Art
During our COVID lockdown, I had the opportunity to watch movies. Traditionally, I love to go to the movie theater. I love the giant dark room, the cushie seats, the giant screen, and the larger than life sound. Obviously during the COVID lockdown, the theater was out of the question. Sadly, I still haven’t returned to the theater. With the rise of the Delta variant, I think a theater would probably be a petri dish of germs, so I am staying out of the theater. There is always Netflix, Prime, Disney, Apple TV, and a whole host of other streaming opportunities. In Salt Lake City, the Salt Lake Film Society didn’t let COVID stop their film sharing. They streamed films throughout the pandemic and even streamed interviews with the filmmakers. Honestly, prior to COVID, I didn’t see many independent films. But with the society streaming many films, I had the opportunity to watch a few.
One of the films I saw that really struck my heart was a film called “Rebel Hearts.” This film is the story of a group of rebel nuns in Los Angeles. Rebel nuns? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Honestly, this story is one of women’s rights. The film followed the plight of the nuns in the 1960s when they tried to modernize their lifestyles to better fit the cultural norms. The archbishop of Los Angeles refused their requests, and they took their cause all the way to the Vatican.
One of the nuns in the story is a woman named Sister Corita Kent. At the time of the story, Corita became a famous pop artist. She was known for her beautiful silk screen images that appeared on posters. Have you ever seen the “Love” US postage stamp from 1985? This stamp contained bold stripes of color with the word “Love” at the bottom. Corita created this stamp. Some of her art was religious, and some of her art delivered messages of liberation. It was an interesting mix that represented the nuns. They were devout Catholics fighting for women’s rights in the 60s. It feels like they were ahead of their time. The story was truly inspirational to me.
After watching the film and falling in love with Corita’s art, I decided to see if I could find a piece of the art that would suit my home. I certainly didn’t want to purchase an original: I couldn’t afford something of that price or fit something of that size in my home. I ended up finding the perfect art piece for me on Etsy, the artist marketplace of the internet. Here I found a beautiful notecard. It’s a reprint of one of Corita’s inspiring pieces. I framed it, and it is displayed above my desk. Every morning that I sit for meditation, I take a moment and look at that art piece. When I sit and write at my desk, I take a moment and look at that art piece. When I sit down to study information on my iPad, I take a moment and look at that art piece. Her words have become a mantra for me. She wrote, “You, special, miraculous, unrepeatable, fragile, fearful, tender, lost, sparkling ruby emerald jewel, rainbow splendor person - it is up to you.” I think about these words every day.
I am unrepeatable. Just like a snowflake. That alone makes me special and miraculous. Isn’t that cool? I’m not like anyone else. That said, I am also fragile, fearful, tender and lost. Oh no! I can break. I get scared. Sometimes I don’t know what I am doing or where I am going. But wait! I am also a sparkling ruby emerald jewel. I shine in the light. I sparkle. There are facets of me waiting to be seen. I am a rainbow splendor. I am all the colors and all of the colors in between. It’s up to me. It’s up to me for what? It’s up to me to share my heart. It is up to me to help where I can. It is up to me to shout my message. It is up to me to remember that I am all of these things that Corita has mentioned. I would not be a whole me if I didn’t have them all. If I wasn’t miraculous and lost, I wouldn’t be me. If I wasn’t unrepeatable and fearful, I wouldn’t be me. I’ve got to be my whole person to be my authentic me. And what about you? You are all these things also. So let us bring our beautiful and broken hearts together and change the world.
