Saturday, June 28, 2014

My life lesson from Van Gogh

One of my favorite art moments was when Van Gogh's Starry Night came to Houston. A friend and I drove from College Station to see it. Why, you ask?  Because it is the Starry Night. Everybody knows this painting. Everyone can pick it out. It's practically Van Gogh's claim to fame. We all talk how great the painting is, how beautiful it is, and how talented Van Gogh was.

Last week I was in France and Van Gogh is everywhere in France.  I especially enjoyed following his footsteps in Arles and St. Remy. In these two small towns in Provence, France, I was able to walk where he walked, see what he saw. I also learned more about his life than I had before and what struck me most, was how alone he was. Now sure he's one of the most well-known artists of all time. When you think of artists, he'd be in your top 5, for sure. But at the time that he lived, people thought he was weird and strange. The people of Arles signed a petition requesting him to leave the city. Now, yes, he did some strange things and clearly posed some aggressive behavior and he did cut off his ear and hand it to a bartender. Yes, those are all strange, but after it's all said and done, he was ridiculously talented, but still so shunned. And so alone. I felt so sorry for him. He had so much to give, but it didn't matter. People didn't care. They wanted him gone.

Now, truth be told. I don't know the whole story and you may know more about VanGoh than I do and I would love to keep learning. So let's meet for a drink and share Van Goh stories. But my take-away from this part of the trip was that he was alone and people shunned him. And really, regardless of what anyone does or says, I still hate to think that they have no one and that they will still be alone.

I hope that I can see past people's perceived weirdness. I hope that I can see past poor choices and mistakes. I hope that no matter what, I still choose to love people - all kinds of people. And I know it's not easy and I am not blameless when it comes to unconditional love. But sometimes people just need community - other people to show them that they have value and that they are loved. We all just need people to go through this journey with.

Van Gogh made ordinary things beautiful. Ordinary buildings became extraordinary buildings. Normal colors became vivid blues and yellows. A typical night became one of the most famous paintings of all time. But what's difficult to understand is that a man who saw beauty in so many things, could not see the beauty in himself.

It makes me sad, but also serves as a reminder that there are people out there that need to be reminded that they are beautiful. They need my love and I hope I don't keep it from them - for any reason at all.

A replica of Cafe at Night 
in front of the original cafe painted by Van Gogh

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