Viola del Pensiero (Pansy Installation), 2017, Oslo, Norway. Ceramic baking dish, soil, pansies. An isolated thought experiment. Pansies (Viola del pensiero) are more resilient than their colloquial value. When you die, you no longer fear death or anyone. The meaning to be Gratefully Dead then carries so much significance. Though not a big fan of how-to guides, 12 steps, any other gurus or the presumptuousness of advice, I found the following structural understandings useful. Perhaps you may as well.
Falling back is the natural flow of life when trauma shakes the nervous system too much. Systems create drag. Pushing forward occurs as a structural result of deeper understanding. These concepts are not mine but exposed in this book and others:
Making structural change in life:
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- Deciding what you want different
- Learning
- Doing what you need to
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Winter is a period of transformation. It’s dark; it’s cold; it’s all the things egos complain about, but it is where dreams blossom and the imaginary realm flourishes. Change comes from within. Structural thinking can be useful to the discipline, however each individual has their own way. These guidelines are not meant to be explicitly followed but provide a springboard and nourishing reflex point to contend with. Ultimately, you are making up your own mind and decisions with unknowable consequences.
Love starts with listening. Therefore you must start to listen to yourself. And when you choose to love your work or another person, you also listen and see if this aligns with your path.
Anything other than love devolves quickly toward fighting and subversion. Why is real love not more revered? Perhaps due to the excess of choices and comfort. Perhaps it is the ideal: the beauty of that which rises to the surface in the darkness.
May heaven help us all: I haven’t the answers for you, but I am pretty sure you have the answer for you, if you have the courage to let yourself hear it, feel it, and communicate it to who matters for you.
Today’s consulting economy is a bit like the artistry economy: just because you think you could do that, doesn’t mean you can or even will do it. A critic is an important sediment to the cynic and yet it is a visionary brave enough to bare his heart to the world that creates something as a conduit through life itself. Change, and structural change demands a great deal of energy and focus. The discomfort is the least of it; that’s for oft-called “pansies,” which turn out to be pretty damn resilient. That’s (one of) the meaning(s) in the installation anyway.