What started out as thinking of a serendipitous experience with an elderly gentleman transformed into contemplating the word connection; what is it exactly and is this a term we all can agree warrants a number of musings — and follow-up entries? You’ll see it pop up numerous times here, so let’s get comfortable with it.

As much as we talk about societal binds, Bergman reminds us that people, places, history, and belief also constrict. Constructing meaning is solitary work that becomes collaborative only when you’ve identified components and partners that support your vision(s), belief(s), and desire(s).

I grew up surrounded by Southern Living magazines, garden-designing women, and the poetic meaning and restorative power of flowers. I have numerous favorites and let’s kick off exploring them with a perennial powerhouse: hydrangeas. 

Inspired by modern sociopolitical and academic developments of the early 1900s, the visual language of the Cubists transcended the canvas and as much as these visual artists were stimulated by modern events and rhetoric, their work was also heavily influenced by intellectual developments concerning the boundaries of physical and psychic experience and existence. These considerations leapt off the canvas and made their way into other artistic endeavors such as literature and architecture, with residual considerations of perspective and experience still present in today’s culture.

The house I share with my partner is a divided one and you know what? I’m grateful for that, especially when it comes to the child we are raising. We hold very different beliefs when it comes to spirituality but we bond over the fact that both of us are vehemently against organized religion.

The way I see things, changes in society and culture happen at the basic level — language. Reclamation of words equips marginalized groups to go beyond the celebration of their cultures and history and enables them to embrace and infuse the essence of their fundamental being into their modern lives. Reclamation is about reframing, it’s about learning history, which is often messy, ugly, and traumatic, and committing to building a more secure and inclusive future. It’s about understanding ourselves to understand others.

I have a special relationship to the act of “seeing.” Gifted with the ability to notice patterns and connections, often going beyond the obvious, I have translated the (un)intentional seeing of the mundane to noticing details, beauty, and stories where the obvious may not be readily apparent.

The best things in my life started with one simple word: “No.”