The Nature of Everything is Change
Art by Chuck + Peg © Genesis+Art
St. Croix River Valley
Hudson, Wisconsin
At any time, I can ask myself: At which threshold am I now standing? At this time in my life, what am I leaving? Where am I about to enter? What might be preventing me from crossing my next threshold? What gift would enable my courage to do it? A threshold is not a simple boundary; it is a frontier that divides two different territories, rhythms, and landscapes. I now stand at a threshold I would not have chosen, but it is indeed a boundary that I will need to cross and will move into uncharted territory. The boundary I’m crossing is the river of cancer, a rare cancer called neuroendocrine tumors. Its symbol is the zebra. I’m grateful that Peg and I settled within a reasonable drive to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, where their research is at the leading edge of this chronic disease.
This kind of change is a testimony to the wholeness and integrity of an experience or stage of life that culminates in a frontier that cannot be entered without the heart being passionately awakened and engaged. At this cancer threshold, a great complexity of feeling comes alive: fear, confusion, excitement, sadness, grief, and hope. This is one of the reasons such essential crossings are often clothed in ritual and can bring about wisdom. The longer I live, the more the life of art and the art of life blend. After many years, Peg and I have learned that, in the deepest sense, art is our way of engaging the world with care. More than understanding its meaning, the art is available to ignite ones exploration of what it means to be alive.
For many years, Peg and I have gone to edges, thresholds, and boundaries. In these places, I have had a lifelong conversation with the Universe. This is the medicinal and spiritual element of our art: a raw and honest reflection that deepens our conversation with life. Art helps us to express together, to make life real, to remove things that get in the way, and help us live more fully. We expect this new threshold to offer its own wisdom gifts and grief. Our works of art most often arrive on these boundaries. We retrieve the wisdom from them, more than create them, and they become our teachers.
It is wise to be able to recognize and acknowledge the key thresholds in my life: to take my time, to feel the varieties of presence that grows there, to listen to my inner voice with full attention until I hear what is calling me forward. The time has come to cross.
My focus is to fully live out the mystery of my life, my time with Peg, my family, and my friends. To continue to create from these ever-changing thresholds. I trust that the Divine Spirit is within me. I trust that my task is a holy one. I continue to live out of this trust and with good courage.
See more conversation in EARTH and SPIRIT.
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