Statues
No statue sculpted by a human being has ever succeeded in replicating the beauty of any living creature. In fact it’s never come close. There’s no denying the artistry and dedication of those inspired to create, whether in bronze, wood or clay or anything else. But if all the statues in the world were pulled down, would it make any difference to life on earth? Two of the most famous statues are Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro and the Statue of Liberty in New York – both fitting tributes to the western notion of freedom through some external saviour or a law of constitution.
A statue symbolises time in existence, which is the freeze frame of a particular subject projected onto the canvas of the world. Today, the statues in our cities and provinces stare down on the bemused throngs of people going about their business. Some are even being pulled down and vandalised by an affronted society, enlivened by the current movement of justice for racial equality and bitterly opposed to any prominent figures of the past who championed slavery as part of their political manifesto. Every statue that’s ever been cast contains the seeds of its own destruction. None survive in the long run – or, for that matter, anything which has manifested in the objective world. This is because this world is an alien environment populated by human statues, some of which resemble walking blocks of granite and others figurines who dance and float through existence.
We are all monoliths of past. Within each of us are fragments of the unresolved aspects of our earth experience held together by the force of our emotional convictions. It’s through the conflict of emotional energy that we sculpt a self-made effigy which, like any statue, stares out through the eyes into the world. We are sometimes appalled by the unfeeling, cold and cruel reactions, not only in ourselves but in others, to events and circumstances. The statue has no feeling and is given life, not through love but through being cast in the pain and suffering of unconscious living.
A statue goes through numerous phases of transformation during its lifespan. Although some appear virtually unmovable, each can be toppled by some kind of rebellion to the old regime. In the outer world, things are usually triggered by an event which galvanises the people into action. To dismantle any edifice it’s necessary to first undermine its ground; and to begin dismantling the statue of past within ourselves involves some major demolition work. This is done through the introduction of a new energy source. The power for self-change is surrender – giving up the right to glorify the pain of the past. It’s the adherence to the past that keeps the establishment of any ruling nation a going concern. However, what terrifies any government is the power of the people when stoked by a cause; they know, as does the enemy within, that the truth must eventually out.