Impermanence

“Embrace your grief, for there your soul will grow.” Carl Jung

 

“Annica” in Buddhist philosophy translates to impermanence and refers to the transitory nature of all things. After I suffered a recent devastating loss, a friend gave me a book by Francis Weller, a well-known psychotherapist and writer dealing with grief. Through my readings, I learned that grief gives us access to the soul and opens the door to self- growth and redemption. In our Western culture, we are not programmed to accept grief, rather to seek any means of avoidance.  However, “grief is an ongoing conversation that accompanies us through our lives.” *  It gives us access to the soul and opens the door to self- growth and redemption. “Everything we love, we will lose.” Harsh as it sounds, this is the reality of being alive. 

 At first, I intended to do a retrospective, but fate dictated otherwise and I realized I had an opportunity to use the tools familiar to me, my art, to face the doorway of grief and to walk squarely through as a means of self-healing. The journey is far from over, but with this body of work, I am attempting to “metabolize suffering into something beautiful and ultimately sacred.” * Many friends have helped me through this difficult period of mourning, but three special friends have been invaluable in this process: Samantha Canales, Valerie Forward and Dave Brodie. I thank them for their compassion and wisdom and for sharing their grief stories with love and understanding.

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Dixie Salazar

*Francis Weller