on motherhood as an artform.

i mentioned in another place that I wanted to give you a couple of gifts this Mother's Day. the first one i mentioned already you can find here. as it turns out, there wasn't room for the second 'under the tree' so to speak, so i'm putting it here where you can see and read it in all it's wonderfulness.

N. D. Wilson's quote on motherhood:

"i have unfortunately heard a lot of christian women say things like, 'i don’t really need to rigorously pursue my education, i don’t really need to be sharp and astute, a great integrator of themes. because i’m…' (and here’s my most hated phrase in the English language) '...because I’m going to just be a mom.'

well, what i do is, i just put words on a page for people to read.
that’s my art form.

what you do? well, you know, you raise immortal souls...

you grow them inside yourself, magically.
you feed them from yourself.
you are the great storyteller for these humans.
these little bleeding things.

i sit there and type. that’s my art.

and YOU’re the one who interprets all of reality for this one year old. You take all of it and you condense, you creatively condense and you give. You say, here! and it’s this type of art for them... and then they’re five and then they’re six, and you’re the MOM.

do you know what dad does? he keeps the lights on.

imagine. i think if you took the most psychotic, crazy, NY, wacko, installation artist, they wouldn’t have the guts to do what ‘just a mom’ does. or if i said okay, here’s the plan. i think i can get a federal grant. i’m going to give you some actual children… you create a life story. how’s this? maybe eighteen years... create a childhood. there quick, don’t just do your weird thing where you held your naked body to a block of ice. that’s their normal installation pieces. how ‘bout eighteen years in you do 3 meals a day. you shove stuff in their face and you create a life. you create a childhood. you create the first 18 years of a life story.

find me the crazy artist willing to take that on.
absolutely not.

the whole ‘just a mom thing’ is one of the most inverted lies around.
it’s like, i need an education because i write books...
because we admire the abstract. i condense thoughts into little black symbols on pulp, trees, which can burn and rot and go away.

YOU have little humans who will always be. forever. somewhere.
they are the beginnings of forever stories.

so none of that.
you must awaken to this glory and you must attempt to improve at noticing, receiving, processing, integrating, condensing and then giving.

...that is the process of ultimate artistry."

N.D. Wilson in his talk to Bethlehem College and Seminary, "Words Made Flesh: Stories Telling Stories and the Russian Dolls of Divine Creativity"

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watch a video of the whole talk here.