As a visual artist I strongly feel the need to contribute to the transformation that is happening right now in 2020.
"When we are caught in the wind of change, compassion gives us the resilience to bend and balance"
- Roshi Joan Halifax
EFFIGY It seems the little girl was looking forward to what was to come. However, her festive ears contrast with the expression on her face. Is she looking passively at something outside of her, or is her gaze turned inward? The innocent girl watches the transformation on Earth with compassion. Her ears can be compared to feelers to a higher consciousness, while she is firmly connected to the ground.
BIRTH During Easter 2020 I decided to start sculpting because our traditional family gathering could not take place because of Corona. This is how the Compassion girl was created on Easter Sunday. An appropriate day for her message, as Easter symbolizes transformation, in which new life after death is celebrated. The year 2020 feels to me like the death of an old world, out of which a new one is born.
CHANGE In those first Corona months, when humanity stood still for a moment and nature seemed to regain its balance, I felt a warm togetherness on the street and in the supermarkets. People made a remarkable amount of eye contact, with a nod and sometimes a smile. However, the world has changed a lot over the months... I see hardening, division and division.
CONVERSATION AND CONSCIOUSNESS The Compassion girl invites reflection and conversation. Because what does this topic actually mean and why is it important? How about self-compassion? Can you feel compassion when you are angry or frustrated?
“Compassion protects you from getting stuck in chronic moral outrage."
MUTUAL CONNECTION In our current world where separation and fear are omnipresent, I think strengthening and developing our interconnectedness should be a priority. The Compassion Girl arose from this intention, to remind us of who we really are as human beings: social creatures whose compassion is our best human quality.
MONUMENT OF CONSCIOUSNESS The original size of the Compassion girl is 18.5 cm. My wish is to enlarge her to a monument of one and a half meters. She will be tall, but still the height of a child. I currently envision her not on a high pedestal, but connected to the ground, facilitating a closer interaction with viewers. As a monument she will disseminate the integral message of compassion, love and faith into the world. This new world is one in which we support each other as a human race, beyond borders, beyond politics, beyond religion and beyond dissent.
"When you intentionally make the expression of LOVE a part of your daily practice - that is feeing, receiving, and giving love - not only do you boost your immune system, but you begin to understand that the more you feel love, the more you become love, and when you become love, the embodiment of love, you can change the world."
Dr. Joe Dispenza ------
"Compassion gives us the resilience to bend and balance when we are caught in the winds of change" ------
"When we’re at the edge, in danger of falling over the precipice into suffering, compassion is the most powerful means I know for keeping our feet firmly planted on the earth and our heart wide open" ------
"Because compassion calls forth our best human capacities—attentional balance and caring, unselfish intention and insight, and ethical action—in a way that no other response does. ------
"Compassion has protected me from getting mired in chronic moral outrage" ------
"Compassion helps us meet our own suffering, and that of others, with an appropriate respons" ------
"When we offer compassion, it burns forth from our heart like a comet. This is the spirit of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, who hears the cries of the world and responds with a boundless heart —one that does not sink like a heavy stone in the waters of suffering, but that is broken open like a geode to the rare space within, glittering with light for those who are struggling in darkness." ------- - Roshi Joan Halifax
