Painting is just another way of keeping a diary

dear friend,

i started this painting over 10 years ago in philadelphia while a friend was going through cancer treatment. he did not get to ring the bell. a year ago i did not have to ring the bell because it was caught very early. i was spared the trauma and the struggle. it was not my time to go home, but the experience gave me deeper empathy for others.

Picasso said, “a painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” i took this painting out of storage this morning to work on it again. i am not sure that if i want to take it to a refine look.

every painting is like a memory of a fleeting feeling, a fleeting sense of a place, a fleeting moment in time, and a fleeting moment in a life on earth. on the other side, there is no human construct like time (or even religions, cultures, or genders), but a clock tick could be an earth day. perhaps 50 earth years will have pass, and when we meet them again on the other side, they will joyfully welcome us home. “we have left you just some moments ago!” they say as though they are surprise. “please,” they continue with unconditional love and joyful excitement, “share with us your experiences. what have you learned?”

in a world where you can be anything, be kind.