Vincent Van Gogh's birthday

Today is the anniversary of the birth of Vincent van Gogh in 1853.  

When I think of Van Gogh I think of swirling skies, starry nights and sunflowers. I recall the song "Starry starry night" that was popular in my youth and is a tribute to Vincent, written and sung by Don Mclean. The song reflects his art with the lines  "sketch the trees and the daffodils" and "morning fields of amber grain"  describing the amber wheat that features in several paintings. There are also several lines that may refer to his self-portraits: such as "weathered faces lined in pain / are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand"  Van Gogh was unrecognised as an artist until after his death. I love the vibrancy of his pictures and I suppose too I have been moved by the story of the struggles of his life: his unhappiness, mental illness (depression) and self mutilation.

Today I was moved by some words that Vincent wrote:

"To believe in God for me is to feel that there is a God, not a dead one, or a stuffed one, but a living one, who with irresistible force urges us towards more loving."

“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.” - Vincent van Gogh (March 30, 1853 - December 13, 1901)

In those two quotations Vincent shows himself to be not only a creative genius but also a person with deep wisdom about what is important in life.

I think it is a sad truth that those who suffer most are able to write most profoundly about love and what is most important in life. Whereas those who know loving acceptance in life and enjoy the benefits of success very often do not have such insights. Perhaps a challenging message here for me is to listen careful to what every person says for profound words do not just come from the lips of those that the world considers wise.  And those that the world rejects becasue of their mental illness should also have a voice as members of the human race. 

Yesterday I was at a discussion about the Scottish Government's "See me" campaign. This is about raising the profile of people with mental illnesses of all sorts so that we are encouraged see the person and not just label them with a badge and then ignore them.