An Evolving Life. Black & Blue: How to Heal
Black & Blue: How to Heal
During the Christine Blasey Ford testimony last week, I was on a Hampton Jitney with a friend heading toward the DIA:Beacon on a field trip with The Parrish Art Museum.
As the bus hurtled west on the Long Island Expressway, we could view parts of the proceedings live on our iPhones. Listening to Christine’s voice for the first time—sweet, lilting, fragile, terrified—my stomach churned as if I was sitting in her seat. As the signal wavered in and out, I also heard snippets of the female prosecutor’s voice— monotonic, steely, battle-ready.
My forehead tightened, my back ached. I looked at my friend sitting beside me —whose face was also puckered in pain —and said: “I can’t listen, please put the phone on your other ear.”
Nodding she did so and said, “you’re angry?” Yes, I nodded back, thinking that anger doesn’t begin to cover the depth of my fury. How much more must women suffer in order to be heard, in order to receive justice?
Now ten days later, after a so-called FBI investigation, a miraculous encounter in an elevator, and a myriad of twists and turns, our flickering hopes have been extinguished. Our rights as women and as humans are now threatened for decades to come.
At the moment, we must pray that the power of good will ultimately overcome evil. But there are so many bruises. We are black and so very very blue...
We must rest, recover, and heal by nurturing ourselves and leaning on one another. Call a friend; cuddle with a loved one or your pet; take a long walk, a soothing bath or a yoga class; read something that inspires you... And before too long, we can all gather our strength and rise up once again...
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Christine
An Evolving Life Series
Black & Blue: How to Heal (This one)
Warm Seas.
An Evolving Life is a Hummingbird series in which Meryl Spiegel shares her journey to become the creative person that was hidden within herself for so long. Meryl chose this image, Warm Seas, from her SPLASH series, to represent An Evolving Life.
Editor's Note
I have had the good fortune of knowing Meryl Spiegel for many years. We met during my BNB days when she was referred to me as a resource for a specific type of photography I was searching for. I also knew her as a writer. Over the years, I have been impressed with Meryl’s talent and creativity, and the honesty of her work. When Meryl began to sketch, paint, work with pastels, she truly overlaid one talent on top of another. The layers were intriguing. I reached out to Meryl recently because I thought that the Hummingbird audience would appreciate her work, and value her process. They say that timing is everything, and in this case it was, because Meryl was thinking about not only “showing” her work, but writing about it too. In our new series, An Evolving Life, Meryl will share the stages, challenges, and meaning of her art, and the journey that coincides with the pieces she highlights. Sandra Novick
Link here to galleries of Meryl Spiegel's work on her website and on instagram.
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