In Search of Gumption

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Musing #11 : Art

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Musing #11 : Art

A poem that takes away your excuses

Omar Shaker
Jul 10, 2022
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Musing #11 : Art

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Photo by Federica Campanaro on Unsplash

Today I’m covering Art, the second in my Magic, Art,Science and Religion series. Nothing could capture art better than a poem of course!

Art is making
something
out of
nothing.
It doesn’t have
to be hard.
Here,
I’ll show you.

Art is a stick figure
drawn by a kid
on the back
of a napkin,
a silly dance
in the kitchen,
or singing Whitney
in the shower.

Art is a war
inside of you
and showing up 
is your only weapon.
It is you,
and your feelings,
splattered 
on a messy canvas

Art is a healing way
that allows you
to see,
feel
and express
despite 
the shittiness
of it all!

Art is a song
sung together
on a warm
summer night,
around a fire,
with friends
and lovers,
and guitars.

Art is your gift 
wrapped in 
shiny blue paper,
with a gold ribbon
and a card,
with a love note,
a smiley face
and a big heart.

Art is how
your body 
wraps itself
around mine.
Art is gazing
into your eyes
and seeing
the world.

Art is a path
that guides 
you over 
the river 
of doubt, 
and into 
the ocean of
wild uncertainty.

Art is a red rose,
and a pink daffodil
that you stole 
from a garden,
after smelling them
and assorted both
neatly
into a green leaf.
 
Art is for you, 
the artist!
And when I see 
what you've
created,
and appreciate it,
I become 
an artist too.

Forget rhyme
forget reason,
art is everywhere
and for everyone.
It is not confined, 
or defined, and art
leaves no one
left behind.

Art is a tango
between you
and the human
condition.
Witness the waves,
and transform 
the pain into 
a gorgeous splash.

It doesn’t have
to be hard.
I hope I 
convinced you.
So go now 
and create
something
out of nothing.

Want to share your art with us? Leave a link in the comments with anything you worked on and I’ll feature it on a future post!

Thank you for reading In Search of Gumption. This post is public so feel free to share it.

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Musing #11 : Art

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4 Comments
Gabe Charbonneau, MD
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Writes Gabe’s Newsletter
Jul 10, 2022Liked by Omar Shaker

Dane & I were having a great conversation about creativity yesterday. I remember a realization I had a few years ago from the Christian tradition. It came from the idea that God is the creator and created us in her/his own image. Doing a little algebra, if God == creator, and our image is God's image, then what is the most important part or our identity? The answer that to me is, we == creators. It's not optional to create. It's who we are. Thanks for the poem!

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RIitta Kivela
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Jul 10, 2022Liked by Omar Shaker

Loved this poem ❤️

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