How do we get introduced to ourselves? How do we identify the gifts in us that make us who we really are? We try very hard to stuff ourselves into places where there is no fit. Often we do this to make someone else happy. In John Bunyan’s book – “Pilgrim’s Progress”- the traveler leaves his path, is locked in a prison, nearly loses all hope, and gives up to be a prisoner forever until he remembers a key was placed in his pocket at the beginning of his journey. He tries the key, opens the door and is released, rejoining his path. He had forgotten: The means for unlocking his prison was in his pocket the whole time. What have we forgotten? What valuable gifts do we carry within us? How can we find them and use them? These are good questions to ask. I am convinced we all have keys in forgotten places. But, how do we find them? I don’t have a formula answer for this question, but I know some things about my own journey. Art has been for me a key. It has been the entry for new spaces into my inner landscape. The meditative discipline of painting or writing has shaped me in very real ways. Several years ago, I worked in a restaurant to help with family finances. If you have ever done that kind of work, you will understand how stressful it can be. I didn’t mind working, but being away from my children during the day was depressing. As a light changed and I turned onto the road towards work, I asked: “Is this all there is”? The answer was immediate. I looked down at my chest and saw a huge many facetted diamond inside me. It was so bright I could only glance, It was there! An inaudible voice said inside me: “Isn’t this enough?” A few months later, I began the art journey. All this makes me wonder if our life’s most important quest is to remember who we are.
-Dorsey-