It seems an unlikely marriage, beauty and despair, but creations of the human spirit in crisis are among the most meaningful and beautiful in existence. Art, music, literature, even prayer, flowing from a heart of pain, resonate with creatures who must face their mortality with every passing moment. What are we to do with this life which is ours for such a short time? How do we give it meaning? Where do we find our joy? How best can we navigate an existence fraught with paradox and insecurities?
Vincent Van Gogh painted. In the grip of mental illness and a soul-searing loneliness, this Dutch painter gave the world hundreds of paintings, haunting, filled with light and beauty and depth. During the year preceding his suicide, from an asylum in Saint Remy, France, Van Gogh painted more than 100 works, including two of his most famous – Starry Night and Irises, a painting that sold for $54 million dollars in 1987 and remains on the list of the most expensive paintings ever sold.
Irises have great meaning for me. As my father’s favorite flower, my childhood was filled with their rainbow of color. The image of their graceful sway sat at the periphery of long summer conversations with my dad on the mysteries of life. I miss him, and so I fill my space with irises, paintings of all sizes and shapes, among them some of Van Gogh’s brilliant still-lifes.
These images hold memories of presence, of sharing, of love, the experiences that give life true meaning. They also remind me of the fluidness of time, slipping through our fingers and gone before our limited brains can process its going. As I grow older, and wiser, my father’s lesson to live with awareness transforms the slip of time into an opportunity, into a graced experience of the potential within each of us.
And so I stand each night at the edge of the bay, watching in wonder as the sun seemingly slips beneath the horizon in a haunting display of color, a moment breathtakingly beautiful, yet painfully marking the passing of another day of our earthly journey – God’s painting, reminding us to live, and love, well.
Photo of the bay at Lavalette at sundown.
Comments