Living a Rich Life

Art is about a lot of things; perhaps the most important is learning to really see. Learning to see; not just "look" but really see, can lead to some extraordinary experiences. For me, art is a sort of vehicle that transports me to those extraordinary experiences.

One day I found myself looking at a still life painting of a tree with fallen leaves gathered around it's base. Some time later on a lovely autumn day, I came across another tree - a real one. Standing there, I remembered that earlier still life. With the help of that earlier experience, I noticed more about the living tree in front of me. Where I once might have just looked at the " brown" leaves, I now saw leaves that were brownish-yellow, reddish- brown, browns speckled with dots of black, and so much more.

That's one of the many reasons I love looking at art; - it helps me see (and experience) the broader physical world in ways that feel more nuanced and so much richer. Moving through the world this way opens me up to the possibility of experiencing something extraordinary everyday. Moving through the world in this way makes for a very rich life indeed.