Color me black

 

Colour me Black – Part 1 of a 9 part poem on mixed media

Black makes me think of death and darkness. The absence of peace and all that is good. It also makes me think of depression and moodiness. Deep inner sorrow and soul emptiness. A few other things come to mind when I think of black are evil, wickedness and injustice. The absence of God and all the contents of a Pandora’s box.

Black, however, is also a colour that is made up of all other colours, excluding white, so its meaning isn’t all bad. For example, black clothing is very slimming for the figure. It portrays an air of sophistication and is associated with elegance and even mystery.

Looking at black on an individual and very personal level, I see black as the dance of death and the dance of life. The song of sorrow and the song that produces joy. My greatest enemy, but also my best friend. As a Christian, I believe in what the Bible says, “suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” I see it as a paradox. The death of self actually causes a life that is full and a peace that passes all understanding.

Black is a very real colour in the lives of all people. Suffering, pain and death are inevitable, but white and light makes it all bearable. I am thankful to be under the umbrella that rains white and protects me from pure blackness, without hope.

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What does black mean to you?

 

Dance me

Do you think that we, as humans, can benefit from times of pain and suffering? Do you think it teaches us timeless lessons and builds character? I do.

Nobody wants to go through painful experiences, but it seems like going through the tough times is what causes true growth and maturity in our lives. It’s like the age-old adage, “No pain, no gain”.

Allow me to share a few famous quotes about the good found in diversity.

“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” –Walt Disney

“You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.”  –Epicurus 

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit.”  –Napoleon Hill

These quotes hold a lot of wisdom. I’ve been through the wringer when it comes to inner pain and suffering. All I wanted during those times was to be rid of it all. In retrospect though, I see how they have shaped me, grown me and made me into the person I am today.

How about you? Have you gone through times of pain, suffering, adversity? Have you allowed it to shape you? To be your teacher? Have you grown wiser and allowed it to develop character in you? What painful experience have you gone through, in looking back, you can see that it has produced gold by being refined in the fire?

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This post is an updated version of one I’ve done before. I added another stanza to the poem and have embedded it into my original art. I have put music together and hope to record in the near future.

This is also in response to a 3-day quote challenge that I received from Pearl at “writeintent1“. Three quote for three days and nominating three others. I will be cheating though. I won’t be doing it for three consecutive days (time restraints) and I would like to challenge anyone that would like to take this on to go ahead and do it.

 

A Scarred Gift (Triple Gogyohka) – 3 day quote challenge

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” — Kahlil Gibran

I’m a huge believer that suffering causes growth and that those that have scars from the bumps and grinds of life, have great wisdom to offer others. That is, if the one that has suffered allows those experiences to be teachers. Now don’t get me wrong. I try to avoid suffering at all costs. And there are many that don’t allow their experiences to teach them, but instead get bitter and angry with people or with God.

I have been invited by Geralyn, from Where My Feet Are, Sibella, from Arts & Rhymes, Himali, from Decoding Happiness, Sagarika, from In Depth, and Christina, from The Wordy Rose to participate in a ‘3 quotes/3 days challenge. I don’t think I’ll be able to do this consecutively, but I will get all three out sooner or later 🙂

I am suppose to nominate three other bloggers to do this challenge as well, however, I would like to nominate all those who read this to do this challenge. Anyone that would like to.

I wrote the above poem to go along with this quote, because I was just chomping at the bit to create. I had been working all week on a mixed media piece and I really just didn’t like it at all. Sooooo, I crumpled it up and threw it out. At any rate, this poem is inspired by the book, “Ecclesiastes”, which I absolutely love. It was written by an Israeli king, King Solomon, who was a man that made it his life mission to seek wisdom. It offers a philosophy of life and how to find spiritual significance in a life that would otherwise be meaningless (Christian Growth Study Bible). 

How about you? Do you believe that suffering can be your teacher and that great wisdom can come from it?

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Gogyohka literally translates as “five-line poem” or “song”. It is a Japanese micro-poetry form that is only five lines long, and has no syllabic restriction.

Embracing pain

 

The taste of my pain is sour

yet bittersweet

Embrace it I will

with courage and determination

For I know that only through

the struggles undergone

of trials and sufferings

of body and soul

The trickle of salty tears

Anguish of heart and facing fears

will there once again shine a ray of hope

and the muscle of faith will be strengthened

Do you find yourself trying to flee the afflictions of life? Pain and suffering? Sadness and hurt?  I used to detest these times.  Of course, nobody really wants to experience pain.  And the pain I’m talking of here isn’t in the physical sense, but the emotional sense.  The pain of the soul.  Of the heart.

After 40 years of life, I’ve learned that pain is inevitable.  I’m trying to accept it as something that is strengthening though.  Just as a body builder lifts weight to make his muscles grow, if he stops training, his muscles will atrophy. Pain and suffering builds muscle, and in the absence of it, we remain weak and shallow.

As a Christian I can also use this analogy for my faith.  If I don’t undergo the trials and sufferings that this earthly life has in store for me, my faith will not grow, in fact it will just weaken.

So I will embrace the pain.  I will let it grow me.  I will allow it to shape me into a person of perseverance, character and tenacity.

How do you feel about pain? Emotional pain? Pain of the heart and of the soul? Do you allow yourself to be defeated by it? Or do you allow it to cause growth and maturity?

Photo credit:  Robert Hafley

https://stacilys.wordpress.com/2014/02/19/tenacity/