8-11-07 It's All About Perspective

I had never really liked Van Gogh.

From the prints and pictures in books I had seen, the way he glopped his paints onto the canvas and the way the objects looked all out of shape to me just didn't impress.

I could do better.

Then I visited the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in 1988. And I hadn't gotten very far into it when I saw this painting. One I had seen before and just dismissed as mediocre. And here before it I felt the same.

But then...I took one step to the left...

And *suddenly* the front boat just *popped* out of the picture at me as if it were 3D. It was scary, amazing wondrous and I realized that I must have been standing in the place where Vincent stood when he painted it.

And all the little globs of paint---they all had reason. They were nearly sculptural and helped to add depth to that 3D effect.

At that moment I became a fan of Vincent Van Gogh, and I truly enjoyed the rest of the museum.

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This is from the Viktor Frankl book, Man's Search for Meaning. He is quoting Spinoza from "Ethics"

"Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it."

That is exactly what I do everytime I have a big crash in my life. I analyze it, research it and try to wrap my mind around Exactly what it is that is going on.

And it usually helps me to read about others who have come through worse.

Then it is just a matter of taking that extra *step* that makes everything fall into focus.

I have much to be grateful for compared to being in a concentration camp!

I know I will find joy burning in my heart again!