Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
Luke 20:36
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live
John 11:25
Exalted | (c) M.M.Hewitt 2014 Downloading this image for any use without written permission is strictly prohibited.
I finished reading a book by Austin Kleon about ways for artists to better share their work and one of his points was to be a better storyteller. The problem I'm having now with that is the fact that I don't know what else to say about this image. It doesn't help to say "I'm going to let the image speak for itself," because you probably want to know my intent behind the image, why I wanted to create it.
All I can say is I saw it clear as day in my mind and it burned a hole there that I knew the only way to fill it was to create it as soon as possible. I wanted to embody what I thought it might feel like when we are resurrected, or if you don't believe in any religion, what it might feel like to be made whole by whatever craft, activity, or person that cleanses your mind and body.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I believe that death is not the end of my existence, that my body and my spirit will be reunited and perfected, the same as my Savior Jesus Christ. It's something that won't happen, though, until long after I have left this world and Christ has come again. But it's something that I look forward to with great anticipation, not just for myself, but for my son, my husband who has severe asthma, my mother, my brothers, my father who was disabled in a motorcycle accident and all my other family and friends.
I feel, though, that we can have a daily, weekly, monthly resurrection. A resurrection of spirit, if you will. Every day, or at least every week, we need to find a way, as defined by Dictionary.com to "ris[e] again, as from decay, disuse, etc.; revival." I love the very last of that definition: "revival." Find something that revives you, brings your spirit/soul/mind back in harmony with your body, or vice versa so you can feel that beautiful exaltation that comes from it. For me it's every time I go out and shoot a photograph. My work resurrects me. Whenever I start to feel disconnected, antsy, depressed, broken, aggravated for no apparent reason I know it's because I haven't created anything for a while and that the only way to make myself whole again is to go out as soon as possible and create something beautiful. Even if I am dead tired from lack of sleep due to my son waking us up three times the night before whenever I go out for a shoot my energy is completely renewed and I become the person I want to be.
I encourage you to go out and find what revives you, makes you whole, and gives you a feeling of exaltation. If you have that, you will always feel alive.
What revives you?