A Message Of Hope - An original acrylic painting
12" X 16", unframed
( click on image to enlarge )
The people of the northern hemisphere are safe once again, to enjoy our annual holiday celebrations. The winter solstice has past, marking the start of the sun's journey back to us, bringing the hope of new beginnings, fresh starts and new growth. Now that we have science to help us understand the celestial navigation of our sun, we no longer imagine that any ceremony we have performed, in our shadowed past, has had any influence on bringing the sun back to us. We no longer light huge bonfires to try and lure the sun to return, and we rarely make dedicated animal sacrifices as an appeal. And it has been quite a while since an innocent virgin has been tossed on to the fire, to make our prayers look more sincere, although human sacrifice remains a central theme of some of our religious ceremonies and beliefs. All in all, a change for the better, as our celebrations can now take on more purposeful and thoughtful considerations.
The dark shadows across Europe have been deepening for ten months, as Vladimir Putin continues to slaughter the people of Ukraine and destroy their infrastructure and basic utilities of survival. Many people are trying to endure the winter without heat, light and clean water. Whatever we can do for them is much deserved. And elsewhere, in a number of theocratic countries, the women are being reduced to slave status and human rights are eliminated. What can we do to try and reduce such a growing menace of barbaric ignorance in the world? We might start by questioning and reducing the growing influence of the religious right in our own country, which has succeeded in reducing American women to second class status.
With all of the ignorance, hatreds and atrocities going on around us in our troubled world, the symbols of this season still give us hope. We pick the holly and the ivy and the other evergreens, and bring them inside, to remind us that we shall survive, even through the dark, bitter cold of winter, to great the return of the life-giving sun once more. And we make wreaths of our evergreens for our doors and gates, to greet visitors with the message of hope.
The house in the little painting above, has fallen into disrepair, but it seems that it is still occupied by at least one last family member. Perhaps he, or she, no longer has the physical ability or the monetary means to make repairs to the property. But the person who remains there, still made the effort to place a little, evergreen message of hope, on the broken, front gate.
So, we have the promise of new beginnings now. The sun is coming back to us. We will have a new, growing season, to replenish our lives and the lives of those who have been less fortunate. There will be new possibilities for a better year ahead, and we still have the hope of finding peace and love for all. Hope is eternal. Perhaps hope is the only thing that is eternal.
Eugene P. McNerney
