If there has ever been the perfect reason for looking at everything around you as same rather than different, it’s the knowledge that we are constantly swapping atoms with everyone and everything around us. For proof of this in action, breath in... now breath out. You just traded out 10 billion trillion atoms. We have an unbelievably large number of atoms in our bodies (estimated 7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000… if that doesn’t boggle the mind). And Quantum Mechanics suggests that it’s very likely we currently have recycled bits of both Gandhi and Hitler helping to make our liver a working thing right now. That might shock some people, but it helps me keeps things in perspective, when I'm feeling less than loving toward my neighbors. Here's what I mean... The core building blocks of our universe have a lifespan longer than the history of the universe itself (so they essentially last forever); they have no issues serving any subject that requires their attention; and they visit us only very briefly before moving on to the next hip, cool thing. (Put mildly, the majority of your body is less than a year old… despite your calendar age.) At the simplest level, it's basic science that the closer anyone or anything is to me both in space and time, the more atoms I'm exchanging with them. My neighbor and I share a lot more in common than I might imagine. And truth be told, everyone on this planet is my neighbor in this regard. This makes all manner of biases I might hold toward anyone seem rather meaningless, regardless of imagined differences. It’s even pointless to have negative feelings toward the tree out front, or the rock I just threw in that nearby pond. We are all one mass of swappable potentiality, at the atomic level. And if I and everything around me are one (and much more dynamically so than I can sense), why bother clinging to ‘different’? My very atoms are perfectly happy breaking down those barriers on a regular basis. To put it another way… since my body is made up of all things around me, it must just be my thoughts that are making these pointless distinctions. And since I know my thoughts are just the end result of my memories and feelings colliding with my limited sense perceptions… everything is up for grabs, and constantly re-definable. How blessed are we to have that level of liberation available to us at all times; our new understanding of the earliest truths, reminding us to be more accepting of each other, and all things. It’s definitely something worth thinking about. :) Now on to the new music… I Have Two New Songs for You to Enjoy. The First is: ‘Beginner’s Mind’ The easiest way to understand the Beginner's Mind is to imagine a newborn child. They enter this world like a clean sheet of blank paper, love and curiosity their only tools. They will be taught many ideas; some good, some bad. And the likelihood of them questioning those ideas shrinks the longer they believe them. This song is about returning to that earliest state; about dumping all the stale, old programming we never much cared for anyway... and looking at life anew. Imagine how fresh and exciting life would be if we viewed it with nothing but love and curiosity once again. I hope you'll take a moment to explore this idea as you listen to my recent creation… 'The Beginner's Mind'. Click the image link below to take a listen. (Opens SoundCloud in a separate window.) The Second Song is: ‘We Tend to Ascend’ This song symbolizes commonalities we all share: We want to love and be loved. We want to help others. And we want this world to be a better place. Despite what we may have learned about opposites in school, hate is not the opposite of love; fear is. If we are more aware of our fearful voice; if we question and quiet it just a little bit… we’re more likely to discover those peaceful little nooks inside, overflowing with love; and we create more room for our better selves to bubble to the surface. It’s what we all want. Like sustenance, it’s definitely what we all need. ‘We Tend to Ascend’ is my little reminder to myself, to keep my eyes and mind in observation mode, and to stay focused on those commonalities we all share. I hope you enjoy my latest sonic offering, and that it inspires happy thoughts in you as well. You know what to click. :) A Painting Update: (018) ‘Quick! Grab Stuff from the Kitchen!’ Continuing my Fall of 2015 Advanced Oils class, this one is a simple grayscale study. I just grabbed a bunch of oddities from the kitchen and threw them on a drop cloth. Only 4 more paintings to go until all the gaps are filled and my Art tab is completely up to date. That's it for this post. I hope you enjoyed your visit.
Best wishes to all of you, Justin
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorHello everyone. I'm Justin Mackay. I'm a creative soul, an explorer of life's mysteries, and a big fan of all the beauty in the world. If you're just here for the paintings, then head on over to my Art tab. If you wish to delve deeper into the odd thoughts of a pondering mind, then this is the place for you. Archives
February 2018
Categories |