Tag Archives: art

My New Year’s Resolution and a Gift for You

The Muse – a self-portrait I have done this time a year ago while at home in Namibia.

The end of a year is the time when most of us take stock and plan ahead for the new year. Many friends are sharing their intentions, hopes and dreams on social media.

I, too, really want the next year to be awesome, but find it so difficult to put my desires into concrete shapes and words. My inner need to get more focussed has built up pressure in the past few days and my inability to focus has filled me with fear.

Today I decided to at least look through the things I have done in the past year and came upon the following text which I have written in September. It reminded me of a valuable lesson by which I have lived most of the past year, and probably should just continue to use as my motto in the next one, till I can fully embrace it.

I am sharing this with you, in the hope that it might inspire you too. Here it goes:

Sometime in 2013 when I felt really sick and depressed, and that already for a few months, I had this talk – with myself, or my higher self or God, well, that thing which sometimes answers you, by putting brand new and outrageous thoughts into your mind.

It went something like this:

Me: I finally want to be happy! And healthy!

It: Well, then just be happy and healthy.

Me: But I cannot. Cause I am depressed and my body is aching. Did you forget that I have a broken back, and ten other health issues on my plate on top of it?! Are you saying that it is my thinking and believes causing this?! It can’t be, because I have been trying to do all the right spiritual stuff and be positive and all that shit… and still here I am, feeling miserable, wanting to give up, but even too scared for that…. So?

It: Just be.

Me (getting agitated): Grmpfff – I just told you, I am not. And it would be lying if I said that I am happy and healthy. And I will not lie. It is of no use.

It: No, just be. Breathe.

Me: Hä? (That is German for WTF?)

It: You know, how the world and you are trying to live by the Nike slogan: Just do it! ? That is ok, sometimes that is a real great advice, but right now I am giving you a new slogan, and yes, it sounds outrageous, but try it: Just be.

Me: Hey – hmmm, an improvement on the Nike slogan? Great, I like that! And it is even shorter than the Nike slogan, and less is more, so this is quiet cool. I will try it.

And so I did.

Whenever I felt stressed, insecure or anxious, I stopped myself, took a deep breath and told myself: just be.

The beauty is, that in that moment I realise I am. I am everything, I am stressed or insecure, but I am also Imke, a human being, a woman, a creative spirit, a lover, a daughter, a friend… And I am part of this universe, I am love and I am kindness.

I (we?) often forget to firstly ‘just be’. Being is all we need to do.

There is nothing I need to do to be better or more accepted. We often put doing before being. When we remember to be and let our doing flow naturally out of our being, we start to live a more honest and happy life. We gain more strength and confidence in our actions, because they are fuelled by our true being and not by what we are told or tell ourselves we need to do.

Try it. For me it helps taking a deep breath, sometimes closing my eyes and then feeling into being. Consciously feel how I am being. Alive. Present. Aware.

It immediately calms me and gives me new strength. And it puts my fears of not doing enough or being perfect enough into perspective. I hope it might be the same for you.

And as a special gift I have created the image below and would love to send it to you in high-resolution so that you can either print it or use it as a screen-saver to remind you of this simple New Year’s resolution.

Just email me at imkerust(a)iway.na (Note: Please replace the (a) with an @ sign.) or leave a comment below and I will hurry to get it to you asap.

Wishing you a blessed and amazing 2015 filled with joy, love, health and abundance!

Just be.

Season’s Greetings

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To all my friends, followers of my blog and art lovers,

thank you for another year of your support and appreciation! I am so grateful for being able to share my art with all you lovely people and to receive so much love and valuable feedback in return!

Thank you for your interest, your comments, your likes and your purchases. It means so much to me and keeps me going and growing in my art.

I wish you all a wonderful festive season and a great start to the New Year!

Imke

Cats Raising Money for Cats

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Everyday, when I switch on my computer, I look at this adorable fluff-ball:

The adorable fluff-ball Princess Clarissa

She is my cat and she is a real princess.

She even has her own throne, on wheels, decorated with the insignia crown of her royal highness…

Princess Clarissa on her very own thrown.

Princess Clarissa on her very own throne.

She’s got attitude, she is goofy and does not care the least what you think about her odd lying positions and her aloof behaviour.

But, do not call her fat. Her sensitive heart is deeply hurt when somebody dares to call her fat – she will never honour you with another glance, never mind a purr….

And to rescue the situation her servant (ie me) has to explain, that she is not fat, it is just that her pretty head is a bit too small, and she has a lot of fluffy fur.

And no – nobody is allowed to touch her silky soft fur! That is just not on with royalty!

Her name is Clarissa.

Named after the great author Clarissa Pinkola Estes.

And Clarissa hails from the SPCA in Windhoek.

I am so grateful to have this little princess in my life and always try to support the SPCA. I believe that they are doing such important work and play a huge role in animal welfare.

Being an artist with a minimal and ad-hoc income I often was not able to support their work as much as I wanted to. But I have found ways and means to support the SPCA and Cat Protection Society of Namibia, for instance, by donating paintings of dogs for their fund-raising auction.

Recently I made a fun painting of a cat and shared it on Facebook. This painting reminded Ms Susanne Jaspert of her own cat, another cat hailing from the lands of SPCA, and she decided to buy this painting.

I was so excited that my pink cat painting found a loving home, as cats and paintings all need loving homes!

SOLD. Untitled, Ink & Acrylic on acidfree paper 170g/m2
29,7 x21cm

What better excuse to donate the proceeds to the SPCA? A cat painting helping the cats and dogs of the SPCA and supporting the work of the people who care for them.

Why am I telling you all this?

Because, I often felt helpless and too poor to help and yet there are so many ways to help out. It does not need to be in big ways. But maybe something you love doing can be donated or used in order to support a cause close to your heart? I hope that this might inspire you to find a way how you can help and remind you to go out and just do it.

Or to adopt your own princess or prince from the SPCA and let them sneak into your heart and soul.

And as I was preparing this post I searched through my photos to decide which pictures to use and as you can imagine, it is not easy if you have the cutest and goofy-est SPCA cat in the world. So here is a small selection which I just have to add, as they also give you a glimpse into how important this cat is in my art making.

: Clarissa, the art critic… she takes her job very seriously and regularly interrupts her naps on her thrown or the stoep for art inspections.

: Clarissa and her buddy Willi (who has passed away) almost perfectly imitating the male-female crosses of my artworks.

: Back-up support and sharp nails to keep me going while I am busy working at the computer. (Yes, that is my bum on the tiny front part of my chair, while she is doing the back-up purring on the main part of the office chair.)

Mixed Media Artworks from my Land Art Project

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I realised that I have never put up my mixed media artworks from my land art project on my webpage…

So let me share some of the works and the thoughts behind them with you today!

What will be left, Acrylic and cutting away of tourist map 69 x 49cm

What will be left (Acrylic and cutting away of tourist map 69 x 49cm)

This artwork is called ‘What will be left’

All currently awarded mining licences were cut out from a tourist map, to make the actual impact visible. Not all licenses will be used immediately or at all, but companies would not pay for such licenses if they did not have the intention of using it sooner or later. Also many of the areas are awarded more than once, for instance for diamonds and for nuclear fuels at the same time.

(This information can be found on the webpage of the Ministry of Mines & Energy of Namibia).

Open Pit Near You
Photo of the Namib Desert, acrylic, cardboard (Recycled), wood glue
14,7 x 19,7 x 1,7cm

From photographs which I took of the Namib desert I cut out an ‘open-pit mine’.

Concessions Areas 2
Digitally manipulated photo of the Namib Desert
Digital print on photo paper
15 x 20cm
Numbered Edition

Concessions Areas 1
Digitally manipulated photo of the Namib Desert
Digital print on photo paper
15 x 20cm
Numbered Edition

Most of the Namib desert is sliced up into different concession areas for mining purposes, awarded by the government to interested parties, very often foreign companies. Once again I used my photographs and imagined what it would look like, if we could see these areas while we are in the desert.

Repeating History
(Maharero & Leutwein)
Ball-point pen on magazine image
27,5 x 43cm

There is a pretty famous old photograph of the Herero Chief Samuel Maharero and Governor Leutwein. Samuel Maharero has sold off much of the land of his people to the Germans for very cheap in return for being helped to fight the Herero people who did not accept him as chief.

I used this photograph as a reference and drew the people into a modern-day setting (an interior from a magazine) as I imagine similar dubious and far-reaching deals are happening still today, especially in awarding mining concessions.

The problem with selling off our countries resources in such a big way, is that we will never be able to get them back. Once they are depleted, they are gone forever and we are left with big scars in the earth and probably a lot of pollution.

Fata Morgana Welwitschia
Acrylic and pencil on canvas
15 x 20cm

Or: Not everything that shines is gold…

I guess only Namibians will understand this work immediately. The Welwitschia is a unique plant found in the Namib desert. An abstract representation has been used as decoration for the statehouse’s fence. The golden Welwitschia decoration is made by North-Koreans and it is not cast in metal, but in plastic. The statehouse has been the source of much dispute, since it was build mostly by foreigners and at a huge cost to the nation. The lavishness and pomp and huge expense feels like a laugh in the face of all the Namibian people who are living in real poverty with no roofs over their head.

Also, the Welwitschia is a special ancient, protected plant found in the desert and just like the minerals, metals and nuclear fuels which can be found here, I feel that our government would sell it off to some foreign investor without further thought, if they were offered the faintest promise of getting rich quick.

If you would like to see some more works from this project, please visit this LINK.

Autumnal Equinox

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Hello Autumn (leaf work by Imke Rust)

Yesterday I realised that we have just passed the autumnal equinox…

Ahh, I have to accept that summer is definitely over and the days are getting colder and shorter. I fear the cold and was just about to feel miserable, when I decided I just need to make friends with the situation.

And what better way than celebrating the beautiful things about autumn, like the red and yellow leafs with some creativity?

The wild vine covering my soon-to-be studio is slowly turning red. It is really beautiful and I have already collected and pressed the first of these red leafs.

While photographing the leafs the sun reflected so strongly, that it made the leaf appear to be black&white…

(Click on the photographs above to see a larger view.)

I had the idea to type something onto these leafs. It did not work too well… but I had the opportunity to sit outside in the garden with my old typewriter (which my husband found in the trash). Touched by the cool sun and struggling with the fragility of the leaves, the stubborn, faulty typewriter, no idea what to write and my miserable spelling skills, I started to feel better.

As a welcome to autumn (for those of us living in the northern hemisphere), I decided to share a few of the imperfectly perfect results with you.

The typing worked best on a larger green leaf from the cherry tree.

Dear Universe, thank you for the different seasons in nature as well as in our lives. Thank you for the summer that has passed and the autumn on our doorsteps. Thank you that the sun keeps on shining, no matter what & the stars return every night. Even if we do not see them, they are there for us.

A little prayer of gratitude: Dear Universe, thank you for the different seasons in nature as well as in our lives. Thank you for the summer that has passed and the autumn on our doorsteps. Thank you that the sun keeps on shining, no matter what & the stars return every night. Even if we do not see them, they are there for us.

I even tried to type on this white feather which I found in the garden, but it was not really successful, I guess the ink tape of the typewriter is to old and dry. But I liked the photograph 🙂

White feather with love by Imke Rust

Walking Through the Night Sky

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My last post was about the blue, blue skies with beautiful white clouds…

But, do you ever walk through the night sky? Touch the stars with your toes and breathe in the darkness of the universe?

I do.

Sometimes.

(Title: Walking Through the Night Sky, 1:16min, by Imke Rust)

Just press play to start the video.

It is soft and bouncy. Just me on my journey through the stars which sometimes tickle the soles of my feet, when I pay close enough attention…

I made a video of it, the old-fashioned, stop-motion way. My camera did not catch the amazing Namibian night sky with its plethora of little stars, but you can at least see some of the big ones.

This post is dedicated to the awesome poetess Indigo Spider (if you have not checked our her fine spider web-weaving, delicately crafted and powerful writing, please do so), who commented on my last blog that she prefers the night skies over the day skies.

So I thought, wait a minute, I have something very special to share with you. An artwork, which also still needs to see the light of day…

Thank you, Indigo Spider, for being a kindred soul, virtual blogging friend and continuous source of inspiration and support!

Enjoy watching the short video!

PS. I miss the warm summer nights of Windhoek, when I can be outside and play like this forever.

Wild Sky

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Cloud, collected and documented by Imke Rust

Remember the days during childhood, when we looked up at the clouds in the sky and imagined their shapes to represent all kinds of things?

Well, part of my life’s mission in the recent months was to reignite the lightness and playfulness of childhood in my life. I guess I cannot help it, I play best by being creative.

As part of my rainmaking experiments and research, I have been collecting clouds by photographing and documenting them. I have some great ideas for these photographs, but somehow, like so many of my ideas and projects, they have not yet found their way out into the world.

I find this frustrating, because I have so much fun working on different projects and I enjoy sharing them, because I know that many of my wors or projects are inspiring, intruiging or interesting for others.

When I was looking at the pictures of the collected clouds some time ago, I started seeing some figures in them and decided to take a moment to play the old childhood game. Instead of just imagining the animals and figures on my documented clouds, I decided to draw them onto the photographs in Photoshop. Those are the advantages of being an adult and having all these wonderful technical equipment and programs!

I had so much fun, that I spent quite a bit of time making more and more. As so often, also these fun images were saved in a folder on my computer and almost forgotten.

Maybe one day, the right time will come and I can present these projects in their full glory, printed, framed and exhibited in a cool venue… 🙂 Maybe a gallery or curator will invite me to show one or the other project.

Just, how will anybody know about all the wonderful things I have buried somewhere in a folder on my computer or in my studio, I wondered? If they have never seen them or read about them, they cannot possibly know.

Instead of storing and hiding my art and projects, I decided to try to get them up onto my webpage and out into the world. At least that way they people can see them and hopefully find inspiration or joy in them, no matter if I ever find a way to exhibit them in a proper space close to you.

So, here you go, I share my Wild Sky Cloud Creatures with you.

They are not my most important or serious project, by far, but I enjoyed working on them.

I hope that you might feel inspired to stop for a moment, remember your carefree moments as a child, look at the sky and marvel at the offerings it has for you!

Please click on the circles to see the full image.

Cloud Flying Mouse, Digitally manipulated photograph, © Imke Rust

Cloud Frolicking Sheep, Digitally manipulated photograph, © Imke Rust

Cloud Sitting Elephant, Digitally manipulated photograph, © Imke Rust

Cloud Sleepy Cat, Digitally manipulated photograph, © Imke Rust

Cloud Crocodiles, Digitally manipulated photograph, © Imke Rust

Cloud Whale, Digitally manipulated photograph, © Imke Rust

You can see more works of this series HERE.

Permission to Play

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Untitled, Acrylic on acidfree paper 170g/m2 29,7 x21cm, © Imke Rust

Please click on images to see a larger version.

Recently I have allowed myself to make some abstract paintings for the first time in my life.

Do I need permission, you might wonder? Yes, because most of my life I thought it is too easy and superficial and thus not becoming for a ‘serious and deep’ artist like me. So I just did not allow myself to go down that route.

I had so much fun playing with my new colours and I loved the results! I posted some of these abstract paintings on Facebook and got a lot of positive response and my heart just warmed up and I felt happy and satisfied.

Those of you, who follow my musings here regularly, know that I have had my struggles with fitting into the art world and making sense of it all. I had serious doubts about just about everything. Always questioning if what I am doing is purposeful, important, serious enough, good enough, likeable and sellable and so much more.

This used to drive me crazy and kind of paralyse my creative flow for most of the time. It took so much effort to do things anyway. To get up and paint or draw or create despite all my doubts and insecurities… To make art, even though I have already so much art piling up, that will probably never find a way out into a gallery or somebody else’s home.

To deal with depression and try to not to loose hope…

Somewhere along the way things turned so bad, that I decided to take a break, even though that thought seriously freaked me out. But I knew I had no real choice. Being depressed and creatively paralysed was anyway not really supportive of producing any good art or make me feel happy and excited.

Sea Turtle by Imke Rust
(Water-colour pencils, Acrylic and gel pens on acid-free 170m/g2 paper, 29 x 21cm)

So I quit going to the studio. I quit pressurising myself to produce any serious art. I stopped writing proposals for stipends, grants or exhibitions. I even stopped going to see other art exhibitions, as I realised that every time I see other art, I start comparing myself: either thinking that everything great has already been done by people who are much better or feeling I have so much more to offer than the artist I see, yet they have a show and sales in a fancy gallery and I don’t.

It took a lot of courage, but I decided to start doing only things I really want to do, things that are fun or make me happy. Even if that meant sleeping most of the day – if I felt like it, I did it. Yes, my mind was racing and blaming and I was feeling so guilty and lazy, but on the other hand, my body gratefully accepted and turned around for just another few minutes of rest.

The struggle between my critical mind and my soul’s desires was huge. Mostly I could not even remember what my soul wanted and my mind was loud and full with ‘should’s and should not’s and trying to know and understand it all from a rational perspective. And very often I ended up wasting time in front of the computer, because that at least felt like I was doing something productive.

Ever since I can remember, I was very aware of other people’s needs, expectations and emotions. My survival instinct as a child quickly realised this could be a valuable gift that I hoped would help me to fit in perfectly and make everybody around me happy. I was good at that – always being thoughtful, kind and pleasing.

I am sure in many ways this unconscious strategy really ensured my sanity and survival. But it was not always successful. The more people I had around me that needed pleasing at the same time and the more complicated things became, the more I felt like failing and was failing. And the more confused I got and ultimately depressed. Especially because there was this deep, throbbing feeling that there was more to my life, than pleasing others and being socially acceptable. Just how could I ensure my survival if it depends so much on others? On a more practical level: people have to like my art in order to buy it, so that I can pay my rent.

Rhino Angels, Pencil on grey paper 110g/m2 29,7 x21cm, © Imke Rust

Anyway, I promised myself to follow my heart and listen to my soul and was adamant to push through on that. Until I figured out that I have absolutely no clue who I really am and what my own desires are – I was so good at soaking up other people’s desires, that I never gave much attention to my own. So, I tried to remember. I just could not. And every time my heart or soul nudged me with a little idea or urged me to just draw a cute little picture, my mind was racing and shouting again, finding hundreds of reasons why I should not.

I tried to compromise. I told my mind, that it is ok to play, I have a few more savings and one small alternative source of income and for right now, my survival will not be jeopardised (one of my greatest fears). I told my mind, that I will spend ‘just a tiny little snipped of time’ playing with paint or resting or enjoying watching the clouds pass by –surely that would be ok? This little time will make me happy and give me more energy to one day show up for the big work with all new enthusiasm and creativity.

The negotiations were tough and endless, but somehow, I guess out of pure desperation I nudged out more and more time and space to just be, to play, to muse and to not worry.

And I decided to ignore the inner critic as best I can and give myself permission to at least try to follow up on some crazy or fun ideas I have. To try out different things, so that I can finally figure out my own true inner desires again and express them.

Neon Butterfly, Acrylic on acidfree paper 170g/m2 29,7 x21cm, © Imke Rust

The struggle has not ended, but I have a feeling I have come a far way. Being brutally honest with myself has helped a lot. And being kind and understanding with myself – wow, I did not realise how difficult that is!

It has also helped me to share my experiences and thoughts in this blog. Even though I have only allowed small glimpses every now and then, I feel that I have so many thoughts and experiences swirling around in my mind, that it would help me to just express them. And I hope it might help others reading it, to find some inspiration, help or just a feeling of not being alone with your troubles.

Much of the time I spent on the computer, trying to be busy and avoid looking deep into my own soul, has been spend on the Internet. I have read a gazillion motivational, self-help, inspiring blog posts. And yes, many of them were helpful and inspiring and I am so grateful for the access to all this information we have.

It struck me how so many people who can be viewed as successful and happy from the outside, are or have been struggling with many of the same issues that I struggle with. When such people are willing to share and expose their most vulnerable parts, their fears or mistakes, it gives me hope, as I realise we are not alone, nobody is born ‘perfect’ and if they can find answers and solutions, so can I. And I can learn from such a great pool of wonderful teachers, who probably never even see themselves as teachers.

That is the reason, why I feel that I want to share more of my inner world and thoughts in this blog, even if they are not directly related to my art. And I hope in some small way it might be an inspiration or helpful to some of you too.

Please click on the images below to see a larger version.

Falling Leaves, Pen on acidfree paper 170g/m2 29,7 x21cm, © Imke Rust

Untitled, Ink painted with a feather on acidfree paper 170g/m2 29,7 x21cm, © Imke Rust

Flying Crows, Far Away, Ink on acidfree paper 170g/m2 29,7 x21cm, © Imke Rust

Imke Rust – Wieviel Namibia steckt in ihrer Kunst?

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Imke Rust – How much Namibia can be found in her art?

Last Tuesday was one of those nervously exciting days… I have been invited for an hour-long interview on Deutschlandradio Kultur. The interview forms part of a series called ‘Im Gespräch’ – I would translate it as ‘In Conversation’. Interesting and inspiring people from many different backgrounds are invited to share their thoughts and experiences during these interviews.

Imke Rust busy making the SubRosa Artwork. Photo by Steffen Holzkamp (c)

I felt so honoured and grateful that they have invited me! And at the same time, I realised how big this is, and how much I want to make it count and how scared I am of me messing it up.

Even though I have talked publicly before and believe that I am usually faring quite well, nevertheless I still get nervous as hell. Fortunately the preparations team was super and the interviewer, Britta Bürger, was awesome and I felt safe and welcome.

Once my nervous coughing subsided and we were on-air the time passed so quickly. Before I knew it we were done. It felt as if I woke up from a dream, but have totally forgotten what it was about, except for a faint, very vague memory.

I only arrived home late that evening after a busy day in town. When I switched on my computer, I was overwhelmed to see so many emails of friends and strangers congratulating me and commenting on the interview. I was even more overwhelmed to see that almost 400 people have visited my webpage and clicked through many different pages. Wow – this was an absolute sky-rocketing record for me.

I am so grateful that people have listened to my interview and felt it was interesting enough to find out more on my webpage. Thank you!

For everybody who missed it, if you are curious to hear me talking about my background, Namibia and my art, you can still listen to it on the archive page of Deutschlandradio Kultur, by clicking on the link below. Sorry, once again this is only in German without any translation.

I have had several requests to have my webpage and blog in German. Strangely my German writing is not as fluent, even though it is my mother-tongue. And as much as I wish I could share everything in German too, I just do not have the time to translate it myself or the money to pay for somebody to do it for me. Maybe one day I can change that!

Ok, here is the intro to the interview.

Die Namibierin Imke Rust steckt schwarze Rosen in die Wüste, klebt Regenwolken auf Felsen und lässt Plastik-Goldfische in Eis-Bächen schwimmen. Häufig sind es symbolische Kunstprojekte, mit denen die Künstlerin vor der massiven Umweltzerstörung warnt, die Namibia durch Uran- und Phosphatabbau droht. Sie ist die Nachfahrin einer weißen Missionarsfamilie, die in das damalige Deutsch-Südwestafrika auswanderte.

Click here to read more and listen to the interview.

Klick hier um weiterzulesen und das Interview zu hören.

We are talking more about this artwork: Coat of Arms by Imke Rust

We are talking more about this artwork during the interview: Coat of Arms by Imke Rust

Learning From the Ancient Rainmakers

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The world is in upheaval.

Do you also feel a sense of helplessness and anxiety, when you turn on the internet, radio or television, only to be bombarded with daily increase of violence, war, terror, poverty, sickness and disaster all over the world? And in addition to the world news, do you feel a rise of death, tragedy, disease and problems within your personal circle of friends, family or acquaintances?

Crying Oryx (Acrylic & charcoal on canvas) ©Imke Rust

Crying Oryx – an artwork I painted last year in despair over the lack of proper social care in Namibia. (Acrylic & charcoal on canvas) ©Imke Rust

I do. And I have started to avoid the news as much as I can, in an effort to prevent myself from becoming depressed and sad. To escape the feeling of being so powerless about what is happening in the world, far away and sometimes really close-by. But I keep wondering if blocking out what is happening is the answer? Is it right to try to ignore what is happening in Syria, the Ukraine, Irak, Central Africa etc. ect.? And how can I possibly help somebody, even closer to home who is struggling with cancer, with depression, lack, fear and so much more?

The answer is probably different for everybody, but I have come to this:

We are all one

That is my believe. And that means, if something happens to any being, it happens to me. So yes, what is happening on the other side of the world IS affecting me (if I watch the news or not).

But turning that thought around, it also means, that what I am doing, feeling or thinking, is also affecting the rest of the world. So maybe, if I focus less on the negative and instead try to increase the positive vibe, inspiration and love, it can help everybody everywhere. If more and more people will do that, it will spread… Remember how it only took one best friend or one great teacher at school, to turn your life around? And once you felt empowered or loved, suddenly you could be a blessing to others around you, too?

Where can I (can you) be that one special person that makes a difference in another’s life?

Live in the here and now

What can I do right here and right now to help? I realised that I might not be in a position to stop the Ebola virus or the wars raging in the world. And I most likely cannot heal a sick friend or bring back a lost loved one, but I can give a smile to the person on the street, support my friends and family with some practical stuff, emotionally or spiritually and approach everybody I meet with respect and kindness. I can be the rainbow in somebody’s cloud and a sunbeam in somebody’s dark day. I can offer some inspiration, some light-heartedness and some alternative perspectives. There are many small (and bigger) things I can do to improve somebody’s life in the here and now. That is what I want to focus on, because I believe that is the most effective and useful, which I know I can do. And for those who are not here, I can offer a prayer and beam over some positive energy and love.

Mostly, let us help where we can and not worry about the stuff that is out of our reach. While we pray for peace in the world, let us remember to act peacefully and lovingly towards our neighbour, the cashier and the beggar you are passing in the street.

The outer reality is shaped by my inner reality.

Yes I do believe that, and even if it is often difficult to grasp, I feel its truth in my life more and more with increased awareness and time.

I would love to share a little story which I found doing research on the old practice of rainmaking. It made me think and remember that this is probably one of the deepest secrets to understand when making rain or trying to change the world (or your life).

Cloud experiments by Imke Rust (Acrylic on Paper)

For a long time I have been experimenting with different aspects of ‘making rain’ as a way to understand reality, spirituality and how and if we can influence what is happening around us. Here are drawings of raining clouds. ( ©Imke Rust, Acrylic on Paper, each 29 x 21cm)

There was great concern in a small village as the rains were not coming. Without the rain in due time there would be no harvest and they would not survive the harsh winter. The rainmakers they sent for created elaborate ceremonies, but without success.

Finally they remembered an old man living on his own high up in the mountains, who could possibly make rain. The sent for him and he came. He was asked what he needed to make rain and he asked for a small hut outside of the village and that the villagers would bring him a bowl of rice everyday and place it outside of the hut. ‘That’s all?’ they asked and he affirmed: ‘Yes, that is all.’ He walked through the village and then left. It took three or four days and then it finally rained.

When the man was asked, how he managed to create the rain, he answered:

‘When I came into the village, I saw that you were not in harmony with each other and with nature. So I have asked myself where there is disharmony in myself. I sat quietly with this question and returned myself to order and harmony. Through this (my) harmony, nature could remember its own harmony again, and it could rain.’

The original story, in German, was written by Harald Jordan, Orte der Kraft, and found at http://www.news.ita-est.de/der-regenmacher/ .

So, I am trying to live a harmonious life, to be in peace with my immediate surroundings and myself and to help where and if I can. And trust that the rest will have to take care of itself somehow, especially if there are more and more people who are willing to spread good energy through their own lives in their own ways and means.