Gratitude may seem an unlikely word after 2020, a year that took so much. Jobs, school days, gatherings with friends and family, and many lives were lost in a year suddenly and unexpectedly. Among the heartache and struggle, fear and frustration, there were also moments of brightness leading us onward.
Connections grew from unexpected means like virtual family reunions, birthday parades, virtual book club meetings, and Zoom. We rose again to speak up against racial injustice, masked and marching through cities and towns across the world. Our country saw voter turnout like never before with so many voices ready to be heard. Amidst collective grief, we did and still are coming together and learning to experience gratitude and joy with new perspective.
Below is a heartfelt conversation that is at its essence the reason why we started The Good Supply. Artists George Mason and Rev. Dr. Gina Rose Halpern have been friends for years, and we would not know one without the other. Here, they speak profoundly about gratitude and how it relates to the body - how it can be free of the mind much like "color needs no words." We invite you to be a fly on the wall as these friends share wisdom and explore ideas. Please warm up to it and allow 5 minutes to move beyond our curator Catherine's nervous introduction! If you let it, we promise it will be time well spent:
More About Our Ethos & The 'Why'
Connection is at the heart of the human condition. We aren't solitary creatures by design. Learning and growing together, building community through shared experience is the root of society. So in a time when separation and isolation are necessary to protect that community, how do we stay connected? How do we find solace in solitude? What is there to be grateful for when so much suffering exists?
We return to the root, to the simple, to the spark. Looking inward, simplifying, remembering what's truly important. Nourishment for our souls exists everywhere if we make space for our bodies to feel gratitude by just being and experiencing.
We are lucky here at The Good Supply to have relationships with so any artists and makers. So much of what it means to be alive can be conveyed through art. The meeting of hands, heart, and mind is the source of endless possibility and opportunity. The existence of color and texture are gifts to our senses.
In pursuit of constant growth and inspiration we look to the artist. In our community we are blessed to have two members whose connections to compassion, joy, gratitude, and each other is truly inspiring. Reverend Dr. Gina Rose Halpern and George Mason along with his wife Susan, have been friends for many years.
We asked them to meet for a (you guessed it) Zoom meeting to talk about their thoughts on creativity, gratitude, spiritual growth, and the joy of a good swim among other things.
Their conversation goes back to that root, that ember of truth and question that drives not only the artist but the collective. We are so grateful for them both, for their art and inspiring words. Maybe you will find something in their discussion to aid in this time of transition, out with the old and in with the new. Your thoughts and inquiries are welcome. Please contact Juliana at social@thegoodsupply.org if you are willing to share your reaction to this offering.
We don't know what 2021 holds for us. We can only hope for a year built on the foundation of what we left behind. May we have the knowledge and strength to start a new chapter, one of health, peace, and supporting one another through good times and bad. May we soon safely gather and remain open to gratitude and joy. From us to you, Happy New Year.
