STRUGGLING WITH A BASIC NEED: SUSTENANCE

Seldom feeling playful or creative, my life is dominated by drudgery and struggle to provide necessities so I / my family can survive. This struggle often leaves me in a weakened state, but sometimes I pause and ask, “Are my / our sustenance needs being met, and are prospects good they’ll continue to be met in the future?” If the answer is no, then I must make changes. I fear the day when I have no choices, and death lurks nearby. (Note: poor people, especially those confronting injustice, may not accord people or nature the respect that they would if their lives were more rewarding.)

CREATIVE EXPRESSION

I see life as playground, where I express creativity, not prison where I struggle to survive. As living space designer—or as chef—I go beyond shelter or taste: I bring taste / form /  function together in pleasing ways. As writer/artist/designer/composer, my creations come to life when creative thinking, passive observing, listening—and sometimes emotionally painful experience— ends, and active describing / storytelling / sharing begins.  Suffering brings out my best art: imposing artificial structure on transient chaos —presented not in isolation but as part of an interconnected fabric that touches the divine!