Aaron Paquette Journal

Let It Glow
16" x 20"
Oil, Acrylic, Gold Leaf on Canvas
2006

A friend of mine, the writer and poet Andy Michaelson, told me of a time in Southern Alberta. He was making a tour and stopped at a Craft Fair in Pincher Creek, near the Peigan Reservation. He browsed disinterestedly through the aisles until he noticed a very young girl, in her early teens, sitting at a table with her wares set out before her.

She was clean and bright, he said, and sat with a composure that is rare to find. Gentle, assured, and with an inner light that shone through her eyes.

It was like stumbling across a flower in the dry heat of the desert.

He told me this story with a distant look in his eyes, as though transported back to the very moment.

"All I could think to myself was: I wish Paquette was here to see this."

I thought his story was interesting and I was glad he'd an experience that would stay with him for the rest of his life, but thought little more of it. Or so I thought. The vivid imagery of his recollection, the idea of this young girl's inner light...I must confess that it danced in my pre-sleep visions. I began to wonder what would happen to this young girl, and if her light would remain through the years of trouble that growing up can bring.

I decided that I would imagine her future...I would paint her as a young woman grown, still with her poise, and a light that didn't diminish over time but only grew. I thought of the light we all carry, precious and delicate enough that it should be cradled as a flower in the palm of the hand, but strong enough that it can illuminate our paths in the darkest hours.

We all have this light, and we share it unconsciously with those around us. We need to protect this light, both in ourselves and in others, and nurture it lovingly in the generations that grow up around us.

Let it glow, and it will only grow.

Isn't it odd? I hope so fervently for a little girl I never met. I created a painting for her so that there is a possible future for her that everyone can see, and can add their thoughts and hopes as well. Perhaps this goodwill one day will find her when she is at a crossroads, and lend her strength. I don't know.

I really don't know.

But the thing I learned from her is that the only way to get through this life with our nobility intact is to let it shine, let it share, let it, give, love, and uplift. Let me be open and humble and and strong. Let every day be lived in the knowledge that life ends, and let every day celebrate another day to experience this miracle of awareness.

Let it glow.