Nordic Light

This is a copper relief of mine, pinned up at an outside  wall of a restaurant in south-western Germany. The dimensions are roughly four by five feet. The name "Nordic Light".
It is a bit crowded with forms, I would do it differently now, more simple. 
Simplicity can be a form of life, perhaps a solution to our ever accelerating lifestyle that wastes the focus and essential on the immediate. I do not know much about Zen-Buddhism, but I am attracted by its contemplative simplicity. What is quiet, can also listen. 
I do not want to go into great lengths of this, but no matter what your spiritual outlook, your religion - or even if you are a gnostic (you know, atheists don't really exist, they just think they do) - simplicity in life matters, the beauty is in front of your nose. And that can be spiritual.
With all the accelerating troubles in the world, I wish that you can demonstrate to be a beacon, a true "nordic light" that does shine all over. 
And next time I say it simpler, more in the Zen way.
That's Zee for you today.

Ani Difranco performs Manhole@Bonnaroo

 I am not a super fan of hers, but I do like this life performance. She also did a "song" called Self-evidence short after 9/11, it was brilliant. Sometimes I see her more as a poet (feminine term escapes me right now) than a musician. Though when she hits the strings, it is skillful bouncing all over. A gifted lady indeed!

"Manhole"


I'm holding here a book
Notable, but not the greatest
Stolen for me by the latest
In a long line of thieves
And I'm just about to drop it
Down that manhole of memories
When I realize it doesn't bother me
Like love's mementos usually do
And I look up to see who's different here
The latest me or the latest you


Course, you're the kind of guy who doesn't lie
He just doctors everything
Chooses some unassuming finger
And quietly moves his wedding ring
Who rewrites his autobiography
For any pretty girl who'll sing
But you can't fool the queen, baby
Cuz I married the king


And maybe it was I who betrayed his majesty
With no opposite reality
Like a puddle with no reflection
Of the sky or the trees
But after my dreaded beheading
I tied that sucker back on with a string
And I guess I'm pretty different now
Considering


I kissed you on the street that night
On the far side of four
But I didn't like the taste
In my mouth or yours
And ignoring the persona you wore for my benefit
For once I had the balls to call it
Just call it
But a lesson must be lived
In order to be learned
And the clarity to see and stop this now
That is what I've earned


And maybe it was I who betrayed his majesty
With no opposite reality
Like a puddle with no reflection
Of the sky or the trees
But after my dreaded beheading
I tied that sucker back on with a string
And I guess I'm pretty different now
Considering


I'm holding here a book
Notable, but not the greatest
Stolen for me by the latest
In a long line of thieves
And I'm just about to drop it
Down that manhole of memories
When I realize it doesn't bother me
And heartache not so dire
Cuz I looked up to see integrity
Finally won over desire

as I understand

A woman or a man flew a kite, the picture is fuzzy I know, it was cold. My camera did not obey. Sorry.
But from my window I saw this person struggling with air and wind, amazing!
Sometimes he or she was grounded on the icy snow, just being there ... just contemplating.
How much courage does it take to fly a kite on a midd winter afternoon,  how much energy can we spur up for such a task? It might seem banal and unimportant to you, but I still believe in the finding of the treasure.
Now  - that is this thing, the treasure  is buried in your heart, a golden ray which goes beyond anxieties, beyond worries and pain. The thread becomes the path.
The kite-flyer maybe had no message at all, but what she or he did was to unbound gravity, even if it was just for a moment.

As the Syrian, Egyptian and other Middle Eastern States' struggle to go on - I sometimes wonder and muse about my own directions, what kind of revolution or evolution do I picture and want?
And most importantly, if I happen to have such a vision, even if it is scant, what would it be, how would it be transformed? How can something be implanted which is created in good will to common grounds, for anybody to be picked up. I don't know the answer yet, but it will come to me when I see it. I used to do sculptures with 
a passion, I thought I could meander into peoples mind, cheer them up, make them wonder. It is not anymore so. One of my later creations - which I actually finished, was "Diving for Pearls", a contribution for a girl who actually did that, not in the ocean, but in her heart.


Neil Young, the old junky hippie once wrote a song, it was called: "Searching for a heart of gold" - and on every ending line he said ... and I'm getting old.
That is how I feel, I am getting old - and the world in general grows old on me with all their bullshit, their endless survival techniques to vitalize capitalism and endless growth, instead of capturing that what is in front of their nose, the shiny dew drop that fell from the heavens, sparkling. A gift.
Still, I propose that sculpture is the bond or the link between humans and nature. Many have succeeded to do so, I will try my best to follow suit.