Brian Che – painter, sculptor, photographer – has been a resident Windgrove artist for the past three weeks. Most of his days (and nights) have been spent working on a number of paintings, but he also prepared on Roaring Beach a Prayer Pole for Peace.
This past Saturday, just on dusk, with the lightest of drizzles wetting everything but our spirits, the Pole was set alight. Saturday, the 12th of March, was chosen over the 21st (equinox) because of its being just two days past the New Moon, a symbol of new beginnings. If there had not been any clouds, we would have witnessed the slenderest outline of the growing crescent moon: faith rewarded after a period of darkness. Hope kindled anew.
Che has written:
The messages of prayer poles can easily be assimilated through any of the senses.
The intent and appearance provide an understanding beyond words and offer the possibility of intuitive comprehension.
In themselves the poles are ostensibly useless things. They do not obviously help crops grow, provide shelter or keep disease away. However, by constructing these poles within the community, the builders celebrate all living beings without anticipating personal gain.
The material offered by individuals is not in itself important. That it is of personal significance is the heart of the matter, thereby ensuring the fundamental integrity of the piece.
The poles depend less on what they actually are than on the degree of attention and compassion with which you join in the experience.
The burning of the Pole took only an hour, but it was the daily preparation and rituals surrounding its making that I found most rewarding. One lasting impression was being in the water on sunset just floating on gentle waves and seeing the then white pole strongly contrasted against the darkening green landscape.
Later, as Che and I sat at its base tending the small fire that had been burning there throughout the Pole’s making, the simple beauty of it all penetrated deeply.
These moments of quiet reflection, whiffs of smoke drifting by, human art forms complimenting the aesthetic surrounds, purposeful intention of doing good. It all added up to something wonderful and life enhancing. May more people experience such encounters.
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