Article May 26, 2008 Issue

RIVERS OF GRATITUDE

An artist faces his financial fears and gains a new view of what money really represents.

BY ALEX COOK

WHEN I WAS IN MY EARLY 20s, I realized that I wanted to be an artist. I was well aware of the prevalent notion that it's difficult, if not impossible, to make it financially in this profession, but that didn't bother me. I learned to live very frugally, and for a few years, that was fine. Money was spent on rent, food, essential art supplies—just the basics. I could earn enough to make ends meet, and I had all kinds of time to dedicate to my work.

As the years went by, my ideas about art and spirituality were progressing. But my income wasn't. For years I hadn't even entertained the idea of making large purchases, or of spending money in a "frivolous" way (frivolous, to me, meant things as simple as going out to dinner or a movie). Gradually, I began to see that I was really limiting myself because of this fear of spending money. As I prayed, listening for inspiration to guide me, I began to see that I needed to have a bigger and better idea about what money represents spiritually. I realized that my thrifty lifestyle had, to a certain degree, become a prison. This was something I knew needed to be addressed through prayer.

During this time, ideas for paintings came to me constantly, like water from a faucet. It was clear to me that this was a spiritual phenomenon. I wanted to see that the rest of my life, also abundantly supplied by the Almighty God, could flow and develop in the same way.

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