The Way of Painting
Updated: May 16
The Way of Painting
Kynan introduced us to photographs of the stunning country around Castlemaine in Victoria where he lives, with vistas of huge granite rocks, forests, fields, waterholes and skyscapes. This is the country he visits once a week, with easel and paints, to engage in what he calls the Way of Painting, “I’ve always felt that there’s no way to save the earth without being deeply in love with it. So painting has been my way of deepening this love, bowing to the wonders of the natural world with each brushstroke. Painting is intimately aligned with my Zen practice, and I believe creativity has a huge role to play in giving shape to what I value most.”
Kynan’s talk ‘The Way of Painting’ is now available to It’s Alive Eco-Dharma Group and Zen Open Circle members. It has been posted as a Vimeo video right near the beginning of our It’s Alive Blog on Bright and Dark accessed via the URL https://brightanddark.net/itsalive/
The Murray-Darling Basin
Many of us have only a vague idea of what the Murray Darling Basin is and how important it is for our food security. If we eat citrus, nuts, grapes, rice, drink wine or almond milk, eat dairy products, wear cotton, chances are we are consuming the produce and the water of the Murray Darling Basin. The people of the Basin from the towns and localities, do not function as a community. They struggle to recognise a common interest, which is the health of the river system. And we struggle to recognise our common interest with them.
Bob and Ines offer us a summary of the issues facing the Murray-Darling Basin, and dramatise it most poignantly in The Magic Basin, a Royal Commission on behalf of All Beings of the Murray Darling Basin, a magical being is held prisoner by an assorted gang of crooks for their own profit. Ines says, “Australia’s treatment of the Murray-Darling Basin is a mirror of humans’ treatment of the whole Earth. We have tried to dramatise this tragedy.”
Resources and Further Reading Scott Hamilton & Stuart Kells Sold Down the River, how robber barons and Wall St traders cornered Australia’s water market Richard Beasley Dead in the Water Quarterly Essay Cry Me a River Margret Simons Issue 77 2020 Four Corners Cash Splash https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/cash-splash/11289412
Sentient Planet
“We explore species and examine the concept of sentience and what it means for our collective future.”(http://www.sentientplanetpodcast.com)
Sentient Planet is a new podcast by Susan Woodward that showcases the more-than-human animals with whom we share the Earth and the humans dedicated to their urgent defense and preservation. We explore species and examine the concept of sentience and what it means for our collective future. Click here for more information from Susan.
