An art journaling type activity on an old canvas and extracts from two poems on presence by Steve Taylor

The Two Worlds

Every moment you have a choice / to be absent or to be present / to be elsewhere or to be here./ Elsewhere is the place where doubt and regret live – a dull grey netherworld, full of the ghosts of past events  / and shadows of the future. / Elsewhere is the place where fear thrives – / an endless open plain, full of risks and threats / where you’re always exposed, like an animal / that’s hunted by a thousand different predators…… But here is a bright spring morning / where the whole world stands pristine and clear / and each moment is sufficient to itself / and there is nothing that lives or grows apart from what is, and was meant to be. / Here is a beautiful landscape / of translucent light and infinite space / and deep rich colours and perfect forms / and endless intricate details – a masterpiece that is freshly painted every moment…..

The Presence

No matter how disconnected you’ve become, / no matter how much you’ve mistreated your body or abused your soul, / the presence will never leave you. / She’ll always be right by your side / waiting with infinite patience / for the right moment to reveal herself again….. And one day, when you’re walking along / with your head bowed in despair / the presence will suddenly step forward and embrace you / like an invisible cloud that immerses you / and fills you with alert aliveness. / You’ll look up and see a transfigured sky, / open to endless dimensions, filled with sentient space/ and sunlight that glows with benevolence. / And around you, the landscape will shimmer gloriously / with the ageless timeless freshness of presence…….. / You’ll feel at home again, as if you’d never left the presence, / knowing that you never really did / and that you never can.