Mercury in Retrograde
The first time I heard someone talk about Mercury in retrograde was probably close to twenty years ago. I recall thinking that it explained so much about the chaos that I was experiencing at the time, although I can’t recall which particular chaos I happened to be experiencing then. Since then, I’ve heard it batted around from time to time, and although I’ve never really studied the scientific implications of the celestial event (or even if it is considered to be a scientific celestial event), I have come to believe in a sort of loose way that it really does create a sense of chaos and confusion. It is only after I hear someone proclaim that we are experiencing it that I feel that aha moment. It helps me process the baffling feeling of dizziness that I feel when I’m caught in one of those snowball periods where everything seems to be spiraling out of control. Maybe it’s just an excuse. Most likely the chaos stems from my lack of preparation or is resulting from my unrealistic expectations, but whatever its cause is, it gives me a certain amount of relief. It makes me feel like there will be a resolution to the confusion. It makes me feel exonerated from taking the blame. It makes me want to find out when the next prediction of mercury in retrograde will be so that I can plan accordingly or maybe call in sick to work for a few weeks.
Last week, Emily told me that Mercury was in retrograde. She didn’t say it with authority; she was just passing on information that one of our customers had shared with her. But once again, the news filled me with relief as the usual spring-time chaos was feeling particularly overwhelming.
I continued to find relief from the chaos as I attended two events over the weekend that forced me to look outside of myself and marvel at the creative minds of three artists. The first event was an art show featuring the work of the very talented Becky Johnson, who I’ve had the pleasure of working with and being friends with for many years, in conjunction with the ceramicist Danae Fasano Dehne. Becky’s work stems from her observations of the natural world combined with her impressive woodworking skills. The show’s title was Wabi-sabi – Imperfect Beauty and the show will be up at Whitcomb’s Arts in Whallonsburg until April 25. Wabi-sabi has always held a particular fascination for me as the philosophy behind the art form is about creating beauty out of something broken. This is a metaphor that really resonates with me and I highly recommend checking out the show.
The second event was held right here at East Branch over the last weekend in March and was created by local artist Sam Stytzer, who I also have the honor to call my friend. Sam had an idea to create a floral installation at the Keene Library and to invite the community to participate in its creation. Sam constructed larger than life wooden flowers and community members showed up to paint the flowers to life inside the greenhouse. It was an enriching experience for all who attended and will be on display for the whole community to enjoy this summer.
Both experiences helped me to see past the frustrations of the previous week and to marvel at how necessary art can be in our human experience. I’ve heard people question the necessity of art in a society that seems to value money above all else and has no problem with having a label “starving artist” being a justification for encouraging artists to have a day job that pays the bills, but I’m just not convinced. We need art to take us out of the noise that bombards us daily from the news and the pace of the world around us. We need to create things in order to connect with the parts of our brain that become stuck in the grind of our money-making careers. We need artists to remind us of the necessity of their work and we need to support those artists so that their work can continue. Personally, my artistic muscles have atrophied a bit over the years of running a business, but I felt such satisfaction and relief as I picked up a paintbrush in that greenhouse and contributed in a tiny way to an important community project. Art has that power to take us beyond ourselves and we are so fortunate to be part of its continuation.