The Big Picture

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

November Light 22 x 30” Watercolor and Gouache

The purpose of life is a wonderful mystery—no doubt about it! While we humans unendingly seek the meaning of our existence, other animals seem to be more accepting and content with their lot. Perhaps our searching is born out of our human ability to make connections, what scientists call causality, between one thing and another.

Our time is dominated by the tasks of survival - working for a living, paying bills, caring for our families and taking time to relax and recoup. In the rare moments when we are free to contemplate the big picture, it is natural to wonder why we are here. It can be a a scary place to go at times.

Many tribal societies appointed special people - shamans - to focus their energies on the subject and interpret the mysterious parts of the world in rituals they could understand. This helped to dispel the fear of this great unknown and give causality to their lives. It was an important job.

Toda…