Two Peas In A Pod
Without
a doubt, each one of my days on Earth start with a little bit of coffee and a
whole lot of Jesus. When reading “The Sacred Arts of Life” by Thomas Moore, in
HMXP class, I saw myself in this reading. Many people do not understand that
coffee and Jesus are not just things in my life I do every day, they are a part
of my daily ritual. It’s easy for one to see these two things as cliché, since
many posters and pictures have these two objects woven together in quotes, but
for me, I cannot go a day without them. This
is the very reason why I decided to create my own art piece that describes my
personal sacred ritual. In my reality, coffee and Jesus go together like two
peas in a pod, and they are sacred arts of life in my book.
Before I begin creating this art
piece, it was vital that I knew why each piece mattered to me. To start, coffee
is a liquid dark colored drink created by brewed roasted beans from a coffee
plant, but this end result is not sacred to me; it is the process of coffee. Similar
to the process of making this art piece, brewing coffee takes time. Whether it
be a K-cup or a full pot of coffee, time is no limiting factor. Moore says that
by “taking time with things, we get to know them more intimately and to feel
more genuinely connected to them." When I hold my cute ceramic mug,
smell the coffee brewing, and taste the first warm sip, and read scripture, I
feel complete and empowered. I feel
connected to life, and what it means to fully live by thriving. When I take the
time to brew my coffee patiently and read my scripture intently, I feel awakened.
The coffee awakes me physically, and Jesus awakes me spiritually. This everyday
routine is more than a routine; it is what makes me whole. How it started...
I started with a blank canvas, and I
stared at it for at least 10 minutes wondering how I would bring these two
sacred things to life in one picture. When I placed the first K-cup on the
canvas, I realized that this also will take time. It will take time for the
glue to dry, so during that time, I focused on the process and what it means to
be present in the moment. Just like Moore says, “we can’t discover the soul in
a thing without first taking time to observe it and be with it for a while,” I
cannot create this sacred art piece without being still and being thoughtful
about the process. I begin to ask myself questions about why I
chose this specific flavor of coffee to use, and this led to me realizing that
my soul, my personnel, is even connected to the flavor of coffee. The flavor,
of all things, is important because it is a part of my sense of taste and what
attracts me to the liking of coffee. It is a part of the process of awakening
up in the morning. My inner soul finds itself in the grains of coffee.
Jesus to me...
Similar to the flavor of coffee,
Jesus and the part of his truth I read in the morning is my spiritual flavoring
of each day. I can taste and see who Jesus is and how he moves in me and
flavors me with his love. After I placed the first K-cup on the canvas, I knew
that this art piece would be symbolic. It goes deeper than just coffee on a canvas;
it is a depiction of who I am. I placed the K-cups in a cross formation on the
canvas to portray my sacred roots. To me, it is more than a physical sight that
I can see or touch. What I feel in my heart and soul is displayed in a piece of
art. In relation, it is stated that “The soul of a piece of art is known
intimately, not remotely. It is felt, not just understood." When I
look at this art piece, I feel a sense of restoration. Something inside of me
is at peace and understands that life is sacred and the little moments actually
do mean something.
There are things I hold
close to my heart, but Jesus and coffee are the two most sacred. Every day my
priorities are revealed by what I put most of my time and heart into. Through
this piece of art, I display what is truly important to me, and I hope that
each day I remember why I value these two sacred arts of life.
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