This morning I watched a dog play with a giant ball on the nearly deserted beach. Ok, it wasn’t really a ball, it was one of those giant inflatable things the lifeguards use in the water and the fact that it had washed up on the beach was potentially problematic, but the dog enjoyed it a lot, and its humans carried it off with them, so I figure it was all pretty wholesome. Later in the day, I stopped by my favorite shop, Hendley Market, which has been there forever, and which sells very cool eclectic things, mostly antique and handmade. Then, I ducked into another shop and surveyed the usual fare of plastic mass-produced crap aimed at unsuspecting tourists, including mermaid skeletons. I do not enjoy mermaid skeletons, nor random mass-produced plastic crap, but it seems to have taken over so many of our shops. So much pollution in a place that, really, when it comes down to it, is about natural beauty and peace. Or is it? Because pollution these days includes very loud music of questionable quality blaring from amplifiers in places where one might have hoped to find a little bit of blissful silence. Sometimes, I get really frustrated with the noise and clutter and dissonant energies that spoil the experience of the Island for those of us who want to actually hear the waves, feel the breeze, and rejoice at the sight of pelicans flying above, those of us who like to stop and marvel over how the light falls on the gingerbread trim of Victorian porches, or how generously plumerias bloom. Today I expressed some of my frustration to my friend, and wondered out loud if I maybe simply don’t belong here. Perhaps it’s a place for loud people and mermaid skeletons and 3D printed sea horse decals. My friend protested. He said no, there’s real culture here, and occasionally good music, and people who like much nicer things than some of the souvenir shops sell. Of course, I know he’s right, and it helped to hear him say it. Anyway, this is what today’s painting is about.
Amen!!