I Believe That Words Are Powerful
Have you ever had thoughts going round and round your mind that you can’t seem to articulate and then, somebody says something that brings it all into focus?
That’s what happened to me last night when I read a piece by Darkcosmos. Her words crystalised my thoughts and inspired me to tell you about an amazing young man that I know.
https://similarworlds.com/177280-I-Am-a-Deep-Thinker/966383-In-this-Life-we-are-all-searching-for-Purpose-or
About eighteen months ago, I met a guy who has autism. I know very little about the condition so can’t say what type he has or how typical (or not) he is from other sufferers of this ailment. What I can say is that he is a very gentle and kind soul. He cares deeply about the people in his small circle and also cares about the natural world. He loves animals and plants and seems to get upset when he hears about the damage we are doing to our environment.
He is an artist. In fact, that’s how I met him.
For the last couple of years, I’ve been involved with a Kurdish community centre. Hanging in the main hall is one of his paintings. It’s a large piece, more than a meter square, and is an abstract study of dark blues. From a distance, there seems to be no geometric pattern or any kind of rhythm involved, just a mass of colour where the blues just sort of bleed into each other. When I first saw it, it reminded me of ocean depths and I was struck by it immediately. Come in closer and you can see the brush strokes literally ladling on huge swathes of paint. But, find a sort of middle distance, and something remarkable happens.
Your eye picks up a fine line that you think is black marker pen that has been added as an after thought. Go in close again and you see that it isn’t black, it’s very dark blue, and that a fine brush has been used. This fine line has been put in very deliberately and with great care and skill.
Step back to the middle distance and you see that there are more lines. And BAM!
The face of a woman coalesces before your eyes. She’s in the bottom right-hand corner, is in three quarter profile and her eyes are downcast. But there is something about her bearing that tells you that this not a beaten or subservient woman.
Sometimes, I get the impression that she is readying herself to meet a new challenge head on. At other times, I feel that she is looking at something (or someone) with great love and compassion.
I asked about the painter and was told that he was studying abroad. I asked more and was told that he had a BA in Art History. I asked yet more and was told that he was studying a second BA in Philosophy. I asked more and was told that he had autism.
Finally, we met and became great friends. It took time, he is painfully shy and doesn’t do well in groups of more than two or three people. And even then, they have to be people that he already knows.
Over the following months, I sought him out at every opportunity and did all that I could to encourage him to accept me. It has been one of the most rewarding efforts of my life.
On Monday evening, we met for coffee at the community centre and he showed me the latest book that he had purchased. Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species”.
We’ve spoken about Darwin before. In previous conversations, I had told him about my trip to the Galapagos Islands and my admiration for the man and his discoveries. On Monday, we spoke some more about the book and I showed him some of my favorite passages. There was a brief moment when I thought that perhaps my ramblings about Darwin and The Galapagos had motivated him to buy the book. My moment of hubris was short lived.
“I go back to Turkey in September to do my last year at uni. They’ve banned the teaching of evolution in Turkey. No schools are allowed to teach it. So I’m going to learn about it!”
That’s what happened to me last night when I read a piece by Darkcosmos. Her words crystalised my thoughts and inspired me to tell you about an amazing young man that I know.
https://similarworlds.com/177280-I-Am-a-Deep-Thinker/966383-In-this-Life-we-are-all-searching-for-Purpose-or
About eighteen months ago, I met a guy who has autism. I know very little about the condition so can’t say what type he has or how typical (or not) he is from other sufferers of this ailment. What I can say is that he is a very gentle and kind soul. He cares deeply about the people in his small circle and also cares about the natural world. He loves animals and plants and seems to get upset when he hears about the damage we are doing to our environment.
He is an artist. In fact, that’s how I met him.
For the last couple of years, I’ve been involved with a Kurdish community centre. Hanging in the main hall is one of his paintings. It’s a large piece, more than a meter square, and is an abstract study of dark blues. From a distance, there seems to be no geometric pattern or any kind of rhythm involved, just a mass of colour where the blues just sort of bleed into each other. When I first saw it, it reminded me of ocean depths and I was struck by it immediately. Come in closer and you can see the brush strokes literally ladling on huge swathes of paint. But, find a sort of middle distance, and something remarkable happens.
Your eye picks up a fine line that you think is black marker pen that has been added as an after thought. Go in close again and you see that it isn’t black, it’s very dark blue, and that a fine brush has been used. This fine line has been put in very deliberately and with great care and skill.
Step back to the middle distance and you see that there are more lines. And BAM!
The face of a woman coalesces before your eyes. She’s in the bottom right-hand corner, is in three quarter profile and her eyes are downcast. But there is something about her bearing that tells you that this not a beaten or subservient woman.
Sometimes, I get the impression that she is readying herself to meet a new challenge head on. At other times, I feel that she is looking at something (or someone) with great love and compassion.
I asked about the painter and was told that he was studying abroad. I asked more and was told that he had a BA in Art History. I asked yet more and was told that he was studying a second BA in Philosophy. I asked more and was told that he had autism.
Finally, we met and became great friends. It took time, he is painfully shy and doesn’t do well in groups of more than two or three people. And even then, they have to be people that he already knows.
Over the following months, I sought him out at every opportunity and did all that I could to encourage him to accept me. It has been one of the most rewarding efforts of my life.
On Monday evening, we met for coffee at the community centre and he showed me the latest book that he had purchased. Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species”.
We’ve spoken about Darwin before. In previous conversations, I had told him about my trip to the Galapagos Islands and my admiration for the man and his discoveries. On Monday, we spoke some more about the book and I showed him some of my favorite passages. There was a brief moment when I thought that perhaps my ramblings about Darwin and The Galapagos had motivated him to buy the book. My moment of hubris was short lived.
“I go back to Turkey in September to do my last year at uni. They’ve banned the teaching of evolution in Turkey. No schools are allowed to teach it. So I’m going to learn about it!”
