Living Happiness

flickr photo by Karen from Michigan

When I was a young girl, I grew up hearing a slew of words that are seldom found in our lexicon today — salvation, redemption, atonement, …– because I grew up in a very religious home where the sun around which our daily lives revolved was the church we were a part of.

Over the years, I have changed my orbit quite a bit and moved away from this earlier world view. I am now more open and inclusive in my views of God, myself and the Universe. But my amazement at the mystery of these will never go away. If anything, I’m even more amazed!

Despite the fact that I rarely think in theological terms anymore, some of the words from that earlier lexicon still linger in the language by which I see and experience my world. And two of those words have come to my mind again and again over the past week. They are grace and mercy, and they go hand in hand.

What are grace and mercy, though? We use these terms all the time in daily little expressions: Mercy me. Lord, have mercy! Will you grace us with your presence? He handled that with such grace and dignity. But what do they mean when we use them together?

I was lucky a few years ago to have someone explain this to me: To receive grace is to receive a gift that you have done nothing to deserve. To receive mercy is to not receive the punishment that you definitely do deserve.

To speak more plainly, grace is the gift under the Christmas tree even though you’ve been nothing but naughty, the bonus in your salary even though you really came in too late in the year to qualify, the credit you get for work on a project you barely (if even) showed up for.

And mercy, mercy is the prosecutor deciding not to press charges, the alleviated sentence at a trial, the stay of execution the night a prisoner is to be hung.

Both of these, grace and mercy, are supreme gifts. They are also humbling. And when you receive them, if the eyes of your heart are open in any way, you thank your lucky stars for them.

This is how I felt this past week when I had my life held up in high relief before my eyes like a topographical map: my highs and lows etched out in supreme clarity, my steps along the journey marked out in little red dots from one place to another. Some of what I saw I was proud of, but other things I saw gave me pause: bad turns, missteps, people hurt, friendships lost, loyalties betrayed. It was not pretty, and I felt sick to my stomach at some of what I saw, mortified, ashamed, and sorrowful above all.

At work in the middle of all this, however, were two little things called grace and mercy. The Universe had felt it fitting to give me this glimpse, painful though it was (a bit like Scrooge and his Christmas ghosts), and say to me, “All is not lost, CG. Let’s make some changes.” This was grace.

And then came mercy. As I turned to the people in my life whom I’d hurt and began to ask forgiveness, I saw over and over again love and acceptance. “Of course”, “No worries”, “Water under the bridge”, “It’s alright”, “You’re human. Everyone makes mistakes.” “None of us is perfect.” These are the words I have heard repeatedly over the last days, and my shame and sorrow have been transformed into humility and joy.

flickr photo by morrrgan

The amazing thing about grace and mercy is that, when they are extended to you, it is that much easier to extend them to yourself. I have been able to say, “CG, I forgive you. Let’s get on now with the business of living. Onward and upward.”

I’ve discovered that they’re not gifts you can hold onto and closet away, either. Once you’ve received them, you’ve got to hand them back out again and see the light on someone else’s face as they realize they are loved and forgiven. At least, this is how I’ve felt.

So I share this post with you today as just one more way of shining some hope and light into your world, to remind those of you who might need it that all is not lost no matter how badly we might think we’ve screwed things up.

Namaste and peace be with you,

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I am very lucky to have a dear friend who is also a talented and emerging artist. Since the spring we met four years ago, I have never known her not to be creating art in some form … whether it be something as simple as homemade bread or a knitted scarf or something more complex: her paintings.

Gina Pruette has a remarkable gift for seeing the beauty in the material objects that fill our lives everyday. Often we are oblivious to the ways they touch us, shape us, mold us, what they might say about us, but Gina is not oblivious to their power and uses them as the focal points of her paintings. As she reveals in her Artist Statement,

Since Gina began her Block Series last year — a series of still life oil paintings dedicated to the study of objects that her daughter used in play – I have been swept in by her rendering of these objects (blocks, balls, teacups) and prompted to think more deeply about the fundamental themes of who we are and how we play and how play (and the objects of play) shape our identity from infancy onward. As Gina says so eloquently,

Needless to say, I have been wanting to introduce Gina to you for some time now, because whether we are writers, photographers, musicians, or dancers, we are all artists and can learn much from one another.

I asked her a few months ago if she would agree to an interview, and she delightfully agreed. So, without further ado, here are the details of that lovely chat, with some glimpses of a few of the lovely still lifes she has completed, and of which more can be found at her site: www.ginapruette.com. Please feel free to comment and ask any questions you have of Gina, as well.

You have a rich background in art that includes formal training in studio art and art history, and you have also been employed by and volunteered for various arts-related non-profits over the years. How did your decision to pursue painting on a more active level come about?

I think that, like other vocations, the creative life tends to find you rather than the other way around. I have been painting for as long as I can remember and I grew up in a family of artists and art lovers, so the question I wrestled with over the years wasn’t really if but when to pursue it as a career. Shortly after Stella was born I knew I was ready.

As a relatively new mom, how do you find (or create) the time to paint?

I prioritize painting over other interests. There’s enough time for everything in life if we strip away the non-essential clutter of existence and throw ourselves into the things that really give our lives meaning. I paint whenever I can. I paint when Stella’s at preschool, during grandparent visits, nap time, evenings, weekends when my husband is entertaining her. I often research and plan new projects during snack time. Stella and I have even started sketching together!

What has inspired you the most in watching Stella’s play?

Her enjoyment of process over outcomes. Stella loves to stack blocks, shovel sand, pick flowers … but she has little interest in standing back to admire her new tower or hole or bouquet. The act of engaging with her world is more important than any prize or achievement. What a beautiful way to live!

What has been most gratifying for you, especially as your work has garnered more attention and come to the awareness of so many more people around you?

One of my friends in college was an accomplished poet, and she described to me how she saw the world in words. She would walk down the street and hear “grass” and “pavement” before she ever really registered those things visually. My language is color. I walk down the street and sense greens, blues, neutrals, etc. before anything else. I think people each have their own language they use to understand the world and communicate with others. So, the most gratifying experience for me as an artist is the knowledge that I have been able to convey my ideas to others through my medium.

What are your future goals as an artist? What are some of the other areas you would like to explore?

Scale is the new frontier for my art. I work in restricted studio space at present and producing larger scale pieces has some practical issues. However, I’m working through different options for opening the door to scale and hope to have some oversized pieces ready for exhibition this summer. My goals are to continue to increase exposure for my work and to impact as many people as possible.

When you not being a wife, mom, daughter, friend or artist, who are you? Tired! Seriously, I can’t imagine my life without wearing one of those hats at any given time.

What makes you laugh? Very dry humor and the absurd. Between my husband and daughter I have no shortage of laughter throughout the day!

When do you feel cherished? I love when my family and friends share their art with me.

If you were to choose 5 physical artifacts that represent who you are, what would you choose? (These can be jewelry, photos, a book, clothing, food products, found objects,…anything physical.)

Raw umber
Grass-stained jeans
Sand dollar
The Wrath of Khan
Champagne

If you could give your 20-year old self some advice, what would it be? What would you tell her? Study less, sketch more.

If you enjoyed this interview today, you can learn more about Gina and see more of her paintings at www.ginapruette.com or in her new book Portraits of Play . You are also welcome to leave Gina a comment here, where she will respond over the next few days.

Namaste and peace to all of you,