Let's take five minutes to enjoy a slow look at Van Gogh's
'Wheatfield, with cypresses'.
So starting by sitting in an upright posture with your feet planted on the
floor, and taking a deep breath in.
And exhaling,
dropping your shoulders a little to let go of tension there.
Taking another deep breath, and letting go with the out breath.
Following the flow of the in-breath and the out breath,
and bringing your attention to the space around you.
Taking your eyes for a walk. So starting on your left, and
following the outlines of surfaces. Tracing along and around the objects you
see, up down and across edges,
following long lines and shorter lines, some straight, some curved. Moving quickly,
as if your eye was a pencil sketching the scene.
Everything connected by this trail. Coming all the way across to the right,
then letting go of that idea, and taking in the scene.
The sea of golden wheat, dotted with poppies and flowers.
The gnarled olive trees,
and emerald green cypresses.
The craggy blue mountains,
and the swirling clouds.
Imagining the summer mistral, the strong cool wind of southern France.
The wheat swaying in its gale, bending the olive trees with its force,
and twisting the cypresses into shapes like flickering flames.
The wind spiralling across the canvas, like Van Gogh's restless, rhythmic brush.
Allowing your eyes to follow his undulating lines,
swooping and swirling through the rolling clouds.
And then imagining yourself standing on the stony path.
Feeling yourself sturdy and solid like the cypresses rooted in the earth,
as the gale blows around you. Listening to the wind, and the hum
of the cicada. Feeling the sun and breeze on your face.
The fiery sun that ripens the wheat and warms the rocks.
Breathing in deep lungfuls of air, breathing in the piney scent of the
trees, and breathing out, sending your breath
back out into the atmosphere. Taking a deep breath in, having a sense
of the air filling your lungs, and breathing out. And then
sensing the fire within you, the warmth of your pumping heart.
The water in your mouth,
the food in your belly.
Van Gogh found solace in nature, and saw art and nature as interconnected.
'We who live on bread, are we not ourselves wheat to a considerable extent?'
he wrote.
Earth, fire, air and water. Wheat, sun, wind and clouds.
Van Gogh, me and you,
particles and energy moving in a never-ending flux,
all connected as one.