Magical Thinking

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Hey there!

Have you ever seen a piece of artwork that was so impactful, it gives you a visceral experience just thinking about it?

It doesn’t need to be visual artwork, like a painting. Maybe you’ve had this experience watching live music, or eating amazing food carefully prepared by a chef.

I often get the chills from looking at or experiencing other’s creative expression. But I don’t think I’d ever had a single experience stick with me for so long, or so vividly, as I did last year.

Almost exactly a year ago, I saw a painting called Magical Thinking by Donald Robertson.

The painting is done in a sketch-style with bold, energetic black strokes on a plain white background. It depicts a formal, elegant (stuffy) parlor with two adults sitting in armchairs reading the newspaper or books. To the side, there are two kids, who also seem to be dressed formally. The girl has the parlor wall in her hand like a curtain. She has pulled it back to reveal a gorgeous, colorful jungle scene. There are all sorts of animal—from peacocks to monkeys to a tiger tail in the foreground. All of the space is filled with color.

The symbolism in the painting runs deep.

For me, the most resonant interpretation of Magical Thinking is that creativity/wonder/adventure/joy is always at hand. It’s there if we look for it. It’s there if we choose to tune into it.

But we’ll be oblivious to it if we get distracted trying to chase status symbols.