Sometimes when I try to write, I do lots of other things. My mind wanders and wanders, like a butterfly trying to light upon the perfect flower. I really don’t recall where my mind was when I suggested the topic of Spiritual Art for this month’s Spiritual Journey posts. It was probably way back in January when our lives were rocking along at a normal pace in a normal way.
I have to admit this extended time of isolation has been easy for this introvert. I do not mind quiet time. I am rarely bored, but the losses are getting too close for comfort. Our local newspaper logs an average of 10 obituaries a day. We are facing a delay to the start of school. The news goes from bad to worse. Finding some art to bury my head into would be welcome.
In my sorting and shifting to find more distraction, I opened the latest Smithsonian Magazine and found this image.
Nicola Muirhead created this image by putting dishwashing liquid on a Polaroid photograph of her husband and her hands touching. She described her process, “Contact and physical connection are, of course, two of the most dangerous things you can do during the pandemic with someone outside your household. I have been so grateful to have my partner, Faraz, with me during this time, and we are able to hug and kiss and touch. Still, sometimes even touching your loved one can be filled with anxiety. When he goes out for the shopping or I for a walk, and return home, there is always the fear of carrying back the coronavirus. These are the thoughts I have had during the pandemic—adding to the anxiety of lockdown. This Polaroid was washed and then disinfected with bleach. I used dishing washing soap around the edges of the frame to draw the viewer into the hands touching, distorting everything else around it. (Nicola Muirhead)“
Art can help us know more about ourselves. Observing this art, I found myself wanting to be the hand feeling the loving touch of another. Touch is what I miss most. I see my children (grown adults), but I don’t touch them. I spend time with my mother-in-law outside at a distance. I connect with my parents through Facetime. My mother commented that if I came to visit, I would be able to see her outside at a distance with a mask, but she doesn’t want that. She wants to hug me. I get it. We are starving for those simple hugs, the touch of the hand, the gesture of love.
Nicola Muirhead applied the chemicals that now define our days, bleach, hand sanitizer, dishwashing liquid, to every day photographs. What happens when we apply disinfectant to our relationships, to our spiritual life? This pandemic will change us; it has changed us. Perhaps we will learn the value of connectedness. Perhaps we will be more resilient. And perhaps we will find a resurrection.
You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!Click here to enter
Reflections on the Teche 
[…] went straight to the portal, this painting, and van Gogh. Visit Margaret’s post, “Art for the Soul,” for more […]
This photo is completely captivating, Margaret – an indelible image of our times. The poignance of those touching hands, knowing that the photo itself has been disinfected and changed by the chemicals. As we are changed. Your question is deeply compelling: What happens when we apply disinfectant to our relationships, to our spiritual life? Look how beautiful the colors become in that treated photograph of the human touch…
As a fellow introvert, I too have endured isolation easier than many might have; I treasure quiet time, but not, as you mention, with walls of life closing in as they have… I find a spiritual escape through art absolutely perfect for today.
Thank you, Margaret, for always artistically stirring the soul.
Thanks for your heartfelt post, and for hosting today. What an interesting image… the sense of touch so needed to thrive. We all take just one day at a time. I’m sorry that your area is so badly affected now… we are over the worst here in NJ, or at least hope so. Today, however, a neighbor left in an ambulance, so we don’t know… we just pray.
I’m delivering a daughter to university today for mostly virtual classes. Strange times. I’ll catch up with reading soon. Today I share art at the pool. https://awordedgewiselindamitchell.blogspot.com/?m=1
I love the photo and your musings on it. I also love that you are imagining positive outcomes. It’s not always easy to do that!
Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
Oh, my goodness…what a beautiful image and thoughtful process for making it. Your line, “the losses are hitting too close to home” well, that hits me close to home too. I find myself unwilling to think long on anything except the current state of the pandemic or fussing over some of my collage making. As school starts soon, I’m really hoping I can get my head back into “real” life. Thank you for hosting today. I miss touching my friends.
Margaret, what a wonderful image to share with us. I meet weekly with two friends, socially distanced, and long for the day we can embrace each other again. We always offer up virtual hugs as our parting gesture. I’m glad your distracted wandering led you to this image. Thanks for hosting and pointing us to the spiritual connections we can find in art.
Margaret, thank you for offering to keep the link-up ready for my post. I find it interesting that we both talked about our minds wandering but maybe that is because there is so much out there in life that causes the drifting. School openings are quite the heated topic in NY. I can understand why school is delayed where you are. No one knows where life will lead us but the sense of touch is so needed today. People long to connect and feel for each other.
Your photo shares that need. Your question, ‘What happens when we apply disinfectant to our relationships, to our spiritual life?.” raises concerns. Do we move farther away from being human? This week living in the “dark” both virtually and in real time made me so uncomfortable. I longed for time to be with my writing friends and keep in contact with others. Thanks for addressing an interesting topic and allowing us to ponder deeply.