We Each Are I

I looked down at the cup in my hands, amazed not only at the beauty of the cup, but that the gifts I brought to my community were of such value that they were worthy of an ornate vessel.

“We could arrange a coffee mug if it makes you feel more comfortable,” said Yewell.

He was sitting on the edge of a large stone slab, and Iman stood on the other side. On the slab were the sword, the wand, and a bunch of coins. I was hesitant to put the cup down since it felt so good in my hands, but I knew that it belonged with the other items and was sure that the aliens had much more to show me. I placed the cup on the slab and looked at Yewell.

He stared at me nonchalantly and blinked his large black eyes like a cow, cognizant of my presence, but he seemed completely uninterested in what it meant. I looked at Iman and got the same dull stare. Although with Iman, I sensed a bit of prodding as he raised what would have been his eyebrows were he not as bald as a banana peel.

“Well…” I said.

“Exactly,” said Yewell. “Well…”

“What’s next?” I asked.

“You tell us,” he said.

I looked back to Iman who seemed to nod withouth moving his head. I looked to the four items on the table.

“Well,” I started. “I’ve got the sword of Commitment that symbolizes the purity of Air and the Mental creation of Pathfinding.”

I looked to the wand, noticing that although it had been engulfed by flames, it did not appear to be charred.

“The wand of Ambition symbolizes the Fire of passion and the Spiritual art of Modeling.”

I picked up a coin and tossed it in the air. It landed on heads.

“The coins of Resourcefulness symbolize the need to Align the Physical resources of the Earth to meet our goals.”

And I again came to the cup, lifting it and swishing the water around in it. In the glimmer, I could still see the dancing of souls.

“And the cup of Dedication symbolizes the Love that I share with the world by Empowering them to follow their own passions, which flows through the world like Water.”

I looked back and forth between the aliens.

“And…” Yewell finally said.

“And what?” I asked.

“What’s next?” he said.

“I dunno.”

“What did Gale teach you?” Iman prodded.

“Solitude,” I said, and in an instant, the aliens were gone.

I looked again at the items on the table and thought about the absolute profundity of Gale developing her theory of CARDS. When she first approached me with them years ago, I was a little blown away, not just by the idea, but the magnitude of the woman I was dealing with.

We were attending a workshop on Cultural Diversity when we met. She was an Artist who wanted to write a book. I was a Writer who wanted a new subject to write about. She had an idea that I found intriguing at the time, but I never realized how incredibly synchronicitous it was with the rest of the way the world operated. Yet, here I was, and the Gale Fulton Ross school of how to make your art into a business perfectly aligns with how to make your life a work of art. The only remaining factor that Gale saw brought plurality to her paradigm, yet singularity to the individual.

In order to create art, the Artist needs the virtue of Solitude. As I looked over the symbols in front of me, and the paradigms that they represented, I realized that as we create the art of our lives, it is a journey we much take by ourselves. Though we are creating an interdependent community, we each must travel our own path to reach the destination and to bring our own specific color to the palette.