Selfies & Other Self-Indulgences
On Self Portraits
When I consider taking my own picture - or painting or drawing a representation of myself, it is not the surface image I consider. It is who I am in spirit. It is what represents my soul. What I allow, what I encourage the world to perceive. Look beyond the surface.
I have never been comfortable with my outside surfaces. I am much more comfortable revealing the inner part of me - who I really am, with hints and images that reflect what I see in the world, and that leave lasting impressions within me. The outside is merely a vulnerable body; a surface; a layer of artifice.
There are parts of me that will never be revealed, hidden fears and rage, vulnerabilities and dark hidden places of the soul, but as I grow older I find that the power of those places is receding - except for those that are aroused by injustice. Those I will let loose to stir vigorously among the complacent; they are stronger than ever.
I have never been so happy with who I am, who I still can be, what else I can accomplish, how I can live well and richly on little but joy, caring and creativity and by speaking out. And this is happening in spite of, or perhaps because of the aging process. I am no longer young, but feel younger and more creative than I ever have before. This is because I am embracing both pain and age, and allowing it to take me far beyond into the world of imagination and the spirit.
This is a journey the young and healthy cannot know yet. Their expectations and fears are too great, and their surface too important to them.
I have never been comfortable with my outside surfaces. I am much more comfortable revealing the inner part of me - who I really am, with hints and images that reflect what I see in the world, and that leave lasting impressions within me. The outside is merely a vulnerable body; a surface; a layer of artifice.
There are parts of me that will never be revealed, hidden fears and rage, vulnerabilities and dark hidden places of the soul, but as I grow older I find that the power of those places is receding - except for those that are aroused by injustice. Those I will let loose to stir vigorously among the complacent; they are stronger than ever.
I have never been so happy with who I am, who I still can be, what else I can accomplish, how I can live well and richly on little but joy, caring and creativity and by speaking out. And this is happening in spite of, or perhaps because of the aging process. I am no longer young, but feel younger and more creative than I ever have before. This is because I am embracing both pain and age, and allowing it to take me far beyond into the world of imagination and the spirit.
This is a journey the young and healthy cannot know yet. Their expectations and fears are too great, and their surface too important to them.
