Alchemy

She-Goat by Pablo Picasso

For my 60th birthday one of my dear friends gave me a necklace and a small card that read “Wherever you are, it is your friends who make your world.” This is a quote by the formidable philosopher William James. James wrote on pragmatism, epistemology, religion and psychology, but I find this short quote about friendship elegant and meaningful. The pendant of the necklace has two layers. The small top filigree, which is a tree symbol made of gold, has tarnished the piece it rests on, which is silver. It is this alchemy which makes the jewelry so beautiful. Alchemy is a type of change. Personal change lies deep within us and we rarely see a clear image of what is happening until it is upon us. It is like the daffodils and tulips buried in the soil at Gristmill. Silently they are growing, but we see nothing of the dark deep bulbs and roots. In time life will spring forth. This change is natural organic growth, but not transformation.

“Alchemy” is the kind of change that I want to see in my life with my friends and in our world. It is a near magical transformation or creation. Yesterday I enjoyed a second visit to see the sculptures of Picasso. Picasso is an artist of alchemy. His sculptures of wood, paper, metal, copper, bronze and other materials are shaped into people, heads, guitars, goats, and other images representing his world. And the large pregnant woman is every “pregnant woman.” The “She-Goat” is a goat for all goats. What is the difference between change and alchemy? I believe alchemy isn’t inevitable. It doesn’t silently spring out from the earth or come from a lot of smart people discussing a world vision in some fabulous ski resort. Think of what happens to a liquid in a beaker under the flame and that is alchemy. It does not feel good when it is happening to you, but you can never go back to who you were once transformed in this way.

I am slowly having some transformative changes. They happen in the psyche, by a change in one’s beliefs and a change in lifestyle. Alchemy is also about the process of individuation which is the way we distinguish ourselves from others. The power of mourning can change one’s life in an organic way and the power of letting go of mourning in another way. There is also the power of saying goodbye to some people who have moved on to a new place or perhaps you have moved on to new ground. This is individuation, not loneliness. It is the powerful process of becoming more who you  are.  I am still growing silently by the root, but it is the welding together of my wood, metal and copper in a new way that is transforming me by alchemy.

Pablo Picasso: The Bathers, Woman Diver, Man with Folded Hands, Fountain Man, Child, Woman with Outstretched Arms, Young Man