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IN THE SHADE OF ALL HIS SUNFLOWERS AND THE SHADOW OF HIS STARS
We visited a Vincent Van Gogh exhibit—he happens to be a favorite of ours—and as we stood mesmerized in the shade of his sunflowers and the shadow of stars I was struck by the pain, the suffering and the sorrow in this brilliant artist’s mind…and the joy he has given to others by the art he left behind.
And it made me think, as I observed in his art the different methods he’d employ, at the relationship there is between one’s suffering and one’s joy.
And it reminded me of something I’ve wondered since I first saw his paintings as a boy…If he hadn’t felt all that sorrow…could he have painted all that joy?
For aren’t we all a mixture of our sunshine and our rain…of every joy we’ve ever felt combined with every pain?
And even though in his lifetime not many people did he reach…
over the years that is exactly what Vincent’s paintings teach…
That our joys…our sorrows…what we feel and how we act is how we are defined…and if we’re lucky when we’re gone…we leave a little joy behind.
Vincent always makes me think like this (did I mention he’s a favorite of ours) as I stand in the and the shade of all his sunflowers and the shadow of his stars
