jerseymurmurs

Drawing has been my superpower this past year; creating a visual diary of an ... unusual ... year while warding off fear and tension and anxiety. The healing power of art.

This sketch takes me right back to a cold Sunday evening last December, gathered outdoors in a pandemic "living room". Basking in the glow of a propane heater and a Philadelphia Eagles football game and once again hearing the familiar voices and laughter, the delightful familial boisterousness. Sitting in that enveloping darkness with my glass of wine, crying tears of sorrow and joy...

A second quarantined Easter. No shared family brunch or dinner. No readings and cake and brandy together. Instead a quiet, contemplative day to feel the sunshine and listen to the birds sing and watch the wind rustle the prayer flags.

After the pandemic, in addition to returning to a world of shared celebrations, we are also "returning to a world of hatred, cruelty, division and a thirst for power that was never quarantined. ... As we leave the tombs of quarantine, a return to normal would be a disaster unless we recognize that we are going back to a world desperately in need of healing. ... The work that Jesus left his followers to do includes showing compassion and forgiveness and contending for a just society. It involves the ever-present offer for all to begin again." [Esau McCaully writing in the NYTimes]