Seek Freedom

Hope and Safety

This morning, I read in the New York Times that (another) teenager was the suspect of (another) school shooting in the United States. A National Public Radio article said "Only nine female students hve committed a school shooting since 1999." They said the perpetrator being female was "relatively rare" and that at least four people have to be murdered with a gun by the same person in order for it to qualify it as a mass murder. Only two people were killed, six were injured before the shooter turned the gun on herself and committed suicide.

This year there have been three hundred and thirty-two shootings, and the year isn't over yet.

The Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said, "Every child, every person in that building, is a victim, and will be a victim forever," and I deplore this description for a couple of reasons

First, there were eight victims, and we know they are because they were killed or injured. Second, aside from those eight, everyone else survived. They were witnesses., not victims, and this propensity in America for everyone to be a victim in one way or another is leading people down the wrong path.

A victim mentality distorts one's view of reality. When a person adopts it, he or she sees things through a negative lens. The bad that was done to them is magnified, and they begin to exclusively attribute other people and outside forces beyond their control as the causes of it all. Emotionally, the fear and anger that results warps their thinking and behavior. And when people are afraid and angry, they are easily controlled.

The aforementioned is sadly neither an unusual or rare occurence in America. This way of thinking is common and everywhere. Unless it changes, and Americans start thinking and behaving differently, the decline is going to continue. This is how empires fall.

I light a candle and here you can see all the "flaws" and cracks in Inner Peace. Not to criticise and judge, but to illuminate.

I don't light it for hopes, prayers and safety... but more practically, to inspire action and seeing things clearly.

I light it for wisdom and perseverance, diligence and results.

I light it for remembrance of those who died and were injured in this school shooting, and too many others..

But most of all, I light it for the girl who acquired a gun and felt that her only recourse was to shoot others before taking her own life. Somehow, society and culture have failed her. Fifteen years old, female, attending a religious school. Would anyone like to take some guesses as to how?

Three French Hens Tangent

Today I received mail. A holiday card from a friend in another country. Not email or a Whatsapp message or a GIF sent through any other messaging service, but a get-my-letter-opener and slice through the envelope actual mail in my mailbox.

There was a time when I wouldn't make a fuss about such a thing. Sending and receiving holiday cards was a usual practice. Boxes of holidays cards and stamps would have been purchased. One would hope that the address book was up-to-date. I would simply be happy to receive it, note who sent it to me, and add it to my holiday display.

With the pending relocation to the UK, this year, this card is my entire holiday display.

While looking up the symbolism of the three French hens I came across a compelling read. In a blog post written by Dave Snowden in 2015, he describes how he once had a paper on feminism accepted for what ended up being a highly controversial seminar at a univerisity in which he substituted the Christian beliefs of the three French hens (faith, hope, charity) for the three aspects of the Pagan Mother Goddess: virgin, mother and hag. The blog post was written for The Cynefin Company, which I have never heard of before. Their mission is to "enable individuals and organisations to navigate and make sense of uncertainty by providing tools and methods based on scientific theory." I mention all of this as an unexpected source mentioning an interesting philosophical thought process about a relgious meaning that predates Christian beliefs applied to the symbolism of the three. He says:

"Now as any student of Terry Pratchett knows hag is not a pejorative term but is normally used in the sense of wisdom. Virgin similarly does not always imply a lack of sexual experience, it can mean someone who belongs to no man, who is independent of another’s needs and demands; gives of herself but is never possessed. Mother can mean many things, but the sense of unconditional love is one but I will use it here more in the sense of care and nurture, of bringing others into adulthood. Crescent moon, full moon and waning moon. The aspect that should be feared if we reference Hecate. it also means the wisdom of facing death and consequently rebirth.

The female friend who sent me this card and I have discussed a few philosophical topics and so I found it rather amusing and fitting to have stumbled across this blog post with thesse definitions of three different kinds of women. Or maybe calling them 'three stages of women' is a better description for how society perceives how women should be. I must say, I found his definitions more thoughtful, more powerful, and less sexist, but still sexist all the same.

All human beings are capable of having wisdom when they are older, learned form their the trials of rewards of their life experiences. Why use the word "hag"? While Terry Pratchett may intend for the meaning of it to not be perjorative, I would say that most people believe it to be and a certain image of an ugly older woman beyong childbearing years is conjured in their mind.

Each individual human being belongs to no other if they are independent of another's needs and demands, and gives of oneself but is never possessed. Why use the word "virgin"? With women, it brings up many thoughts in different people about typically young women and girls. Mostly sexual, but also about being inexperienced and perhaps naive. It's interesting to associate "virgin" with "independent" but that is not its recognized definition.

All human beings can give unconditional love, be caring and nurturing, bringing others into adulthood. Why must we use the word "mother"? The reality is, not all mothers give unconditional love, are caring and nurturing, or raise their children to adulthood. Some women have children because of biology drives them to it, society and culture expects them to want to. Some women do not enjoy being a mother. Associating 'mother' with 'nurture' translates as "a woman should be this if she gives birth" and merely serves to perpetuate the belief that all woman should be a certain way under particular circumstances. The reinforcement of "should" is the problem and what perpetuates sexist beliefs of both men and women.

I guess in alternative religious terms this was a fun throught experience, but this man's argument in traditional female descriptors into business applications and practice in the post was bizarre and out-of-step with reality. I don't even understand how this topic made the company blog, unless Dave is the company or the company is run by clueless men.

I will say that I did just watch the Barbie movie because it was new on Netflix here in Spain and I wouldn't pay money to go see it. My review.. when credits music began to play... I immediately gave it the thumbs down while the words "total trash" and "deeply disappointing" and "one long commercial advertising ploy" kept coming repeatedly to my mind.

Final thought on the three French hens symbolism, which Dave communicated but failed to understand that as business concepts they would have been better presented (and received if he had removed the outdated sexist tropes) as the non-gender or sex specific: independence, nurture and wisdom. 

Seek freedom. Liberate your mind from the limiting effects of word labels and the perpetuation of stereotypes. We are all simply human beings. No more, no less.

You can read Dave's blog post in its entirety here.

Other Thoughts and News

I'm rather pleased with how this year is concluding in regards to art. One of my sculptures shared at the exhibition in September has found a new home. I'll talk more about that in a future diary entry. And one of my ceramic pieces shown in a previous exhibition, the light-holding lantern Inner Peace, will be going to its new home in Ireland soon. I am delivering it myself in three days when I go over for Christmas holidays. I couldn't be happier about who will be its caretaker, but it is hard to let this one go!

Speaking of art sales, you can see what I have currently available and am willing to part with here and here ... you may contact me here to inquire about prices if the price is not listed.

For those who came to my Autumnal Equinox Open Studio exhibition and have had lingering thoughts of one you experienced at it and would like to take home, email me or use the contact form and let's discuss!

Lastly, I had said that I would be putting up an online exhibition in October and November, and that has not happened. The past few days I was interviewing immigration lawyers to help me with the UK visa. I found one who I believe can help me and I hired him because he was pragmatic and honest about the timeline, even done Priority, that it could happen in up to two months but possibly less, despite being the thirty day promise to get it done. As a result, I will be planning another exhibition in Madrid showing many of the works from the previous exhibition (and maybe some new ones).

Next week there will be no diary entry. Happy Holidays!

(As usual, if you would like to talk more about something I have shared in this entry or just want to say "hello", you can email me at nikoru.art [at] stylemylife.email)

Inner Peace

wheel-thrown, carved and painted by hand, glazed and gilded
22 x 12cm unique piece, Heartwork Series

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A friend has been telling me for ages to write a book, a memoir, of all my wild past-life experiences. Maybe I'll write a book about my life when I'm older, maybe around 80 (if I am blessed to live that long). I've decided to keep this diary instead.

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