Why do some things light a fire in your heart?

[DLGardner]

Why do some things that you see light a fire in your heart?

I wonder if it conditioning from when we are young, or if there really is a spiritual connection. Take the eagle for instance. Is it just because he is a symbol of freedom that to see one fly high above me makes my heart skip a beat? And why is that? There are other great birds that soar through the air...but the eagle is the most majestic of all, or is he? He is mentioned in the Bible, and he is revered in American tradition. Is there a relation there? Would he stir the same emotion if no stories of his regalness were told?

I don't know the answer. I just know that it is a special feeling when I see one.

Oils
3 1/2" X 5"
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/26-Nov-2004/8002-Meagle.jpg

[billiam]

the great symbol of freedom which most never think about. so much is taken for granted, it's a shame something has had to waken the citizens up. freedom to travel anywhere as the eagle does without fear. unlike the rest of the world, it is hard to concieve not having freedom. bill

[LJSoroka]

first let me say, that your painting is wonderful :)

Now my comments on your question. I have wondered and pondered this one for years. I personally feel that certain things, animals, places etc light a fire in our hearts because on a spiritual level we have some connection to it.
In Native Aboriginal culture there are the spirit totem animals. Those that are a part of us and around us to guide and help in certain areas of our lives.

In Christian beliefs, we have this connection as a gift from God to our own spiritual being, to guide us on the path he has laid out for us.

For me, I feel it stems from past and present lives. Past having had some connection to this animal, thing, or place. and present to guide us to the works we are to do in this life.
For example I'm drawn to the wolf with such a passion, that it makes me feel that they are a part of me, just as you are draw this way to the Eagle.

Just my opinion on the subject :)
Blessings
LindaJSoroka

[e-bwm123]

I don't know which it is- the Scripture and our other symbolism connected to the eagle or the our own observation of this creature, but I believe the two support each other. And this painting sure does him justice. God bless!
Ed

[LarrySeiler]

I think it is part of our nature, perhaps our fallen nature to become callous to that which is common place.

We do that in our relationships with courting where we cannot stop thinking about someone to later counseling in marriage wondering where the spark went? Dreaming about a material possession 'till we have it and obsess with it for a time, and it eventually sits collecting dross.

The eagle symbolizes freedom, represents majesty, was on the endangered list, given honor to him/her that would see them...and evolved to become important in cultural lore. That created the impetus for an imaginative spark that would play to our obsessive inklings.

When I lived in NW Wisconsin on a rural wooded river, we would see them often. As a wildlife artist, I never lost interest nor intrigue, and we would watch an adult for a number of years teach its young about fishing techniques from a dead tree (that I almost cut down...eeegads!) in our back yard. But, we did have a good number of eagles and for the locals that got used to their presence.

I suppose in a sense I got used to them a bit...because now living on the NE side of the state they are not nearly so common. When I do see one now, I make note of it...mention it to my wife, find that awe return.

Scripture talks about our weaknesses and how as a blessing and promise of God we should find our strength return to us, symbolized by the eagle.

Not bound by law, not held back by restriction of where it shall go it stirs in our imagination a time that might be somewhere where we too shall be free of all that weighs upon us.

What is difficult to imagine is that callousness is obviously of the flesh, and that which is common perhaps in heaven will not fall prey to ever becoming ordinary or the mundane. It is one of our tasks here I think to get man ready for that consideration where we as artists take the ordinary and the mundane and underscore its sublime significance. To get man to look at it with fresh eyes and to see that which has been seen and ignore, anew and afresh.

nice effort on the work here Dianne...!

Larry

[DLGardner]

think it is part of our nature, perhaps our fallen nature to become callous to that which is common place.
Something I have struggled with and something, as old age creeps up on me, I find I am able to be victorious over. The closer life draws to a close, the more appreciative I find myself over the common things. And the eagle is grandeur of them all. We have quite a few here in Washington too. And they are so oblivious to man its actually funny. The environmentalists say in the news that they will introduce a bill here disallowing any kind of human habitat near where the bald eagle nests. If they do that, there is a whole town close by they will have to relocate, and a freeway that runs right through their feeding place. The eagles don't seem to care.

Bill, Linda, Ed, Larry, thanks for your comments on my painting and for your thoughts.

Not bound by law, not held back by restriction of where it shall go it stirs in our imagination a time that might be somewhere where we too shall be free of all that weighs upon us.
I think too that the ease of this bird flying high above the world...not just freedom, but wisdom seeing so much more than what we see close up-taking it all into perspective..Its like climbing to a mountain top and seeing it all laid out before you. Seeing the world with God's eye...or at least a part of it.
Well, I hope to do more paintings of the eagle.
Dianne

[Keith Russell]

Why do some things that you see light a fire in your heart?

I wonder if it [is] conditioning from when we are young, or if there really is a spiritual connection. Take the eagle for instance. Is it just because he is a symbol of freedom that to see one fly high above me makes my heart skip a beat? And why is that? There are other great birds that soar through the air...but the eagle is the most majestic of all, or is he? He is mentioned in the Bible, and he is revered in American tradition. Is there a relation there? Would he stir the same emotion if no stories of his regalness were told?

I don't know the answer. I just know that it is a special feeling when I see one.

The art that I enjoy is unusual, strange, often disturbing. (Yes, this goes for movies and books, as well as paintings...) I like looking beneath the surface, to see--and to try to understand, or at least, to be aware of--the things that most people seem eager to forget, evade, or at least ignore.

I don't know why this is.

But I want to know...

K




















Oils
3 1/2" X 5"
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/26-Nov-2004/8002-Meagle.jpg[/QUOTE]

[DLGardner]

The art that I enjoy is unusual, strange, often disturbing. (Yes, this goes for movies and books, as well as paintings...)

Do you have an example?

Dianne

[christmascarolnz]

I think the eagle in the bird realm is the same as the lion in the animal kingdom.
They both hold their place of honour and are both mentioned in that way in the Bible.
We watched and listened as an evangelical artist drew and spoke of the eagle. He said that it waits patiently as the wind stirs beneathe it's wings and doesn't take flight until the time is right. Then the eagle soars and doesn't use much effort but can go for miles just on the wind currents.
He told us that is how we should be. Not racing around trying to find the 'wind' and then beating our wings trying to get to the place of soaring. It won't happen unless we wait on the Holy Spirit and use God's timing, not our own.

I have never seen an eagle, but we do have hawks in NZ which are wonderful to watch. They soar high in the sky - sometimes I'll hear one calling and it would appear as a tiny speck; other times they tumble and play in the air.

Carol

[Keith Russell]

Do you have an example?

Dianne

My current favourite artist is Gottfried Helnwein. I also like Mary Ryden, Phil Hale, Andrew Wyeth, and the Surrealists and Symbolists--especially Ernst, Dali, deChirico, and Schwabe.

K

[Biki]

to analyse such a phenonomen, is to take away from it's magic.

i believe the secret is in the subtle silence. it is a 'wow' moment - and those that get it 'get it' - and those that don't 'don't' - (no blame).

it is like a language writen for the initiated.
esoteric stuff, i guess - but whatever - you got it. :D :wave: .

[Keith Russell]

to analyse such a phenonomen, is to take away from it's magic.

That's one opinion; there are others.

K

[Cyndi L]

I have to agree with Keith, although I know many people who feel as you do, Biki. I happen to fall into the "love to analyze it" category, and for me it only enhances the experience. I get to have both the "Wow!" and the "What...?"

:)

[PAKI]

I am so glad Ben Franklin did not get his way and subject us to a life of symbolism with the Turkey.
The Eagle strikes me everytime I see it. I love to paint the eagle and I love to see it painted. Thanks for allowing us to think of the eagle one more time. It represents so many things to us.

[DigitalDust]

I am so glad Ben Franklin did not get his way and subject us to a life of symbolism with the Turkey.


And what would we be eating for Thanksgiving and Christmas!!! :eek:

Certainly not our national symbol!!! :D