Painting, Video, Portrait and Snapshot

 Painting, Video, Portrait and Snapshot (1,264)

September 9, 2011

        “Seeing is believing.”

      This is a generally accepted axiom, even though there are theologians that would insist God expects faith to be the evidence of things NOT seen. But like every great spiritual principle, believing is better applied when humanity is factored into the mix. Human beings just like to “see” before they proceed. It’s a part of our makeup. But how do we see?

      Well, obviously with our eyes.  But also, we see in portions and fragments—as through a glass darkly—not having the full revelation of plain sight.  It’s the difference you see with a snapshot, a video, a painting and a portrait.

      If everything in your life is a snapshot, then you possibly will miss out on some deeper, more long-lasting images.  Yet if you’re sitting around waiting to finish the painting constructed in your mind’s eye, it may be a while before your vision is realized.  A video, on the other hand, is just an accurate streaming of the activities transpiring at any given time.  And a portrait is when we dress up in our Sunday best and sit under perfect lighting and try to achieve the closest semblance to “gorgeous” that we can muster.

      You can see that having an eye-full of any one of these above the other could cause an imbalance in your thinking. So this is where I think we have to come back to that glorious presentation of heart, soul, mind and strength.  When those four work together, we begin to make more sense to ourselves, and therefore life doesn’t seem quite so obtuse. 

      I think my heart needs snapshots.  It is important for me to release frequent and quick revelations of what I am sensing in myself without fear or shame, knowing I am looking at a snapshot of the moment’s emotional condition.  Our emotions are not geared to producing a painting—long-lasting perceptions in oil.  For emotions are transient.  If you pretend they are permanent, you will become a liar, cheating others out of knowing where you are at any given moment so that they can understand you better, and maybe even help.  Yes, my emotions should be a snapshot of what I am feeling in that particular immediate space of time.

      But it is in my soul—my spirit—that I begin my earthly painting—taking the beautiful things I have discovered and the miracles that have come my way, blending the colors together to paint a picture of life that radiates from my soul as a beacon of hope derived from my journey here—with even greater aspirations for the life beyond.  The spirit is a great painting, allowing for my interpretation and permitting me to add the background of my desire.

      Then we come to the brain.  The brain receives the snapshots from the emotions, which have now been cherished in the spirit and turned into a beautiful painting, and encourages me to clean myself up, choose better lighting, organize and come up with the best representation of my own image.  For I will tell you this—your mind will be your worst enemy if your spirit isn’t renewing it with a better likeness.  Your mind will remind you of your inadequacies and point out to you how little you know unless it has been rejuvenated to bring to the forefront those things that are good, pure and worthy of praise.

      And then, once my brain has developed a good image of what I want to do, I can use my body and my daily activities in strength, to stream the video around me and ascertain which things are of value to my journey and which ones I wish to reject as being of no particularly good use.  Because if you’re streaming video of the planet earth on any given day and thinking it’s what you’re stuck with, it’s no wonder you might be finding yourself a bit depressed.  The grays, browns, tans and dark greens jump to the forefront unless you allow your mind to colorize the world with brighter possibilities.

      So my emotions are a snapshot of what I’m feeling right now.  My spirit is turning me into Leonardo da Vinci, to paint a masterpiece reflecting the joy of my journey.  My mind is inspired to produce a portrait of myself and the world around me that is purer, cleaner and better-illuminated than what others may see—so when I finally take my body out into the drama of life, to stream the video of what’s going on, I have a better idea on what pieces of what I see will make the cut and what needs to be edited out.

      For Jesus was right: the light of the body is the eye.  And if the eye be evil, the whole body will be full of darkness.  But if you can get a good snapshot, commence a great painting and produce a better portrait of yourself and life around you, the video that comes your way will be pure, singular and rich with potential.

      It’s all up to us.  I think we like it that way—until we have to become involved in our own situation.  So I’m going to work on my snapshot, continue my painting, develop a good portrait and video my life, looking for reasons to believe instead of selecting dark visions of doubt. 

      This is my choice.  What is yours?