
All of it has lead me to the conclusion: Love is the only thing that matters.
I know, I know… not something that hasn’t been said a million times before. But really… it’s the only thing that matters. It is the actual, literal substance life is made of. It is the core substance, the meaning, the means, the way and the final outcome. The meaning of Life? Simple… at each and every moment allow Love.
Only it’s not so easy to let Love happen. Self-hatred, fear, judgments & blame get in the way.
Engaging in any of the Arts, if you see it through, will teach you how to be alive. Because it is only possible to create when you drop your blame & fear and allow yourself to freely love exactly what you love. Art requires responding to what you love. It requires the courage to participate. And life really is so amazing that when you participate you find a way through your own resistance & fall into Love.
Nat King Cole’s Let There Be Love
A friend gave me a copy of Robert Henri’s The Art Spirit. It was written in 1923. Here’s a sample of what he had to say:
“The work of an art student is no light matter. Few have the courage and stamina to make it through. You have to make up your mind to be alone in many ways. We like sympathy and we like to be in company. It is easier than going it alone. But alone one gets acquainted with himself, grows up and on, not stopping with the crowd. It costs to do this. If you succeed somewhat you may have to pay for it, as well as enjoy it, all your life. “
“Cherish your own emotions and never undervalue them.”
“We are not here to do what has already been done.”
Mary Swanson is a full-time Medical Intuitive. She received her certification from the Academy of Intuition Medicine in Sausalito, CA in 1994. She teaches her students “how to be happy” by using meditation, conscious awareness, writing, painting and Ritual in her many workshops and classes. Mary is also a writer and visual artist. She lives in Middlebury, VT. You can find her at maryswanson.netand arthousevt.com.
Image: Mary’s Art House in Middlebury, Vermont
