I started to ponder the art and spirituality connection when by chance I picked up a book by Jeanne Carbonetti at the library on Thursday night. She is author to several books on how to create art. The particular book I came across at the library, Making Pearls: Living the Creative Life, is not one that I have seen at the bookstore, but after reading the first chapter over lunch on Friday, I became very intrigued. To give you a glimpse, this is her opening passage to the first chapter:

We are all creators. It is the birthright of each and every one of us; no one is left out. In our true nature as conscious beings, we shape our world through the power of imagination and thought.

I have always felt that we are all given the power to create. I first explored this concept in a college newspaper article I wrote titled, What is your art?.

Honestly, in my personal opinion, our society has pretty messed up perspectives on what it means to create. When it comes to art, typically, the first thing that comes to mind is a painting in a museum. Not the wonderful Sunday dinner that our mom made or the garden that Dad slaves over.

Art doesn’t have to just be a dusty painting that some famous painter made centuries before our time. Art surrounds us everyday. It is sparked when the muse comes out in our journal entries. It is revealed when we re-arrange our furniture. Art is infused in our everyday lives.

Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the beauty that life holds, and it saddens me when I see people blinded by pain, enraged with anger, lost in delusions . . . we have all been given life, a moment in time, to feel, to experience.

I know we all struggle. We have our moments of darkness. We feel lost and disconnect. But through it all, I feel the connection of something larger than myself. You can call it whatever you want. Definitions really do not matter when you come down to it.

As a child, I do not remember being taught religion or faith. I suppose spirituality was something that was infused with our daily life without a second thought. While my family was never overtly religious, we were deeply spiritual people. We recognized the spiritual power that everyday activities held. From cooking to working in the gardening, each endeavor was an action of creation. As Jeanne states, “Creation is always an act of faith, faith in ourselves and in that which is larger than ourselves.”

I suppose as far as my dreams are considered, my only truly profusely felt mission in life is to open the eyes of those who are lost. I don’t desire to convert anyone. Or to demand this is the way it is and always shall be. No, I simply wish to share this experience with the divine, this element of convergence with art and spirituality. I cannot image life without this feeling. And yet, I have encountered many friends in life who finally labeled themselves as an atheist because they either gave up hope of a god or they never had a moment when they felt the presence of a God.

I believe we have to discover God in our own little way. But sometimes, it takes the help of the muse. She is a creator in her own right. She works behind the scenes in all we do. The muse plays a very powerful role in our lives, and yet, she knows she does not encompass everything in her being–she is solely the inspirer.

When I take on the persona of surrealmuse, I solely wish to be the inspirer for something larger than ourselves. Maybe I’ll help point someone in the right direction. Maybe I’ll give someone hope. There is no denying that we live in challenging times. But honestly, most decades are a challenge. There will always be struggles, issues, conflicts. That is simply life. But sometimes, we just need to feel the muse to inspire ourselves to something grander, to feel the beauty that life holds.