My second exhibition was fast approaching. I still had one large canvas to complete and the gallery to set up, but hope was under my wings. I could do it, I could keep my head down heart open, and remain dedicated to an event I had wanted for a long time. My first show was over 9 years ago and I missed the vulnerability, I missed the liberation. The ideas for Soul Purpose were in the making for over 2 years, and after 10 solid months of painting, here we were.
On February 12th, 2016 the opening night began with candles being lit and sage being smudged at the quaint little gallery on Kent St in Victoria Park. I loved this gallery from the first time I set foot on its hand-laid mosaic pathway. Plus, there were love hearts everywhere: love hearts = big heart temple love! And a sure sign that I’m on the right path…
I nervously read and reread my speech as guests arrived. Drinks were flowing and canapés were being divulged, all was well. I took one deep breath and stepped out onto the verandah. Shaking, not from epilepsy this time but more from nerves, I began to speak the words on the page. Frogs formed in my throat, and tears welled up as I made my way through a series of words that I knew had to be spoken. Previously I have ran in the opposite direction every time I’ve been asked to speak in public, but this time was different. It was bigger than my pride and my embarrassment. It wasn’t about me, it was about the work that had come through me that wanted a preface. It wanted to include the crowd in the process of demasking, taking off our masks an
d letting our true selves come to the forefront, for this is what Soul Purpose was all about. It was a statement about living from your heart space, living from the parts that make each and every one of us unique, not carbon copies. It is about self expression as an homage and dedication to the bigger part of us – our souls, that know all and see all, that have never been born and will never die because they just ARE. That sense of Being is a dance with the Divine and one that yearns for us to yield. There are signs everywhere if you tune into it. There are messages that come through others, through chance meets and serendipitous collisions, but are you listening? Is anyone home in there?
And so the choice was presented – to build the bond or not. Do you want to take off your masks and be real or stay closed and walled in? Perhaps its more about uncovering the courage to work against the grain of societal conditioning and be free. Either way, I know each and every one of us has an unending well of courage within, and the potential to integrate all our experiences sits with us all. When we can honour our past as bringing us to where we are now, gratitude and perspective prevails and balance is once again achieved.
Homeostasis? Yes. The world over, yes, please.
