A Student Response From:
Aubrey
This week's prompt felt almost meditative in the way that it was written. Most of the time, I find it really hard to find "my zen" in the midst of the human expectations and responsibilities that have been thrust upon me and everyone else to exists on this planet. It feels like I'm meditating in the middle of a forest fire. I took a painting class last semester and this is exactly what I wanted to portray, in a very literal sense. My painting teacher, however, advised me to create something that felt completely meditative and calm so as to quell the actual fire that was surrounding me, instead of portraying that feeling exactly. I took his advice and created the painting that is attached to this response. If we aren't careful, we might end up engulfed in the flames of existence, burning up under the pressure to be perfect and productive and successful. So sometimes, we need to invite calm and reason into our lives, instead of hyper-fixating on all that is wrong and challenging. If we focus on the small moments and make sure that we are present for us, it allows us to be able to fight the fires that are surrounding us.
