The Artist

The day seemed the same as every other day,  the sun rised at the same time and  people outside his window were scrambling to get on with their business. Nothing was the same for him though,everything was painfully different. Someone had pressed the mute button,...silence. All he could hear was his heart beating. The numbness took over his body. He had no more money, and no hope for any work in the near future. He was unemployed for a while now.  His days and thoughts were filled with thoughts of how to get some money to make it through to the next day, but today he was too tired to look for work so he stayed home.

He refuses to take money from his friends. He tries to hold onto any pride or dignity he has left. He hasn't had food for two days now, but he tries not to think about it. A few years ago things were better for him, there were always small  projects available so he was always working.  The economic crisis, along with an unexpected illness and everything came to a sudden stop. No more work ! Now it feels like everyone is moving forward but he's standing still......going nowhere.  He tries never to complain though, he knows he lived his life fully, at times recklessly, and he lived his passions to his hearts content. He is an artist and has always been generous with his heart, his work and with his money.

But being an artist is both a blessing and a curse. Is there room for artists during an economic crisis?  Is art a"luxury" we can't afford right now?  Imagine that, a world where art is of secondary importance. Think of our childrens wonderful, free imaginations gone to waste, not needed. Should we teach our kids to think practically rather than draw the sun purple with sunglasses?

Produce, lower the deficit, spreads, even my 80 year old mother talks about spreads...what the hell is a SPREAD!!!   All of a sudden the artist has to think practical, efficient, cost effective and finally ....sterile. The truth of the matter is the artist doesn't fit anymore. Someone once said to me,  "artists don't see life differently, they see life correctly". She's a very talented painter, but cleans houses to feed her family.

So this is how it is. I started writing this blog because I love to cook and I wanted to express this love. The  problem I have though is that with every great love comes pain. The pain that comes from life and the reality around us. Have you ever thought that we are leaving a world to our children where hunger is constantly increasing. We wanted so much material wealth that we actually borrowed  from our childrens future.  Every real cook, and I mean a person who cooks from the heart has a deep need to feed and nurture people. How do you nurture peoples souls, or peoples dignity.?

My dear friends, how many of you would beg or steal to feed your kids? Not easy to answer ......or is it?

So today I humble myself and feel very grateful for all the everyday small pleasures my kids can enjoy.

Once upon a time.....

Once upon a time in a land far far away lived a boy with eyes full of wonder and adventure. He lived in a land which was cursed by silence. No one spoke, no one sang, and no one whispered. He was so saddened by this, that one day while his family was sleeping he packed his bag, kissed his family goodbye and left in the middle of the night.

He travelled far and during his travels he came to a forest with very big trees and  strange sounds coming from inside. He was so happy though to hear sounds, instead of silence, that he wandered inside without realizing he had gotten lost. The trees were so big they hid the light of the sun. Now there was total darkness! At first he was scared but he grew to like the darkness, it was the silence he hated. So he thought hard and decided to stay in the forest and help those who lost their way in the darkness by speaking the most beautiful words of kindness and love to them. His words were so beautiful, the land of darkness no longer seemed dark for the lost. The boy's words soothed the lost souls so much, they eventually found their way out of the darkness.

One dark, rainy day a girl wandered into the forest. She was lost and scared and sat all alone crying. The boy heard the cries echo in the darkness, he hid behind a tree and saw a beautiful girl with long black hair and beautiful black, sad eyes. He was taken by her beauty but he was too afraid to show his face.  From the distance he whispered words of beauty, words of wisdom and finally words of love. At first the girl was afraid and thought she was dreaming. One day though the words were so magical that her heart started beating faster and faster, her soul flew further than she had ever imagined. She was deeply and totally in love. So strange though, she had never, ever seen the boy..she was in love ....with his words.

The boy though grew weary and scared of this love and one day as he heard other sad voices in the forest,  he left the girl alone in the darkness. He never returned.  The words suddenly stopped. The girl desperately tried to find the words but all she found was silence. Silence deeper than the night. The girl cried and cried and cried and cried. The tears flowed for days until one day there were no more tears. The tears had fed the earth with love and passion and pain ...so much pain. The earth wanting to repay the girl, caressed the girl and gave her bountiful and wonderful fruits of passion, berries the color of blood and wine to soothe her soul. The girl was so pleased to see the beauty that came from her tears that she found her way out of the darkness and went back home.  She began to put this magic from her tears, from her soul in her cooking, in her life and since then has never stopped creating magic!!