Vincent Van Gogh | Susan L Hart / Author

To continue yesterday’s post about Van Gogh Lighting the Darkness: It gives me great pleasure to grow things, although it’s been a few years since I’ve maintained large gardens. There is something so satisfying about dropping tiny packet seeds of life into the ground, then nurturing them to their full-blown potential. Sunflowers were among my favorite annuals, and a few of them always graced my back garden among the perennials.

Sunflowers are magnificent in full bloom, but as an artist I am also attracted to their waning fall beauty. I have drawn and painted them many times, as did Vincent Van Gogh. The other day I was searching online for a few Van Gogh images, and there are several large museums worldwide that have given open access to some in their collections. One of them is The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. (Also affectionately known as simply “The Met”.)

They have a few nice Van Gogh pieces, including one of some withered sunflowers lying on a table (Sunflowers, 1887). I have among my own art images several of withered sunflowers at the end of the season.

So here’s a question for you: Is one of the images below a “Van Gogh à la Susan Hart”, and the other “Susan Hart à la Van Gogh”? You may snicker at the suggestion of Van Gogh imitating me, however, that amusement would be based on several faulty assumptions: a) that time is linear, and since he lived before me, how could he “know about me”, and b), that he is famous and I am not, so again, even if time could move backwards linearly, how could he “know about me”?

In actual fact, fame is rather irrelevant to this thought exercise. My message is really about our perception of time, and our conscious awareness of everything. So…

Since time is not really linear (we just measure our lives that way) – all time actually exists at once, and our consciousness can connect to all ideas and knowledge in the ether throughout all time – it is not entirely impossible that he also “knows about me”. We are both huge lovers of sunflowers, so it’s possible (for example) that we have a connection of consciousness simply in a shared passion for giant yellow flora.

It’s a metaphysical puzzle for your Sunday, one that may hopefully make you question why we live in a world that is so intent on keeping our conscious awareness, and therefore our experience of life, so small…

“Sunflowers”, Vincent Van Gogh

A clip from “Waning Beauty”, Susan Hart

Sunflower Metaphysics © Susan L Hart 2021, 2024

Out of the profound sadness that haunted much of Vincent Van Gogh’s life emerged one of the most famous paintings of the world, “The Starry Night” (1889).

Vincent was one of those souls who lived a life that in the fullness of time proved to be famously inspiring to others. While he was alive, his most fervent wish for his art was that it would help people “to see”. During his own personal journey of darkness he created works that would help to light the world.

Not everyone will paint a world-famous picture or write a widely read novel that inspires others. However, each one of us CAN be a light in the world.

Please, endeavor today to do one small random act of kindness for another human being. Be the light, and watch it ripple outward.

Inspirational Quotes:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

“When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.” ~ Madeleine L’Engle

“A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci

“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” ~ St. Francis Of Assisi

“Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone’s life. Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life its deepest significance.” ~ Roy T. Bennett

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” ~ Plato