A Fulcrum for Stick Figures

Hello, Everybody-

I promised you from the outset that I would refrain from writing about depressing and ugly topics. We all know about the duality of human existence: “One season following another, laden with happiness and tears” (from the classic song, “Sunrise, Sunset” in the 1964 Broadway musical, Fiddler on the Roof).

Like all of you, I could string together moments from my life in the last year and it would be a numbing juxtaposition of happiness and tears; amazing vacations with Ron in Italy, Mexico, Japan, Vermont/challenging health issues of my aging parents; the day to day horror of having an absolutely deranged and unchecked POTUS/the day to day pleasures of a happy marriage and being retired; writing a new song/writing a victim impact statement for my sister-in-law’s senseless death.

Each moment carries its own emotions, and they are laden with meaning. How does one hold them all in the same mind? I think about that a lot; balancing in that duality of being human.

I picture a stick balancing on a fulcrum. Because I’m an artist, and not a physicist, I’m going to extend the literal meaning of a fulcrum to a metaphor. You are the stick. The fulcrum is that fixed, essential point in your own life which you can count on, to hold you in balance at rest or in motion. Sometimes the stick has to pivot to maintain equilibrium, but the fulcrum is steadfast. What is your fulcrum? What holds you in balance, you little stick figure, you?

If you are counting on another person to be your fulcrum...think again. If you are counting on your savings account...or your amazingly cute and smart dog, or the work that you love to do, or the yoga and sound baths...or, or, or...is there something deeper you can access, a fulcrum that will not fail? I’m asking. A bird’s wing operates on a fixed joint that allows it to pivot and maintain balance. The bird flies and doesn’t even think about it. It just IS. (What happened to Icarus? His fulcrum melted along with his wings when he flew too close to the sun and he plunged to his death).

I think that my own personal fulcrum is my faith in the basic kindness of human beings. It seems to be a family fulcrum that has been passed from generation to generation. Faith is my fulcrum. Not a person, per se, but a fixed concept of what kindness IS and my faith in THAT. This requires my stick figure to pivot! But my faith is steadfast. Here is a recent example of what I am talking about.

Who loves to go to Walmart? NOT I. Walmart is one of those places that I dislike being in for a number of reasons; Walmart’s:  US government-encouraged political involvement, devastating impact on small business, horrible customer service, shabby quality of products, mass-produced merchandise, abysmal treatment of employees, but mostly the poverty and depression I observe in the demographic that Walmart proudly labels as “budget conscious” customers. Unfortunately, Walmart stocks the AC filters that we use regularly. Last weekend, Ron and I stopped at Walmart to buy AC filters and a bunch of coat hangers for a new closet in our home. At checkout, the cashier was a diminutive man in his 60’s with olive skin and a long name on his tag I could not pronounce. He was giving a receipt to the previous customer, after which he fastidiously removed the latex gloves he wore, replacing them with a fresh pair. As he rang up our AC filters and several packages of coat hangers, he unexpectedly said in a softly accented voice, “I am curious as to why you are purchasing so many hangers.” A delightful conversation followed, during which he and Ron spoke about Art. I felt myself pivot. I was no longer feeling outraged, judgmental and depressed about my surroundings. Yes, I was standing in the sewage of my thoughts but suddenly here was the lotus blossom, pristine and glowing right before my eyes. It was my faith that made me pivot. The frequency of faith challenged me to see the kindness and beauty.

Creativity and imagination created a lotus blossom for me to see.

My daily challenge will be to sense that fulcrum, balancing the happiness and tears. I wish the same for you, on your journeys, all you little stick figures out there.

Until Next Time xoxoxoxo Annie