I wrote this piece with a squeeze bottle tip dispenser. White acrylic ink on black paper. I then squirted ink out the end of a paper straw with one full breath. The goal of the workshop was to use different elements and found objects to create. The straw came from a local restaurant. I like the graphic nature of the white ink on the black paper, and I like that the ink splots remind us that it is not always black and white.
Life would be easy if everything were black or white. If there were no grey area and we were always certain that there was a right and a wrong answer. It would be simple to understand that in all things there is one way or the other. We would be able to choose a side and defend it vehemently with only one other opinion to consider. We could then categorize everything into only two boxes, one in which we fit; everything else would not matter.
But life is not black and white, no matter how hard we try to pretend. People do not fall into only two categories, and their opinions are not one way or the other. Dealing with people is messy, uncontrollable, unpredictable and will almost always surprise you. People will frustrate you at every turn, and bring out all your emotions. They will make you angry, sad, terrified, confused, delighted, entertained, and all too often catch you off guard. People are what makes life fascinating and frustrating all at the same time. When we try to control them and make them think like us, we become the agent of friction and strife. In our desire to create solidarity and a world in which we seek control, we end up being the cause of anger and confusion. Not everyone thinks either black or white; most of life is very grey.
Learning to live in the grey also means savoring the delights of diversity. It means sharing the joy that people bring at every turn. Grey provides delight in the unexpected things that children say, the humor and jokes people tell. Grey means listening and actually hearing the many sides of a topic whether we agree or not. It means seeing things from all perspectives and realizing that no one is right all the time. It means rejoicing that we are all different and bring a fresh point of view to anything we touch. Grey allows us to be individuals and think, speak, and create for ourselves. Grey allows us to move from one end of the spectrum to another changing our ideas as we learn more and forgive the past.
Life would be easier if things were always black or white, but it would be very boring. Life deserves color and different shades of any and every color. Living outside of the lines means adventure and spontaneous experiences…how fun is that!
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