Celebrating Life Through Art, Nurture, and Nature

The Interconnectedness of Life

Through the loving nurture of our children and each other, we can create a more beautiful world. Nature and our cultures intertwine, allowing us to work together from a place of compassionate interdependent intention.

There is a great joy in surrendering to the inner child. When we explore our natural world with love, curiosity, and wonder, we discover a profound connection to everything around us. Such reflective joys enfold us. In loving, embracive relationships with each other and life itself, we boldly mirror the perfection of a world made sublime by our Divine Creative Source.

The Wisdom of Sacred Cosmologies

The sacred cosmologies of ethnic groups throughout the world arise from a deep understanding of nature. They reveal a sublime awareness of a Cosmic Order that informs and underpins all manifestations of life.

Yet, we live under the shadow of a troubling truth: our society's economic growth has often come at the expense of our beautiful environment. This depletion leaves us spiritually and physically impoverished.

We each have a vital role to play in joyously renewing ourselves and our societies. By interacting harmoniously within the Cosmic Order, we replenish ourselves.

Nature subtly maintains the substrata of our existence at a temporal level, reminding us of our connection to the world.

The Transformative Power of Art

The arts celebrate all the senses, releasing the body to balance and harmony. They guide the soul and mind toward a sense of peace and belonging. Art works on both our inner and outer senses.

Yet, our youth are being deprived of these fundamental needs. This speaks volumes about the values of our leaders and the depth of our dis-ease within ourselves and with the natural world.

Through nurture, we become aware of our vital role in the chain of life. We recognize our connectedness with everything. Yet, we still fail to understand the need for creative interaction in our society.

There is an increasing marginalization of the arts in children's lives, whether by accident or design. The effects remain the same: our youngsters are denied the celebratory skills necessary to play a full participatory role in society.

Nurturing the Future

Our children are the future! If they are not nurtured and esteemed through the arts, our society will continue its downward spiral. We live in a disconnected world, where authorities speak of consuming nature to create wealth. Little wonder an indigenous soul once said, "When you have cut down the last tree, killed all the wildlife and fish, when you have fouled all the rivers and oceans, are you going to eat money?"

Technology has its place, but it must be used wisely. In the West, we find ourselves in an orgy of greed and destruction, damaging irreplaceable natural life support systems.

It is unthinkable that so many of our planet's population are denied a sustainable lifestyle, yet we are driven to extend this lifestyle to all suffering humanity.

The Illusion of Consumption

Why are we enslaved to ego-driven consumption? If it truly made people more content and happy, if it encouraged personal freedom and justice in a sustainable future, then one could see the point of our so-called progress. Yet, this is manifestly not the case.

It doesn't have to be like this. Thankfully, there is a growing awareness of the futility of our present worldview. It all comes back to education. When we teach our children respect and love for nature through the arts, we embrace all of life. Otherwise, how can our children ever develop a meaningful dialogue with nature? How can they heal the dis-ease that pervades our society?

The Curiosity of Childhood

Very young children possess an insatiable curiosity about life and their place within this environment. Einstein referred to them as "true geniuses." Yet, without empathy and nurturing from their parents and other adults, they become suppressed and frustrated. The creative spark within them dims, if not quenched.

As we journey through this exquisite parenthesis in eternity we call life, let us remember the power of art and nurture. Let us celebrate the beauty that resides within ourselves and the natural world. Together, we can create art that evokes rich emotion and encourages a deeper connection—a meaningful dialogue with ourselves and our relationship with art and life.

All Blessings,

Alasdair