Greetings Readers!
Here is the next volume of our series — The Wisdom of Art. This series invites us to pause from our busy lives to explore the wisdom of art and poetry.
Here is a painting, a poem, and a bit of prose…
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1. Flaming June (Painting)
Sir Frederic Leighton's work Flaming June was completed in 1895. It is widely regarded as Leighton's magnum effort, showing his classicist nature and painted with oil paints on a 47-by-47-inch square canvas. The artist was interested in exploring the aesthetic relationship between sleep and death, a popular theme among Victorian artists. Summer Slumber, one of Leighton's other works, used Flaming June as a motif to embellish a marble bath. He grew so enamored with the design that he turned it into a separate painting.
Contemplation Exercise:
Consider taking some uninterrupted time to observe the painting.
Simply notice what arises…
What makes this painting a timeless piece…
2. A Psalm of Life (Poem)
Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream! For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem. Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul. Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each to-morrow Find us farther than to-day. Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave. In the world’s broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act,— act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o’erhead! Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time; Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o’er life’s solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again. Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.
— By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
3. The Art of Waking Up (Prose)
A theme running through our painting and poem this week is waking up. One might think of being asleep as autopilot, what David Foster Wallace called our default setting. In a famous commencement speech, Wallace said, “There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually, one of them looks over at the other and goes, ‘What the hell is water?’”
There are aspects (and moments) of life that we all if we’re honest, fail to notice. Buddhist teachings (and many other wisdom traditions) stress the art of attention (or noticing).
In the Dhammpada (a collection of sayings), the Buddha says,
Wakefulness is the way to life. The fool sleeps as if he were already dead, but the master is awake, and he lives forever.
He watches. He is clear.
How Happy he is! For he sees that wakefulness is life. How happy he is, following the path of the awakened.
With great perseverance. He meditates, seeking freedom and happiness.
Art and poetry can help us wake up to life. To see ourselves, others, and the world from new perspectives. As the artist Pablo Picasso put it, “Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
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Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
J.W.
P.S. Feel free to comment, ask questions, or suggest a poem/painting!
Excellent points and observations. and clearly needed in today's political climate of discord with absolutely everything, it seems. Art of all forms should be a requirement in all levels of schooling. IMHO. Thank you for brightening my day
L. C. May not appeal to some, but his prose is always a welcome distraction from life's glitches in my world. A lover of love and a lifelong member of true Romance.
Dance Me To The End Of Love
by Leonard Cohen
Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic 'til I'm gathered safely in
Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love
Oh let me see your beauty when the witnesses are gone
Let me feel you moving like they do in Babylon
Show me slowly what I only know the limits of
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the wedding now, dance me on and on
Dance me very tenderly and dance me very long
We're both of us beneath our love, we're both of us above
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the children who are asking to be born
Dance me through the curtains that our kisses have outworn
Raise a tent of shelter now, though every thread is torn
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic till I'm gathered safely in
Touch me with your naked hand or touch me with your glove
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love .
Greetings Glen! Beautiful, thanks for reading and sharing!