These Are The Days We Are Given

These Are The Days We Are Given Mixed Media Acrylic 24 X 24

These Are the Days We Are Given

The Man wonders.

Why is it raining on me? When will the darkness end? Where am I going?  Am I going in the right direction?

The Man’s shoes squish and squeak on the wet sidewalk. His jeans wick water from below, making them cumbersome.  His baggage weighs heavy on his shoulder, pulling him downward. Tires hiss and splash as cars full of unnoticing Others race past.   A steady rain taps out a murmuring drumbeat on his umbrella while hot neon buzzes overhead.  Doors and windows are shut, blocking out the Man in the cold damp air

The Man considers his situation.

Raindrops in freefall, each separate and individual until their inevitable collision with the earth, where they join with the souls of all of the other raindrops and return to where they began.  The joy of the falling raindrop is not diminished by the knowledge of its inevitable homecoming.  The raindrop knows that whatever path it takes, and wherever it lands, it will join with others and become something greater than it was.

Drop by drop the minutes pass.  Night by night the years pass.  Sometimes things are as the Man wishes they were.  Even then, he worries about the coming darkness.  Sometimes, the cold rain comes. The Man feels resentful and put-upon.  The Man wonders what he ever did to deserve such a miserable plight.

The raindrops speak to the Man.

The raindrops talk to the Man about destiny.  The raindrops talk to the Man about how, step by step, drop by drop, we move towards something greater.  The raindrops tell the Man how they move from the oceans to the sky and then back to the oceans. The raindrops teach the Man about The Way.

The Man has a realization.

There is an order to all things. He is part of a much larger Universe. There is a Plan.  The Plan is not under his control. The Plan is too big to be understood from his vantage point.  The Man now trusts that all is as it should be. The Man knows that each day, each heartbeat, is a gift; and gifts are to be appreciated.  To be anxious is to not trust The Way.  A peaceful mind, even in times of darkness, is how we show gratitude and follow The Way.

The Man walks in the cold night rain with a neon buzz… He smiles. He understands. He is at peace because he knows.

These Are the Days We Are Given.          

 Image and Text © 2021 James Golaszewski                           

The Invisible Man / 11-11 Blues

The Invisible Man / 11-11 Blues

This drawing shows a place that is a busy bustling area of normalcy and commerce by day, and an abandoned desolate area left to scavengers and wanderers at night; a world both near and far, unknown to most.

The area is littered with discarded items, and, if you look closely, a discarded man.

The “homeless” man stands with dignity, wondering if the viewer notices him, and wondering why the viewer has invaded his world. The man waits patiently with the stillness that comes with having nothing to lose. With his stillness the man asks a question – “Do you see me?”

It is too easy think the homeless are where they are because of bad choices and weakness. We look at them and think to ourselves, “they got what they deserve, they should have planned better and worked harder…”

Maybe. Maybe not. There are many ways that people can fall through the cracks of society. In the end even if it is all their fault, they are still human beings, they are still people, aren’t they?

The painting is intended to make the viewer think about the unseen people that live in the invisible world that coexists with ours beyond the edges of our awareness.

The second part of the title refers to the clearance sign on the viaduct, which also can be interpreted to be digits showing the time on a digital clock. The general layout was inspired by the Logan Street Viaduct in Champaign, Illinois, although the overall composition and details are all fictitious. This is an older piece, done with Prismacolor Pencils.

Image and text © 2021 James Golaszewski