Not everything needs to be understood…..

Not everything needs to be understood. Some things are meant to be felt and experienced.

My word of the week has been mystery.

Etymology & history of “mystery”

From Latin mysterium → from Greek mystērion (plural mystēria) = “a secret rite, a hidden truth known only to the initiated.” Related to mystēs (“one who has been initiated”) and myein (“to close the eyes or lips”), suggesting secrecy or silent knowing.

“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science.”

Albert Einstein, 1931.

From ancient Greece, mystērion meant a secret rite. Knowledge revealed only to those willing to close their eyes and see differently. I love that idea: mystery as something not hidden from us, but hidden for us, waiting until we’re ready to notice.

In my art, mystery feels like the space between what I plan and what emerges. A wash of colour takes on a shape I didn’t expect; a mark I nearly cover up becomes the heart of the painting. It’s not about solving or knowing but about trusting what unfolds.

I haven’t found mystery easy this week, to me if felt a lot like curiosity. Below are some pictures I took, one of a rusty old railway bridge that I felt was a mystery how it was still standing!

The featured painting this week is an offshoot from my Seven Layers project (more on that at the end of October).   A small painting, inspired by the large painting I am evolving.  Very exciting!