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What is Fear? Rumi says that fear is "non-acceptance of uncertainty. If we accept that uncertainty, it becomes an adventure!"

With so much information, misinformation and disinformation swirling around the outbreak and response to Covid-19, it's no wonder some people may feel paralyzed with fear.  From fears of getting sick, or someone we love getting sick, to fears of losing jobs, businesses, houses...we may find ourselves in a state of perpetual anxiety.  But it doesn't take a pandemic for fear to take hold. Even in the best of times, fear can take hold.  How many times have we turned down opportunity for fear of failure? Or held on to something (or someone) for fear of the unknown? How many times have we not spoken up for fear of conflict? Or not listened to another point of view for fear we may be wrong?

Joseph Campbell, philosopher and author, suggested that mythic symbols like the horse have many meanings and that the use of such mythological symbols in art connects viewers with images from their own dreams and waking life. In my art, I often use the horse as a metaphor - both for fear and for boldness. That's why I love the quote by Rumi...we can change our story and use times of uncertainty as a catalyst to move forward into adventure. 

I am inspired by my mare, Stormi, who learned at an early age that electric fencing hurts the same whether you go backwards or press forward. She always chooses forward to the greener grass.

"The color of Spring is in the flowers; the color of winter is in the imagination." - Terri Guillemets

Being in semi-quarantine is giving me lots of time in my home studio, and while I find that much of what I'm painting is more somber in tone, this piece reminds me that there is always a bright side to every situation.  Like many of you, I am struggling to find a balance between being informed and trying to keep normalized.  At first I was watching WAY too much news...plus I was constantly on Facebook, reading the latest stats, critiques, opinions...until my head hurt. 

In the past week or so, I have limited my Facebook time, and only watch the evening news. I've started making sure I get outside everyday - walking in my neighborhood, listening to the birds sing their love for each other, watching the wind run its fingers through the prairie grasses, and the clouds making playful shapes in the sky.  These things remind me that no matter how bad it gets, this too shall pass.