Life, Paint and Passion by Michele Cassou Stewart Cubley & Stewart Cubley

Author:Michele Cassou,Stewart Cubley & Stewart Cubley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Random House LLC
Published: 1996-01-02T16:00:00+00:00

on second thought . . .

I never saw a wild thing

sorry for itself.

—D. H. Lawrence

Gerry was standing transfixed in front of a huge painting of a woman with six outstretched arms. On one of the arms hung a gold bracelet, which stood out starkly against the dark skin. Gerry’s enthusiasm had been real when she first painted the image, but now she was unable to continue.

“I’m trying to decide what objects should adorn her other arms. I want each arm to display a different aspect of herself. And now I can’t seem to think of anything,” she said.

“Let’s go back,” I said. “What happened after you painted the first bracelet?”

“I was very excited because all of a sudden I saw bracelets on her other arms, too, and even on her ankles. I saw them all over the place! But then I thought I should do something more original so I wouldn’t just be repeating myself.”

“So your first thought was to put bracelets all over, and then your second thought was to find something more original. Which do you trust more—your first thought or your second thought?”

“Obviously I was trusting my second thought.”

“Try going back to your first impulse and see if it is any easier to proceed,” I said.

____________

First thoughts spring from that mysterious dimension beyond logic. They come out of nowhere and for no reason. Second thoughts are usually tied to reference points and associations, and they try to accommodate or ameliorate the untamed nature of our first thoughts. First thoughts often seem too simple and straightforward to the sophisticated mind, and we are tempted to dress them up to make them more interesting. Second thoughts are calculating; they want to civilize the primitiveness of our spontaneous urges.

To give birth to the unknown, we must be willing to step out of the way and take what comes, no matter how unacceptable it seems. Our deeper needs are not often served by following what we think we want or what makes sense. There is an intelligence behind the seemingly random nature of our spontaneous images and forms. It deserves our trust.

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