Maps

Within the same day work, worship, chores, commitments, family, friends, all have the potential to bring a blessing or brokenness. But we keep moving at such super speeds that we forget our emotions, our hearts, and our wills need time to catch up.

We must pause to map out the internal territory and make adjustments, before we derail. Or head in the wrong direction because of miscommunication and misunderstanding. It can require a quiet listening that goes far inward. And where do we find the time for that level of reflection?

In the painting Automat by Hopper, the woman is alone, both physically and emotionally. Invisible questions flutter in the still moment. Did she choose this moment of isolation, or has it been forced upon her?

Often we resist isolation because the silence can overwhelm us with a passionate barrage. Or we prepare one deliberately, because we know that the next step we take, the next word we speak to ourselves, or another, will result in life-changing relationships. Sometimes the solitude is painful. Sometimes it leads to a restored peace. But before we can take the first step we need to read the map.

Journal Prompt:

For yourself, or for a character, choose a heartfelt incident experienced within the past week and sift through all the feelings. Does acknowledging them allow resolution, or is a follow-up conversation required to confirm a decision?

For a character, expand into both a positive resolution and a negative one.

Metaphors

“What is art but a way of seeing” –Thomas Berger

Poets use metaphors to present life in a new perspective. Painters and photographers capture fleeting moments. Their images connect us through time. And our curiosity flares when a particular portrait or landscape causes us to pause, to focus.

Sometimes we are caught by the effect and study the craft. Sometimes we are caught by the mood and wonder at the story behind it. Automat by Hopper provides that moment in time to see.

An attractive woman sits alone in a diner, late at night, holding a coffee cup. The room is well lit where she sits, but outside the window only darkness. Has she missed her train? Is she waiting for an arrival? Did someone she loves leave, and she can’t bring herself to go home?

Next to her is a bowl of colorful fruit. She wears a green coat, edged with black fur at neck and wrists, and a yellow hat with a broad rim encircling her head. The table is round, white-topped, also edged in black. Black chairs. A yellow heater. Black doors with a yellow bar.

She is alone. Her isolation frozen in stillness.

If you were to capture this image as a word metaphor, what would you say?

Journal Prompt:

Write up a paragraph of internal monologue as she convinces herself to leave the diner, OR a paragraph that begins with her standing up—what happens next?