I’m lucky to be married to an artist. My wife Sheila was a professional dancer earlier in her career and uses dance and movement in her current work with clients. We have a sign in our kitchen that reads, “in this house, we dance.”

I often comment that the great thing about living with an artist is that we always have a mindset of creativity and beauty around us. The downside is that we always must have a mindset of creativity and beauty around us.

A few weeks ago in New York, we took a trip to the Rubin Museum to visit their  Mandala Lab, an immersive art sensory experience. As we bought our tickets, they told us a writing class was just starting if we were interested.  The plan was to look at artwork and then write and share our observations with others.

“Of course,” and off we went to feed our mindset of creativity.

How much fun we had! We first heard a mini-lecture on the Tibetan female deity, Tara. She is a kind deity who protects us from calamities such as thieves, sickness, fire, and, of course,  wild elephants.  Next, we heard about Durga, a Hindu female deity associated with protection, strength, motherhood, and destruction.  She combats the evil that threatens peace and prosperity.  The images attached are of both deities and it easy to spot which Goddess is Durga.

Inspired to share experiences, we were asked to wrote an ode to the deities. Here’s mine

To Tara:

Blissful Goddess of Protection
Faded as the sunlight that passes into the night
Comforted in knowing that you are with me
Welcoming and fearless as one.

To Durga

Arms filled with weapons belies your calm countenance
The demon doubts your power but soon finds his destiny
Defeating wrongs is your mission
And bringing peace is your passion

As much as I love attending concerts, shows, and movies, it is more fun to create art than just viewing art.  Art feeds our soul, and our resilience comes from that strength.

By the way, my middle name is Stuart, and thanks to my good friend and teacher, Philip Arthur Porter, for pointing out that art is part of who I am.

© Richard Citrin 2022