Living is the original art

My thoughts inspired by the book "Drinking from the river of light" by Mark Nepo.

My beloved partner arrived in New York City 14 years ago to follow his dream of becoming a visual artist.

I remember the day he came to find me at the restaurant I was working in the Lower East Side.

It was just a few days after we first met, when I walked to his table to announce the specials of the day. “You are Greek, right?” He immediately asked. I do. I replied. Sorry, I mean yes!

“Have you seen that guy? I asked my coworker, he's Greek and he seems super interesting. Too bad he's on a date.

And there he was now, by himself, at the bar ordering a beer.

I was at a point in my life, at which for the last year, I was trying to put myself back together.

2011 was a tough year for me. At the beginning of the summer, I had broken up with a guy, with whom I was supposed to have an endless fairytale romance.

It was love at first sight, so powerful and intense that a few days after we met, we decided to move in together and extend our stay as tourists in the Big Apple, in order to try and make a living as artists.

Long story short, a recipe for disaster. Bad idea. A lot of drama. Completely pointless, especially since a few days after our breakup, my dad passed away within 14 days after he was diagnosed with cancer.

Anyway, death, which is one of my favorite topics btw, is not the issue here

.

I had spent almost an entire year just contemplating death. Meditation, reading and writing were my only outlets. Pain my familiar state. Facing what’s in, were my best Saturday- nights out. It's so true,

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until is faced.”James Baldwin

Sometimes, I wish I could scream to the world "TAKE A DEEP BREATH IN AND JUST DO IT! "

For me, it was an urgent need.

I had to understand life, understand breath, that was my only priority. Nothing else mattered.

I remember myself saying, at some point, “OK, don't you think you had enough of these? Come on, enough with this solitude thing. Don’t you think it is about time?

Next thing, he's there, at the bar talking about his art. Sacred symbols, mysticism and occult.

I knew from that moment that his dream would come true, I had zero doubt about it.

Oh and trust me, he had plenty of it.

I'm so grateful that he allowed me to partake in his dream, helping him achieve it while being a force of action and trust.

There are moments still, that I feel, I believe in him more than he does. I guess it’s ok.. I guess that’s his path.. I followed his path with my eyes closed purposely, ignoring all the beliefs that in most cases are carried by artists. There are so many beliefs in a collective consciousness, that makes it even harder to keep believing and trusting.

During a conversation I had with the director of a gallery in west LA, while asking her how she explains the fact that the paintings were going for 1 million dollars, all sold within a couple of hours of the event, her response was just “He believed it”

We spent three years in LA, me working as his personal assistant, together 24/7, overcoming obstacles, finally we achieved the goal of making a living as artists.

Then our paths took separate ways.

I discovered that living is the original art.

I decided to simply focus on choosing to do whatever brings me joy and let God do the rest.

Having joy as a compass and following the signs is my only plan.

And listen.

"Listening is what allows the meaning of life to find its deeper expression." Mark Nepo