Own Your Wings

     Today is the birthday of a much beloved friend ... of a sister in arms ... of a badass ... of a goddess ... of an artist ... of a game changer. Bryana Tepper Art makes the most incredible wings out of melaleuca bark.
They are pure magic and they are alive; in every sense.  


      I wrote the following haiku/blurb for an art show she was looking to get into ... I share it as a way to honor not only her special day, her art, but also the current climate in which we find ourselves.

My heart breaks for us

when many are choosing fear;

the choice that destroys.

 

Why can’t we see this?!

Love is the only option

or we won’t survive.

 

We’re not separate.

All that we divide, we break -

we surrender strength.

 

Outside reflects in...

Hate outward is fear inward.

Let love be your mirror

 

Why can’t we see fear

is driving our extinction.

Love is our last chance.

 

Angels do exist...

the world abounds in magic...

We are not victims.

 

WE are the angels.

Our hearts are the magic wand

WE ALL hold the key.

 

Acknowledge your wings,

see yourself in all others…

PLEASE, WAKE THE FUCK UP!

 

These are crucial times for change, beyond crucial. We are at the point of critical mass. I say we, because it is not ‘this group, or that… them against us… my god or yours’. It is WE. It is all of US. Look at the people standing right next to you reading this blurb, admiring this wing. You are the same. You are one. They are the heart of YOUR heart. You are both admiring the wing(s) you share. Now give yourselves a hug… **seriously, hug the person next to you right now.

The macro and microcosm of our world contains the love OR the hate in our hearts. It is up to US to fix it. Angels exist. Magic exists. WE are the angels. WE are the magic.


Yes, as individuals in our daily little lives we have different beliefs and different experiences. It can be hard to find that middle ground of peace. And yet contradictory ideas can co-exist, it’s the idea of dialetics… of the Yin and the Yang.

You don’t know what you don’t know….but it is our responsibility TO KNOW… to make the choice to step outside of ourselves, the boxes we have put ourselves in, and the stories we have written for ourselves. The call to action is not uniformity of opinions. The call is to open our hearts and minds to beliefs, colors, gods, experiences, wounds and achievements unlike our own. 

There is beauty in the unknown.

There is beauty in dialectical communion.  

WE ALL HOLD THE KEY to save ourselves.

It is time to rewrite our story.

While you are not at an art show standing shoulder to shoulder reading this artist's statement as you admire one of her magical entities.... you have the opportunity today to look at the people around you and admire THEIR wings.

"Always be yourself unless you can be a unicorn, then ALWAYS be a unicorn."