Mission

Welcome to this blog which is dedicated to providing a forum for a civil discourse on a variety of issues to try and make our society a truly better place for all. While the views expressed are strictly my personal opinions, please feel free to join in on these conversations accepting the premises that every attempt will be made to ensure that nothing but the truth be spoken and the truth be heard.




Sunday, January 16, 2011

Healing of the Heart and Cleansing of the Soul

In the wake of the Arizona tragedy and on the eve of celebrating Martin Luther King Day, all of the apparent conciliation, cooperation and toning down of political rhetoric seems to be an appropriate and welcomed tack for this country to be taking.  Time will tell if ill winds return and blow us off course to possibly achieving some badly needed bi-partisan results for our country.

On this positive note it also seems that now would be an excellent time to admit to the root causes of all the anger and mistrust that has built up over the past few years.  In the view of many renown spiritual leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Dr. King and Rev. Billy Graham among others, the true reason for our feelings goes much deeper than the external forces with which we are all familiar (e.g. recession, economic disparity, war, unemployment, global competition, immigration policy, etc.).  In short, it goes straight to the human heart which is affected by a multitude of stimuli and emotions including greed, ego, pride, hate and revenge which all tear at the fabric of our soul.  Each of us in our own way knows how our conduct is influenced by these spiritual flaws and recognize that it takes an act of personal redemption to restore faith in ourselves as the first step in collectively restoring the spiritual well-being of mankind as a whole.  Once that "healing of the heart" has taken place, it might be helpful to then embrace the message of that well-known Serenity Prayer which begins: 
"God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference."
But, please go to http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/special/serenity.html to read it in its entirety.

And, finally, let me suggest that one way we could practice another important admonition in that prayer of "Enjoying one moment at a time" is by taking advantage of the wonderful world of art that is open to all of us on so many levels including painting, music, plays, movies, etc. and at so many venues.  In that regard I am pleased to add to my list of studio artists, Julie McNair, whom I was privileged to meet a year ago this past September in Telluride, Colorado while attending their film festival.  As a direct result of that chance encounter, Julie was invited to participate in Little Rock's annual Sculpture in the River Market event last October.  Like all of the others listed, she is a truly talented artist whose work I find unique and sometimes with a whimsical flair that I find most enjoyable and uplifting.  Go to her website at http://juliemcnair.com and see for yourself.


ARTISTS
Laura Raborn at http://paintingsofhome.com and http://claygifts.com 
Jim Johnson at http://yessy.com/jimjohnson/gallery.html 
Russ Powell at http://powellphotos.com 
Linda Flake at http://lindaflake.com 
Tom Herrin at http://tommysart.blogspot.com 
Matt McLeod at http://matt@mattmcleod.com 
Artists Registry at http://www.arkansasarts.org/programs/registry/default.aspx
Sandy Hubler Fine Art at http://sandyhublerfineart.com
George Wittenberg at http://postcard-art-gallery.com  
Will Barnet at http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&expIds=17259,17315,23628,23670,24472,25834,26095,26328,26562,26637,26761,26790,26849,26992,27095,27126,27139,27147,27178&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=will+barnet&cp=9&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=xpfETMT1O4L6lwf66ugE&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CEkQsAQwAQ&biw=1350&bih=501
Barry Thomas at http://barrythomasart.com  
Sherry Williamson at http://meowbarkart.com
Julie McNair at http://juliemcnair.com 

GALLERIES
Local Colour Gallery at http://localcolourgallery.com
Chroma Gallery at http://chromagallery.com
Cantrell Gallery at http://cantrellgallery.com
Greg Thompson Fine Art at http://gregthompsonfineart.com
Red Door Gallery at http://reddoorgalleryonline.com 
M2 Gallery at http://m2lr.com
UALR Gallery Program at http://ualr.edu/art
Gallery 26 at http://gallery26.com 
Boswell Mourot Fine Art at http://boswellmourot.com