Want you to know that Santa Barbara Frame Shop & Gallery insures all the art that is in their gallery. Galleries are not required to do this. So it is with great appreciation to David Beardon that he is making the expenditure.
It is very important to remember that if something is damaged, you will get reimbursed only the cost of materials, unless you have a documented paper trail that proves the value of your art that has been sold in the past.
I am an American. I have health insurance, house insurance, car insurance and so forth. It doesn't make me feel more secure in my heart though. I know from experience that those companies will raise my rates, fight me for every tiny little bit of money owed and stall as long as possible to pay it, thus making me angry and fearful. Yuck. What a set up. I hate that.
Seeking absolute security (insurance), certainty, and even resolution is a recipe for absolute misery.
I am a Buddhist. When I think of what has brought me happiness in this life it was a humbling acceptance of the way things were, whether divine (my puppy) or Hellish (my divorce). Tibetan Buddhism helped me to find a more balanced life view. Especially the Four Immeasurables (a group of qualities that can be cultivated to catalyze happiness). The forth of which is Equanimity.
My wish is that this art show reveal the emergence and maturing of American Buddhism. Not just as an intellectual study, but as a practice that has depth, kindness, juicy beauty and hopefully for the sake of us all, humor.
Pema Chodron would say it takes a lot of courage to not immediately, desperately seek solid ground after the rug has been pulled out from under us. It is hard to let things go. But if we hold things more lightly, more light and air will surround us, and we will be able to breath and think clearly and with kindness.
Practice, practice, practice,
Lark
