I need a retreat from the world. The world has gotten uglier, meaner, and more corrupt than I ever thought possible. It is wearing down my optimism. And I am angry about that. It is so hard to have gratitude when one is angry. But I realize if I let the baser instincts prevail than all hope is lost. I cannot let that happen. I don’t want to live in. a world where we are all at each other’s throats. Deep down I still believe in the basic goodness of people. But I can’t pretend that there is no evil. Not now. Maybe I’ve come late to the game. Maybe I’ve had my curly head in the sand. I have had that luxury because I’m an elementary school teacher. I have allowed myself to be surrounded by curiosity, creativity, and childhood wonder. It is a marvelous thing.
So, I retreat into children’s books and schooldays filled with laughter. But then I come home to the news, to the reality that we grow up and do awful things to each other: stabbings, shootings, robbery, murder, senseless violence. I need to turn this off. I need to seek beauty and simplicity and turning of the season from green summer to golden autumn – my favorite time of year.
As my husband and I drove into the country this weekend, he talked to me about how he uses art to show gratitude, to show how grateful he is for his lovely life and this beautiful planet. I hadn’t thought of art as a vehicle for gratitude, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was exactly that – art is a prayer sent out to all calling for peace, beauty, love, all the colors of the rainbow, the rain coming softly down washing everything clean.
This weekend, I looked back at some of the photos I’ve taken and suddenly saw prayers of gratitude embedded in their images.
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 
Right now, more than ever, we need a retreat from all the violence and chaos. Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures and reminding us the healing powers of art.
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Joanne,
I’ve long embraced art as necessary to our souls. It’s the beauty in life and often a comforting hug. I’ve also grown up knowing the ugly in the world. I had more struggles as a young person than I’ve had as an adult, and as a secondary teacher my career was grounded in current events and in literature that challenges ideas about humanity. I think I’ve always seen retreating—except temporarily as Jesus did when he went into the desert to pray—a privilege many don’t have the luxury of. I don’t think it’s healthy for our country for folks to hide from our country’s problems. We must face them and somehow find our common humanity and common ground, which I know feels like an impossible task right now.
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This line lured me in: “I have allowed myself to be surrounded by curiosity, creativity, and childhood wonder. It is a marvelous thing.” – I think our work as educators is to continue to build curiosity and creativity and wonder about each other and find each other’s humanity as an antidote to the hate. And I can just imagine the stack of picture books (and art extensions!) that allow us to do that very thing.
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Joanne, your post today speaks to my heart and your line “art is a prayer sent out to all calling for peace, beauty, love, all the colors of the rainbow, the rain coming softly down washing everything clean.” is absolutely a keeper. I have struggled to even write about the endless cycle of bad news and threats. I used the word “wilted” describe where I have been for a while now! Yet, like you, I have found SOME support and hope in nature and art capturing the beauty of our world. Thank you for your wonderful images and poems. I join you in praying for hope and light and finding the hope of a “simpler place and time.”
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Your images and poems draw me in to wonder and gratitude. Thanks for offering a respite from the terrible news.
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The way you combine words and visuals is simply magical – I’m grateful to have view them!
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