Finding joy in beauty

I create; therefore, I am

Dear Conjurers,

There’s no getting around that we live in dark times. Evil forces are gathering strength, and so far, our opposition has been confused, and too many people are apathetic to the results of the current conflict.

We also live in a world and time of incandescent beauty. The only way to have the strength and stamina to fight evil is to take time to find joy in the beauty that still surrounds us.

We don’t have time to feel guilt over fleeting moments of wonder and happiness. These are the respite we need so we can return to the battlefield.

If you’re reading this newsletter, you have a unique role to play in our world. You are an artist, a creator, a conjurer of wonder and beauty.

The world needs us to continue creating and making because the other side has conjurers too. Only those dark mages are using necromancy to raise fascism from the dead. They create prisons and invent ways to make people suffer.

We must meet that energy by reinvigorating the imagination necessary to create an equitable democracy for everyone. We need to create refuges and ways to succor those that suffer.

Making art is a political act—a holy act.

Take time today to take care of yourself. Nurture your creative gifts, and return to making your corner of the world a little bit better.

We need you.

Creative Challenge:

Use an unfamiliar or uncomfortable medium to make art about something you find beautiful. If you’re primarily a writer, draw a picture of your favorite flower. If you’re primarily a visual artist, write a poem about your favorite bird. If you’re a musician, cook a meal that reminds you of someone you love.

Let me know how it goes!

When I tried this challenge, I made a TikTok of me walking and talking. You can watch it here if you haven’t seen it:

@weirdopoetry @weirdopoetry ♬ original sound - jason

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Doing creative things that makes us uncomfortable opens our minds to new ways of making art and broadens our understanding of how our art connects us to our fellow castaways on this cosmic rock.

Be the weird you want to see in the world!

Cheers,

Jason

P.S.

I’ve been making a lot of videos lately (at least a lot for me). It’s been a fun learning experience. I also made another stop-motion short based on one of my haiku comics. Here’s a link to it on Instagram (I can’t seem to embed Instagram posts here at the moment). And here is the short on TikTok:

@weirdopoetryOff to space! A stop-montion animated adapted from one of my haiku comics

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