Sunday, February 17, 2008

World Community Arts Day


"We can either react in fear or anger to the state of our world thus becoming part of the problem or respond creatively and become part of the solution."

This quote above is why I do what I do. And today, World Community Arts Day, I feel very connected to all of the other people around the world who do what they do. Who dare to have faith in the idea that art can change the world. Yesterday, with Allison and Claire (in our group with no name), we explored the concept of Hope together. We used clay, read some other people's ideas and went on a walk through our neighborhood looking for signs of Hope. We talked a lot about the idea of "false hope." And I realized that some folks are so afraid of Hope because we tend to confuse Hope for Want.


They are not the same.

Want is a state of anticipation of something outside of ourselves. And this is a tricky state to be in because it makes us dependent on the future, on someone else, on something else. If we just "want" the world to change, then we will always be disappointed.

Hope, however, is a spiritual tool. It is the tool that honors Faith. Faith is a deep inner knowing that transcendence or resurrection - whatever you want to call it - a New Way - is possible. And Hope is what you do in every moment to honor that Faith. And you do it, despite all the messages you receive that say otherwise, because it is based on this inner knowing.

So today, as people around the world recognize that our creativity is our greatest power and greatest responsibility, I know that change is not only possible, it is imminent. This green circle represents the interconnectedness of Hope in action. It inspires us all to use our gifts to create the world that we want to live in.


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