Poetry surrounds us everywhere, but putting it on paper is, alas, not so easy as looking at it. ~ Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh was one of the masters of painting. A true visionary. Yet he was not revered for his work. He was demonized, ridiculed and cast away.
It took years for the public to appreciate his perspective, long after he was dead.
It’s the same with many artists all over the world, be they painters, writers, actors, musicians. They’re maligned and unappreciated for their talents.
It’s also the same with many individuals, whatever their profession or skills. Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, men and women of various attributes, people of all caliber, they just can’t make themselves understood or appreciated at the time they’re doing something. Only in hindsight do they shine.
Why?
Because not everyone understands. It takes time for us to catch up with what others do.
When we do, sooner or later, something clicks. Things fall in place and a new world is born, bit by bit, opening our horizons, enriching our options.
Let those who have understanding reckon that theirs is the way onwards. Everything hinges not on what gets its way by pretending and languishing, but on what resonates with time; not ‘with the times’ but with Time. An idea whose time has come. We resist it at our peril, holding ourselves back, denying the world the opportunity to grow. We reject the good ideas with the bad ones, not giving it much thought. Humanity is nonchalant, carrying on foolishly, laughing at its miscarriages and atrocities, heading off for a swim to cleanse itself after every mindless rejection so that we may keep doing what we do without guilt or shame, or even the slightest sense of complicity.
You see, in this world, everyone is innocent, or so we’d like to think, and have no qualms about what we do until it’s us on the receiving end of everyone’s misunderstanding and rejection. Then we cry wolf and scream bloody murder, injustice, outrage, asking for everyone’s attention, and when we do, we sometimes remember how bad it was to be misunderstood, misrepresented, or cast out, and make up for it by being more attentive to others. We extending others the courtesy of respect, giving their own time and attention, listening to what they have to say before making up our minds.
But more often than not we go back to our established ways, taking our time to catch up, keeping the world a generation-or-two behind.
The original article first appeared in Urban Times.