The Spiritual Life is a Path to Joy
I think there are entirely too many people who see the spiritual life as all about abstinence, and how we can live in the most rigid way possible. for me, the entire point of taking care of the soul is to experience greater joy and peace. I’m not sure how we lost sight of this. Let me explain. It is very important for me to take care of my spiritual life. When you strip away church dogmas and fancy theological terms, it’s all about being better than I am on my own.
As for art, this was something I sort of stumbled upon. I sat down one day, wondering if I could make a basic sketch. I mean, five-year-olds can make basic drawings, right? I couldn’t even draw a decent circle, the most basic shape in all of drawing. I recently sketched a detailed Ronin/Hawkeye (from the movie, ‘Avengers: Endgame), Old Man Logan (from the Marvel comic series), and the Himeji Samurai Castle. I also work on my own original pieces. Not too shabby.
How Spirituality and Art Intersect
It is difficult to really explain how spirituality and art intersect for me. One does not exist without the other for me. As I have pursued and expanded my abilities, my view of the world has changed. I look at everything and notice the minute details that surround me. I have a different way of noticing the way nature is literally exploding with colors and details. I look at people and notice how everyone is shaped, how everyone has unique eye shapes, hairstyles, and how every face and body has the signature touch from the Creator.
I love video games and movies, I also notice the incredible levels of detail put in by creators. Just look at video games like ‘Journey’, ‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’, ‘Child of Eden’, and tell them it doesn’t have the most incredible art. Look at the level of detail, the way that the design elements enhance the entire experience.
When it comes to spirituality, I realize just how much beauty constantly surrounds me, and I’m so blind to it so often. I see a signature touch in everyone and everything. It’s incredible to me just how much joy I get out of taking a blank piece of paper/parchment/whatever, and then seeing an incredible image show up before me. It makes me understand that I am surrounded by God. His master touch is everywhere, and unless you have ever actively tried to replicate something, you don’t get it. You really don’t.
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” -CS Lewis
Years ago, I had a family member tell me that she wanted to go to heaven and ‘see God’s crayon box’. I had no idea what she was talking about. But I do now. I absolutely understand what she was talking about. I think we have this idea that there was a Voice spoken, and all of a sudden, stuff just popped into existence. Have you ever really noticed just how intricately everything is designed? Do you understand, really understand, that virtually everything around us has been engineered on a level we can’t possibly comprehend? I mean, you’ve probably seen people build these awesome and complicated buildings on Minecraft. Well, imagine that on a fourth-dimensional scale, if it helps. Art has given me a far greater appreciation for what the Creator did in designing and building the world.
All Things Bright and Beautiful
I spent far too many years of my life stuck inside petty sins like jealousy, bitterness, and hatred. It is much harder to be angry and petty with others when I realize that I am looking at a masterpiece from the Creator. It makes it all the more terrible when you see the way society demeans peoples bodies. The way that people are treated badly for having too much weight, not enough, being too short, too tall, skin not clear enough, it’s all so stupid. It’s hard for me to engage in racism or sexism when I look at the world from the lens of an artist. Why would I want to demean someone just because they look different from me? If the world only had one color, it would be a dreary place.
For me creativity is a calling. In a world filled with division and polarization, my goal is to use my writing and my art to reflect the soul. With any gifts that I have been given, I want to reflect something higher. I’m not necessarily talking about sketching pictures of crosses or saints. There is a place for that sort of thing, no doubt. I have thought of using art to help others see the value and beauty of every person. I want to create the sort of images where you never notice the shape of a person or how perfect their skin looks. I want to reflect the incredible beauty that surrounds us every day, and we ignore it. I think that far too many have this view of God that somehow He is sitting up there with a permanent frown. I cannot believe that the God who created waterfalls, deserts, jungles, mountains, beaches, and the incredible diversity of all people is sitting way up in the sky, frowning at all of this. I firmly believe there is great joy in the Creator. How else could I be living in such an incredible place?
