The Departure, 51 x 41cm, Belgian Linen Board, Oils, 110 hours, Photo supplied by Margo Bennington Photography with permission.
Ever thought about how many times you depart or arrive in life? Have you ever thought about whether these events are exclusive to you or part of a process? The departure is the antecedent of the consequent- the arrival. You may see this as your trajectory, but from an observer’s perspective, you will see a very different chain of events, of which you are simply playing a role. For as you leave, with your suitcase of decisions, choices, and reasons, another person arrives, with a similar suitcase. They stand in the same place that you once stood. These events fall around us each and every day. Sometimes we facilitate them. Sometimes they are forced upon us. You depart from your home, and sell it, someone else buys and moves in. You leave a job, voluntarily or via redundancy, someone else arrives in your place. A beloved pet dies, and before you know it, you choose another soul to love, and hence arrives another being in place of what was. There is constant adjustment and readjustment of the entire world, requiring endurance and fortitude of all participants. Life is a continuous series of change, and at the most basic level, the antecedent is the step towards the pursuit of a desired goal. We often see ourselves in isolation, but as the observer, everything that we do ripples through the world around us. Our departure opens doors for others to occupy a space that we no longer want to be. Our arrival similarly alters everything, for better or worse. Whenever we depart from something, somewhere or someone, think about it- we assume that there is always an arrival for us. This makes sense and it’s something that in many ways gives us comfort to make any changes. This is a reliable part of our lives that we often take for granted. Departures and arrivals fluctuate with time, and time essentially creates their possibility. But what if there is one departure for which there is no known arrival? What if one antecedent has no consequent? What if all that we rely upon changes? What if there was suddenly no more time? Live your seemingly arbitrary life to the fullest. For one departure the arrival is unknown and there can be no going back. The pragmatic pattern will end. Or so we think.
Ever thought about how many times you depart or arrive in life? Have you ever thought about whether these events are exclusive to you or part of a process? The departure is the antecedent of the consequent- the arrival. You may see this as your trajectory, but from an observer’s perspective, you will see a very different chain of events, of which you are simply playing a role. For as you leave, with your suitcase of decisions, choices, and reasons, another person arrives, with a similar suitcase. They stand in the same place that you once stood. These events fall around us each and every day. Sometimes we facilitate them. Sometimes they are forced upon us. You depart from your home, and sell it, someone else buys and moves in. You leave a job, voluntarily or via redundancy, someone else arrives in your place. A beloved pet dies, and before you know it, you choose another soul to love, and hence arrives another being in place of what was. There is constant adjustment and readjustment of the entire world, requiring endurance and fortitude of all participants. Life is a continuous series of change, and at the most basic level, the antecedent is the step towards the pursuit of a desired goal. We often see ourselves in isolation, but as the observer, everything that we do ripples through the world around us. Our departure opens doors for others to occupy a space that we no longer want to be. Our arrival similarly alters everything, for better or worse. Whenever we depart from something, somewhere or someone, think about it- we assume that there is always an arrival for us. This makes sense and it’s something that in many ways gives us comfort to make any changes. This is a reliable part of our lives that we often take for granted. Departures and arrivals fluctuate with time, and time essentially creates their possibility. But what if there is one departure for which there is no known arrival? What if one antecedent has no consequent? What if all that we rely upon changes? What if there was suddenly no more time? Live your seemingly arbitrary life to the fullest. For one departure the arrival is unknown and there can be no going back. The pragmatic pattern will end. Or so we think.
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