Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of President Obama.

I remember the first time I saw the portrait of President Barack Obama. I gasped, it was so perfect to me. How wonderful to discover more of the artist’s work. His work is so brave and original and unafraid of being beautiful and true.

There is a lovely article in The Guardian about Mr. Wiley. Among many other wise statements, I loved this one:

[Art is] about seeing yourself in other people. People forget America itself is a stand-in for a sense of aspiration the world holds on to. It’s a really sad day when the source of light criticizes light itself.

3 Girls in a Wood by Kehinde Wiley

http://kehindewiley.com/

Wander Within

Live in the Soul’s soft longing,
where all things beautiful and true
(especially the ugly and the false)
wait to be transformed.

Move towards what is beautiful to you —
a smile, a flower, a favorite corner
where you can see the river.
Move into what moves you and
uncover the mysteries of your life.

From these journeys come the treasures
of the Soul, a direct response to
the world and its sorrow, emerging
from within to become medicine —
first for you, and then for all of us.

Wander within, slow down and find
the pace of deep knowing.
Just when it seems terrible, fraught,
and impossible, that’s when to keep going,
that’s when to push against the walls,
come into the light, be born into
the dance of your life.

Julie Byrne

Julie Byrne resides in New York — and works as a ranger in Central Park — but has lived many other places, and has lived deeply inside of her own mystery, which is evident in her sublime album “Not Even Happiness.”

It is, to me, one of those perfect albums, where every song is just right, where the person writing is in the depths of their soul, but in the places where hope grows and the soul becomes free. I’ve included here a link to a lovely interview with her where she talks a bit about herself.

Seeking Serenity in an Insane World