Redtree Times

Faith and love are apt to be spasmodic in the best minds: Men live on the brink of mysteries and harmonies into which they never enter, and with their hand on the door-latch they die outside.

–Ralph Waldo Emerson, Letter to Thomas Carlyle, March 1838

I think that the words above from Emerson to Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle perfectly fit the vibe I get from the painting above, Facing Mystery, another new painting now hanging at the Principle Gallery.

So often we avoid following the paths of both those mysteries and aspirations that haunt us. We often face, or worse yet, create barriers– here it is a forest of red that seems dark and deep– that we use as an excuse for staying in our safe and consistent space.

Close to home or as Emerson put it, with their hand on the door-latch.

It’s understandable. I don’t fault anyone for wanting to stay in their own safe and secure comfort zone. I might be a prime example of that right now, sequestered in my own dark forest, panicked sometimes at the thought of venturing outside it. Luckily for me, mysteries and aspirations as well as the harmonies to which Emerson refers are close at hand here.

For the most part. But even as I rationalize my own safe existence, I know there are more mysteries and harmonies, with answers and depths to be added to my being, out there to be found if I can only shake free of my own door-latch.

That might be the existential question here: Are we willing to face and follow the real mystery of our lives?

I don’t have an answer for myself yet.

I am hopeful and feel willing but find myself still holding onto that door-latch of that simple little house.

Facing Mystery is part of Between Here and There, my current solo exhibition at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA. The show, my 22nd annual at the Principle Gallery, opened June 4th and hangs there until the end of this month.

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