Can We Be Friends?

Perhaps a better question to ask ourselves is: does this person expand my world, making me better aware of the human condition and my place in time?... or does this person stifle the world around me, and in so doing the exuberance of my very soul?

We're so quick to judge and place labels, based almost solely on a first conversation or even simple appearances, but i've found that getting to know someone you'll often find yourself surprised. I'm continually surprised at the depth and intricacy of all human beings, especially that of many talented artists that i've met over the course of the past year. In order to create good art, the artist must have a certain level of awareness of their particular role in the human story. In all honesty many fail to take the time and intense contemplation necessary to discern this very thing. And so, I find myself again and again making friends with artists of all shapes and sorts, designers, painters, sculptors, musicians, storytellers...

I enjoy hearing their own stories and how they're woven into the very items that they create. Simultaneously I enjoy learning of their thoughtfulness in speaking into the world in a very particular way.

I say all of this because I have a new friend out on the West Coast who has expanded and expounded my vision of who I am and my place in the world. We've exchanged emails discussing the power of place and the role of aesthetics in shaping human experience. It's amazing, really, that she and I can be friends and I feel grateful for that privilege. Parts of me resonate with her writing, writing of things I feel deep within my own soul, things that I find amazing in shared experience completely independent of one another. Isn't that so interesting?

More to come ;)