November 5, 2008

It’s been about a year since my last blog . . . I can’t really say why, except nothing really struck me that was well formed enough to grasp in writing. I’ve had many significant events in the past few months . . . Our sweet Bandit died (at 20 yrs old). I completed the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk (yep, 60 miles in 3 days and it was a loooong, inspiring walk). I had my annual Art in the Yard show and it was a success (once I recovered from flushing the rental van keys down the toilet)! On October 4th, Frances and I got married, legally. I didn’t think it would be that different. I really thought that our marriage was simply for the legal and political statement. But afterwards, I realized how differently I felt . . . it was an incredibly significant ritual, one that I had been previously denied. It was celebration, it was freedom, it was recognition of our rights as citizens. I am disappointed that Prop 8 in CA did not pass – it is a sad day when more people vote to discriminate against others, than support equality. Yesterday was the election; the election that turned a major corner for us in this country. I have continued to get happier and happier since Obama’s victory. This morning when I was driving to Redding, CA I saw a part of a rainbow and I couldn’t see any rain anywhere. It was a vision, a sign, profound . . . like all the changes that I believe in and am hopeful for. On NPR today, I heard Bill Moyers say that Americans voted for ‘hope’ when they voted for Obama. I simply know that I am happy, I feel safer, I feel open. I know that Obama can’t fix everything in four years and I know that the political system in this country only moves in incremental ways, but I refuse to feel anything but positive. “I’m more than happy, I’m in a state of hope,” said Helena Bonham Carter in the movie “The Heart of Me.” That describes how I feel to a tee. In my life today, in my drive this morning, in my heart I feel the brightness of positive change. I feel the universe opening up and I am ready to receive all the goodness that is in my life today. I have been without time for my art since my show in September but I am building altars, altars to celebrate and embrace. I wish you all altars of hope in front of which you can celebrate and receive the new gifts from the universe. In peace,

Shaye