''I should.....I shouldn't....says who? Me, says the internal judge.''

Somewhere in our minds we have inner voices

that tells us what we should or shouldn't do, believe 

or not believe, trust or not trust, but according to

those in the know....if asked, most of us would

find it hard to specify where all those voices

come from.

According to Alain De Botton, a British philosopher,

those voices are an internalization of the voices of people

 who were once ''outside'' of us. 

Imperceptibly, unknowingly however,

we have somehow made them our own.

Some of those voices ''live'' in our conscious mind,

but many more live in our subconscious mind.

A bit like an iceberg: what we ''see''(conscious) is only

 a small portion of what is hidden beneath

 the water. (Subconscious)

Have you ever used the phrase: I shouldn't....xyz?

Or: ''They shouldn't ....xyz?

Or "You, I, they should.......xyz?

Have you ever asked yourself where the inner voice

 telling you what you ''shouldn't'' or ''should'' do

 comes from?

When my son suddenly transformed from a basket ball

and skater kid into a goth, there was no end to the

advice that I was given by people telling me that I ''should'' 

tell him to ''snap out of it'' or leave.

I was told that I shouldn't be so soft, I should show him who

 the boss was.

Agonizing over what to do, I decided to try understanding.

What did being a goth mean to my son, what did the

music he listened to give to him, and how did dressing in

all black and wearing black nail polish make him feel?

My solution was to

 push away all my own and others shoulds and shouldn'ts

and focus on just being there for my son.

In hindsight, I believe that that experience alerted me

to the many critical and judgmental voices that resided

and still reside, within me.

In conversation with a friend I suggested to him that

perhaps much of our shoulds and shouldn'ts are based

on mental shortcuts formed on opinions not based

on critical observation, self-reflection and analysis.

He disagreed and a long discussion on biases ensued.

Wanting to further my understanding of biases

I discovered that there is something called Cognitive

Biases* and that it is something that comes with

being a human being.

*Cognitive Bias is a systematic error in thinking

that affects how we process information, how we

perceive others and ourselves, and how we make decisions.

Bias: Basically, an understanding and observation of something

 impaired by inclinations toward a preferred outcome

and a disregard toward information that contradicts

 that preference.

''The eyes sees only what the mind

is prepared to comprehend.''

(Robertson Davis)

In conclusion:

I have found it helpful to ask myself

''says who?'' if I find myself making snap judgements

rather than considering a number of different

possibilities.

Especially if one of my inner critics keep telling me

what I should or shouldn't do that carries with it

negative consequences rather than positive ones.

(Negative as in pessimistic, positive as in

life-affirming)

''The vast majority of ideas we have

about ''should'' and ''shouldn't'' come from

other people.

We adopt them but they are not ''ours''.

We have not really questioned them

so as to come to our own truth about them.

We just swallow them regardless whether

they reflect our personal truth or not.''

(Teal Swan)

about the images: Iceberg, water colour on paper

Drag queen, acrylic on large canvas

When all falls apart...........

Waiting for the hospital to call me and inform me as to

how my son's operation had gone, I restlessly paced

the living room. I had tried to sit down and watch

television but every time I stopped moving

I felt as if I was going to disintegrate into a

pile of little pieces. 

(Like what happens to a LEGO creation if dropped on

 the floor after having spent hours creating it.)

As time went by and the phone remained silent

my anxiousness was quickly heading towards the ''red zone'',

that is: ''critical, bordering on falling apart''.

-Okay, that's it. I'm calling the hospital.

I need to know that my son is okay.

After much ado I was finally able to speak to

a nurse who told me that my son was ''stable''.

Since we had been told that the operation

was very serious and could potentially result

in death, quadriplegia, paraplegia and or other horrible

outcomes, ''stable'' was an unsatisfying answer but 

the nurse said that she was

unable to give me any more information.

-Call back in an hour, she said and then hang up.

Three hours later I was able to find out that

my son had been moved to a ward.

I phoned the ward and was once again told that he

 was stable.

Not long after finishing the conversation with the

hospital my son phoned me on my mobile and

told me that he was in pain but that he was not 

a paraplegic.

I could finally sit down.

I could finally breathe.

Two days later they discharged him although

he was severely traumatized both physically and

 psychologically.

Love it seems, is not so much

a feeling as it is a decision,

a choice to make.

It is now up to me to be the nurse, the doctor,

the psychologist, the parent, the friend, 

the ''whatever'' that will help my son to recover.

It may require me to ''dance'' in and out

of the ''red zone'' at times,

but I know of no other power as strong

and as transformative as love, 

so I choose love.

''Love is not a feeling

Love is a response.

Love is an action.''

(David Jeramiah)

about the image: water colour on paper.

My illustration of going through hard times

when one feels as if one is falling apart.

You are not alone.....though darkness surrounds you

Hope springs eternal, so some say.

When doubt comes knocking on your door,

send faith to answer it, so some say.

When darkness threatens to overwhelm you,

find a crack in it because that's where the

light can find a way in, so some say.

A single candle, no matter how small,

is able to dispel the darkest of darknesses,

so some say.

These sayings have always sustained me

and kept me hobbling, crawling, dragging myself

toward that spring, that crack, clinging to my

tiny candle trusting that it's little flame will

be enough to help me find my way 

out of the darkness.

 I rather be a candle than curse the darkness,

and I do love the ''chewiness'' of hope.

(How like a chewing gum it keeps sticking

to the bottom of your shoe no matter how

much you try to get rid of it.)

My faith however, or rather the lack thereof,

trying as it may to keep doubt out,

is showing signs of exhaustion and fatigue.

Doubt, like an insidious mist keeps finding

its way into my mind, my soul and my heart.

In a few days I will have to summon up

faith, hope and trust from somewhere so that

when the surgeons plunge their knives

into my son's body they will do so 

expertly and with the greatest of care.

And while I will be waiting for the result of

the operation, I will have to keep holding

on to my little candle, block the door to

 doubt, and keep my anxious heart beating.

Life presents us with many different doors

we must enter through, willingly or not.

Sometimes we are greeted by the unfamiliar,

the unexpected, the unknown and the most feared for.

Sometimes we are greeted by the familiar,

the expected, the dreamed and longed for.

Regardless of what greets us as we

enter through a new door,

deep within in us we have been given

the freedom, the gift of being able to choose

whether we will use this freedom, this gift,

to create within us a new purpose, a new

meaning and a new perspective of just how

uncertain and unpredictable 

but also beautiful and meaningful

is the life of every precious human being.

''Suffering ceases to be suffering

at the moment it finds meaning.''

(Victor Frankl)

If you, reading this, is going through

pain and suffering and feel as if

your little candle(of hope) is about to be 

snuffed out, know this:

You are not alone.

about the image: Graphite on paper

Title: Hang in there, Teddy.

Be empathetic, it feels good.....and makes others feel good too

 Browsing through a bin of old magazines in a bookshop I came across

an old People Magazine.

Flicking through the pages I found a section called Vintage photos

from the 1930's Depression in the USA.

Though there were a number of very thought provoking

images, there was one photo that spoke straight to my heart.

After reading the short story that was attached to the image

I decided that I had to try to do a painting that somehow

incorporated parts of the story in the painting.

The story:

Among the numerous suffering and starving people

who were experiencing droughts, dust storms, lost livelihoods 

and lost crops, there was a doctor, who by foot tirelessly 

walked the Southern Great Plains offering free medical

assistance to everyone, wherever he went.

*

Watching a video essay together with my son a few

nights ago, we heard the speaker utter these words:

 ''Empathy is a sin.''

The fact that the speaker was a preacher, made us look

at each other in disbelief and yell:

 ''What?!? Did he really say that?''

Having spent the last 25 years of my life absolutely

committed to accumulating as much information

as possible through thorough research founded on

accredited sources, accepted peer reviews, 

and sources globally acknowledged by other experts in

 the field,.........I can say this with confidence:

''Empathy is a sin'' is the very antithetical(opposite) of what most

religious/spiritual/wisdoms texts exhorts.

See, not only did he say that empathy is a sin, but he also said 

that it is a ''weakness''?!!!? Yikes!!!

Does that mean that sympathy and compassion in his view

 are weaknesses as well?

What about kindness? Caring?

In my view, all words are mere approximations.

With this I mean that we attach our own interpretations,

experiences and unconscious biases to the words we

and others use. 

Whatever our definition of empathy may be, just imagine 

a world void of it, or void of compassion and sympathy.

A world in which caring and being kind to others is

a ''bad'' thing, a sign of weakness.

As far as I can ascertain the fact that us humans are able

to express and experience compassion and empathy

for others is one of mankind's most redeeming 

qualities.

Empathy, may I suggest, is the opposite of self-absorption

and narcissism. It's stepping out of one's own ''bubble''

of existence and feel strong enough in one self to be

 able to recognize and identify with others when

they experience struggles and difficult times.

Empathy, rather than making us weaker makes us stronger

because it helps us to foster stronger and deeper relationships

with others.

This in turn promotes a deeper insight and understanding of

each other. A foundation upon which we can build a

compassionate and inclusive community/society.

The words sympathy and empathy are often viewed

as meaning the same thing, but in my view, they are two

different ''creatures''.

Sympathy, I interpret as to ''feeling for xyz'', empathy

I interpret as ''feeling with xyz''.

Compassion I interpret as different from sympathy and empathy

because in my view compassion includes a desire to want to help,

to act in some way that helps alleviate xyz's suffering/pain/etc. etc.

*

''Get a job!'' says the man to the beggar as hurries past him.

''Have some compassion'' says the beggar to the man.

The next day the man passes the beggar again.

''Still here? Begging instead of working, I see,'' says the

man to the beggar.

''Have some compassion,'' says the beggar to the man.

Weeks go by. Hurrying down the street the man passes the beggar.

''Still a loser I see,'' says the man to the beggar.

''Have some compassion,'' says the beggar to the man.

Months go by. Carrying a box with his things in it

the man walks past the spot where the beggar used to be.

The beggar is gone. 

Standing in line at the Job Centre its finally the man's turn.

''Sir, I've lost my job, I've lost

my family, I've lost my home. I need a job,'' says the man.

As he raises his head and looks at the person behind the

glass, he recognizes him. 

It's the beggar.

''Sir, please have some compassion,'' says the man.

The beggar looks the man straight into his eyes

and then says:

''Life can be tough sometimes, it can turn on a dime.

But with a little compassion, a kindly spoken word,

 a dark and dismal day can become rather fine.''

''In my view, the best of humanity is in our

exercise of empathy and compassion.

It's when we challenge ourselves to walk

in the shoes of someone whose pain or

plight might seem so different than yours

that it is almost incomprehensible.''

(Sarah McBride)

about the image: acrylic on large canvas, yellow ink, and

painted with a cloth, not brush

Screaming? Me? I'm just expressing how I feel..........

As long as I can remember I have found it almost

impossible to relieve my inner frustrations and anguish

with the help of screaming.

As far as coping strategies goes, screaming according to

those in the know, can at times be quite useful.

Apparently screaming can lower our cortisol levels

which when we experience stress, frustration and or anxiety

are raised. Screaming, so they say, much like when 

we exercise, releases endorphins(our own bodies feel-good chemicals) 

which brings down the cortisol levels which in turn

provides us with a temporary sense of relief.

There are many different reasons as to why we scream:

Such as to express anger, rage, fear and pain but also

to express pleasure, joy and sadness/grief.

We also scream as a collective at sporting events, concerts

and protests which often can be experienced as a form

of bonding with others.

Most experts view screaming as an innate human

behaviour. I mean, we do come in to the world screaming

but our individual life-experiences also influence

the why, how and when of our ''screaming behaviours''

in congruity with our individual sensitivities.

For years I've pondered why I find it so hard to scream

even when I am experiencing really strong emotions.

Then suddenly one day I realized that I do scream

but I don't do so vocally.

I scream through the medium of art.

I scream on the canvas, I scream through music

by playing, composing or listening to it.

 I scream through expressing it with the written word,

or watching films, videos and documentaries.

 

Whether through visual representation, music, dance,

sculpture, installations, etc. etc. artists have been ''screaming''

through their art ever since the inception of it.

Though most of our communication is done by the

use of the spoken word, in my view, sometimes words just aren't

 safe or enough to convey complex and powerful emotions.

In such situations it may be more helpful to go

for some hectic exercise, put on some loud music,

watch an action movie, throw some eggs on a wall,

translate one's internal(intangible) emotions into

something tangible: gardening, painting, cleaning,

etc. etc. etc.

Or, find a safe space where you can scream your lungs

out without it interfering, hurting or disturbing anybody

else.

Though I still do most of my screaming through art

I have found that on the odd occasion when I need 

to express myself vocally, I hop in my car and go for a drive.

Park somewhere where there's nobody around and

just ''let it rip''.

''No art is silent! Because art is an original idea

and every original idea speaks, every

interesting thought screams, every art talks,

every art screams!

No art is silent!''

(Mehmet Murat Ildan)

about the images: top: Photo, left: mixed media, 

mixed media, middle: graphite.

bottom: mixed media

The opposite to love is not hate, it is indifference..........

In my view, art is a unique ''language'' that often has the ability

to speak to us much more directly than many other

languages.

Somehow, for many of us it seems to have the ability to bypass

 the analytical and pragmatic part of our brain and find 

its way straight to our ''hearts'', our emotional center's.

For the purpose of this post however, I will

focus on the visual arts.(Paintings)

Having taken part in many exhibitions, I have noticed

 there are some comments that keeps popping up.

Such as: ''Nah, I don't like it. I don't even know what

it's supposed to be."

''That's ugly. Isn't art supposed to be beautiful?''

''A child could have done a better job than that.''

''I know what I like and don't like and that's all 

that matters to me.''

OR

''I have no idea what I'm looking at but it's

making me feel all emotional.''

''This is beautiful! I just love the colours.''

''I know that this is an abstract painting but

I don't care because it speaks to me.''

''I have a feeling that it takes a lot of skill

to paint a painting like this so I appreciate

the work for that although it's not really my

cup of tea.''

Human beings, we are told, seek meaning.

We want to understand who we are, why we are here, 

and what the purpose of our life is.

Uncertainty, so says those in the know,

is the bane of mankind.

We much prefer to know stuff, to acquire as much certainty

as we can, because this makes us feel safe

and more secure.

Many of us prefer not to have to deal with abstractions,

the obscure, the esoteric, the 

concepts that are beyond what we can observe 

physically and that does not relate to our every-day lives.

Life is hard enough as it is, right?

So why do some artists feel that they need to add more

 uncertainty and abstraction to life

by painting ''difficult to understand'' paintings?

Or paintings that contain hidden meanings and

messages?

-Why do you paint such sad paintings, she asked.

-Isn't sadness part of the human experience just as

much as joy? I answered.

-I guess, she retorted.

-Let me explain, I see Joy as a friend, Sadness/Pain

as teacher and myself as the eternal student, I continued.

It's been said that ''a picture paints a thousand words'' which

I take to mean that one single painting has the potential to

 convey something quite complex and emotionally charged 

much more effectively than a multitude of words.

(Painting is just one of many different ways that we

can use to communicate with each other.)

During these (in my view) very turbulent times

it can be easy to fall prey to complacency and

compassion fatigue.

Image after image of pain, suffering and misery

 flashes at warp speed before our eyes on our I-thingy's.

Mass media churning out millions of opinion pieces

all sure of that their opinion is the correct one.

We watch live as drones and missiles strike

their targets and disintegrate cities, historic sites,

hospitals, schools, homes, etc. etc. and yes, killing totally

innocent people.

Facing all this can be overwhelming.

So overwhelming that one may ask oneself:

What can I possibly do that will change anything?

You can do whatever good and kind you can 

for those who need it and who exist in your

circle of existence.

The opposite of love is not hate,

it is indifference.

''Great things are done by a series of

small things brought together.''

(Vincent Van Gogh)

about the images: top: Graphite on large paper, 2nd: Graphite

on large paper, 3rd: Graphite on cardboard, 4th: pencil on medium sized

paper

As an artist/painter most of my work has been called ''message art''.

Why do we keep making the same mistakes over and over.............

If asked if we consider ourselves to be rational and sensible beings,

most of us would probably answer: most of the time; yes.

Yet, somehow we keep on making the same mistakes

over and over again.

History in general as well as our personal histories can

attest to that it ''is human to err''.

Not only do we make mistakes, but we keep making

them even though we already know the outcomes

from previous experiences.

Although we are supposed to ''learn from our

mistakes'' so say those in the know,

why do we far too often find ourselves

failing to do so?

According to some research, mistakes that involves

 physical pain we tend to find easier not to repeat

than mistakes that are the result of thinking/behaviour

patterns previously established through life experiences.

Those in the know suggest that we tend to create

''set notions'', templates, that we use in order to simplify

 making decisions, forming opinions and judgements.

However, these templates are often founded on

selective and sparse data/information and tend

to be more ''handy'' than helpful.

Challenging these templates (confirmation bias)

involves a shift of mindset and this demands a

lot more effort than just ''going with the gut''.

Also, sometimes we hang on to a mindset that we

know is or will lead to being a mistake

 because we have invested a

lot of time and effort in making it.

However, if we keep making the same mistake over and over

the brain starts to assume(so says those in the know)

 that what we are doing is the correct way of performing

a task and thus creating a habitual ''mistake pathway''.

Eventually this can become a permanent template

that often makes it hard for us to be able to

consider any other possibilities.

My friend looked at the painting and then asked:

-Where on earth do you get your ideas from??!!

-Hm, I'm not sure. Perhaps my willingness to humiliate

myself by making lots of mistakes allows me the 

freedom of discovery?

-What do you mean?

-Not being scared of making mistakes I feel

uninhibited to explore possibilities.

This morning I stood in front of a big, blank canvas.

So I tried something new. I filled spray-bottles with paint

and then started to spray the canvas.

I put it out in the sun to dry and when it was dry,

I put it back on the easel.

As I was staring at the canvas, 

suddenly I ''saw'' Mickey.

So, I painted him.

(A few hours later an elderly woman suddenly appeared 

in my doorway and asked if she could come in. 

Apparently she had watched me through the

 screen-door painting Mickey. 

She took one look at it and asked if it was

for sale. Sure, I said. Long story short.....I gave her

the painting. And she...gave me a box of delicious

cookies the next day.)

Mistakes, I have now concluded, are not to be feared, but

by using an open mind can be the most formidable

of teachers.

A mistake by definition happens but once,

it isn't planned it's made by mere chance. 

Sometimes we make mistakes that can have bad

ramifications and cause others pain.

Sometimes others make mistakes that can have

bad ramifications and cause us pain.

Sometimes we make mistakes that we don't 

know how to correct.

Sometimes others make mistakes that

they don't know how to correct.

But.

Sometimes we make mistakes that

opens our eyes and expands our minds.

That soften our hearts and of kindness

us reminds.

''Mistakes are a fact of life.

It is the response to error that counts.''

(Nikki Giovanni)

about the images: top: background/screen, acrylic on canvas

Graphite drawing of Teddy's, layered in Elements

Mickey: Acrylic on large canvas