Wishing upon a star...

Tonight on my drive home the sky was a blend of brilliant pinks, oranges and blues. The only reason I noticed it was because I suddenly became aware of the fact that I am no longer present when I drive. I'm floating down the road to Kabul alongside the characters of The Kite Runner, eyes glazed over, mouth agape. As I shook myself (criteria #2), I saw that the sky in front of me was beautiful. I then remembered a time not too long ago when I used to notice the sky every day on my drive home. I remember blogging that it was the thing that kept me in check, kept me dreaming, away from reality. But lately I have lost that connection. I also realized that it was about the time I lost the sky that I stopped taking pictures. I stopped seeing pictures.

I read an excerpt today from the book, Concerning the Spiritual in Art by Wassily Kendinsky, with my SAT prep student. A section of it nudged me gently, and I read it over and over again until I felt its meaning wrap around my life. The passage went like this:

The nightmare of materialism, which has turned the life of the universe into an evil, useless game, is not yet past; it holds the awakening soul still in its grip. Only a feeble light glimmers like a tiny star in a vast gulf of darkness. This feeble light is but a presentiment, and the soul, when it sees it, trembles in doubt whether the light is not a dream, and the gulf of darkness reality.

Since experiencing the simplicity of Island of the Blue Dolphins, I have begun to take in all of the materialism around me. When one says "materialism", people usually first think of extravagant things, like diamonds and furs. But to me, and I believe to Mr. Kendinsky as well, it refers to anything other than our most imminent needs. Anything that we consume other than these needs is poisonous to our souls. So, like with alcohol, we must take them in responsibly and in moderation. But, as the passage so beautifully points out, the most important goal is to not let them blind us, mistaking the light as dream, the dark as reality. For as all true dreamers know, when you wish upon a star, everything your heart desires will come to you.


Playing with light and darkness.