Our Work of Art



It is the function of art to renew our perception.  What we are familiar with we cease to see.  The writer shakes up the familiar scene, and, as if by magic, we see a new meaning in it.

~Anais Nin

When we travel, we usually spend time in art galleries.  I have an appreciation for most things I see, but I do not necessarily like it all.  I have come to understand, however, the more exposed I am to different artists, my preferences change and my appreciation in general grows.  In addition, the more I view a piece of art, my response to it alters.

When I met a friend for coffee the other day, we realized through conversation we had a mutual friend.  I had known the person mentioned for many years and thought I knew her quite well.  As my coffee companion shared how she knew this friend, I was amazed at how much more she had learned about her and in a very short period of time. 

Later, as I thought back over the conversation about this mutual friend.  I wondered if I was not like a photographer, snapping a picture of some one and then keeping her in this singular captured vision.  I apparently had been seeing my friend in a freeze frame photo ... exclusively in the one capacity that I had met her.  For whatever reason our relationship was always contained in only one aspect of our lives.   

When we place friends in categories ... work, church, community, family ... we restrict our view by seeing just one aspect of them.  It is when we experience friends in different situations that we begin to see the art of life in totality.

When we view a person only from one perspective, we not only miss personal diversity, we may begin to gloss over or take for granted what little we do know.  Human beings are complex individuals with an abundance of originality.

So I begin to look with new eyes and listen with both ears to discover more deeply the art of friendship.  I think this is especially true with acquaintances we "think" we have nothing in common with.  It is impossible to hold the expectation of deeply appreciating every person we meet.  It is possible, however, to listen and observe until we can appreciate multiple aspects of those we hold dear.   We are all evolving and constantly redefining our lives, our works of art.