We are all on this spaceship we call planet Earth, together, making our own journey through time and space, through the ever changing and evolving world. I’m nearly certain that one of the best places on planet Earth, to get your skull-bound brain to contemplate the BIG questions, is Grand Canyon. How the heck did we get here anyway? Where did I come from? What does it all mean? You mean to tell me that rock is almost 2 billion years old?! These elements were formed inside of stars?! Am I star dust too?! Will humans even be in the fossil record? Will anyone ever know that I even existed?! Where is it all going? What can I do to make my very short, minuscule fraction of time here worthwhile and meaningful?
That’s a lot to contemplate. And, what usually happens on a Grand Canyon river trip, in between these brief, lucid moments of realizing our place in the big picture, is that we live purely for the day, laughing from one river mile to next with wild abandon and sheer joy, throwing all previous burdens of worries to the wind. And, that is a wonderful thing. Maybe that IS why we are here. Maybe we are meant to experience life within the river of time, which has no past and no future, only the present moment, opening a new dimension of possibility. Maybe this is where life can truly be experienced in its’ fullest form, free from judgements and beliefs that the past has chained us to and free from the anxieties and expectations of what is to come. Idealistic, spiritual, bull crap I can hear you say, yes, especially in these crazy, hard times. Not everyone has the luxury of a river trip or even a full belly and some now are mourning their lost, loved ones. So, what do we do? We can go back to the idea that none of it even matters in the big picture. A million years from now no one will even know that we were ever here. That helps a little, but not really….
So then, the question still stands, “What can I do to make my journey here on planet Earth meaningful and joyful?”. I do not have the answer for you and the answer is probably different for everyone. The journey of a water molecule goes from being part of the river, to a cloud, to rain and back to the river again. Some molten rocks make a journey from the center of the Earth and harden into dark, dense masses only to then transform to beautiful, clear, crystalline structures. What then, in the big picture, is our destiny as humans? Where does our own life fit in? Do we have the potential to transform like a metamorphic rock before we drive ourselves to extinction?
We are all on a journey, and I do know this, my friend… we will encounter rapids and rock falls up until the very end. But, with these obstacles come rewards and rainbows too, and it is up to each and every one of us to guide our own boat through. We are responsible for our actions, reactions and the words we do or do not say. We can realize that we are writing the script and that we’re starring in our very own play! Reality starts from within and is reflected in the world we see. So with an open mind and compassionate heart, we will endure our journey more easily. Good luck, dear one and hold on tight when need be. Have faith and trust that there is more to this than we can see.
Original Painting available ~ contact Erica
Matted, signed and numbered archival prints available: 16×36 or 10×20