i'm so crazy for this artist. i found out about him through carolyn myss. she was lecturing one day and brought up this guy's story to illustrate a point, and it was clear she was deeply touched and honoured to know this person and I completely understand why. she tells the story of his ordeal as a POW in Germany, in particular the cruelty of one officer who used to shove maggots and chicken innards into his throat and make him swallow at the times when he was so ravaged by torture he couldn't resist. when he returned to his people and recounted his loss of soul after his ordeal, the elders made council and decided on some tough love. they threw him into the cold deep water with a rope around his waist. he was barely able to walk after years convalescing in hospital after his imprisonment and torture and wore braces on his legs just to move, so in the water he was sinking fast. the elders had told him before unceremoniously tossing him into the lake, that his task was to go back to all the places and times where he lost soul and to take it back by offering deepest forgiveness. he had flashes as he struggled in the cold water, of all the occasions in his life, from youth onwards, where he had lost soul on account of someone's cruelty, and he made peace. when he got to the particularly cruel german officer, he stumbled, and on resting with the lingering resentment and disquiet he saw the officer before him and he spoke. he explained that he didn't want the prisoner to die, and the maggot and chicken gizards were the only proteins he could find at the tightly wrought prison camp. i thought about this and thought about this. how much human suffering could be avoided if we could all see our greatest adversaries as the ones who are feeding us what we most need to make our journey, our way....
[artwork David Chetlahe Paladin (Arizona, 1926 to 1984), a mixed media painting of an Owl and Cricket; image courtesy of Charlton Hall Galleries, Inc.]
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