Debra Basham

Living and Loving

Tag: 30-foot watercolor

  • Listen to the Trees


    This quotation by William Blake was hand lettered beautifully onto the whiteboard hanging on the wall. A fortunate few gathered at the Pine Island public library last evening for a presentation by Zan Henegan Lombardo—artist, poet, friend, and teacher extraordinaire.

    Once in a while, you are soooooo blessed to be part of something organic, unimaginable, and magnificent. Previously, I have written about Zan’s first 30-foot watercolor painting. Now she has done it again, this time with a piece about some of my favorite sentient beings: trees.

    Here is the dazzling 4 foot by 30 foot painting, titled, “Dance of All This,” when it was hanging in the round at the Sydney and Byrne Davis Art Center, 2301 First St, Fort Myers, Florida:

    And, shared with her permission, Zan’s amazing poem that goes along with the new painting:


    Listening to the Lights in the Trees

    With forehead pressed against the trunk
    Where the music is embedded,
    I make this request: “Please, sing to me about your angels.”

    The slender tree responds with percussive impulse,
    Pushing me squarely back,
    Flaying my chest, exposing my heart,
    Invisible wings flexing from shoulder blades.
    A cacophony of sounds and light flash through me,
    Full on,
    Indecipherable.

    I back off.
    Old trees offer more seasoned melodies, I hope.

    Gingerly stepping over gnarly roots to a
    Welcoming section with thicker waist,
    Gently placing my brow in contact with the weathered bark,
    Silently, I ask.

    This time I find myself in the heart of God,
    Wings still flexing from my shoulders.
    And the messenger says,
    “The ballad is more than can be sung
    In a single verse.
    Our angels require you sit
    In communion with us
    Throughout your life
    In order to internalize the lyrics
    Of that which you desire.

    It’s complicated.”

    –Zan Lombardo, 2018

    Zan led us in an exercise about listening, during which were asked to share a memorable experience we have had with a tree. Mine was from the 1970’s, when I was a camp counselor at Lake Louise United Methodist Camp, in Boyne Falls, Michigan. The theme of the week was ‘Acclimatization.’

    The activities were designed so we experienced ourselves as a part OF nature, rather than a part FROM nature. We worked with a partner, who guided us safely in the woods. We were invited to listen, and let a tree call to us. We remained with that tree for some time, practicing hearing it, before being led out of the woods.

    Once safely at the edge of the woods, our blindfold was removed, and we were invited to use our new-found listening skills to return to our tree. I did that! It was truly amazing.

    We were asked by Zan to inner listen and go stand by the section of the painting that spoke to us. This is the section that was speaking to me:

    You can listen to trees. Trees are sentient beings.

  • Cultural Peace

    Time is at once a limited commodity and an illusion. We an spend time, waste time, deny time, and transcend time.

    At a workshop with Zan Henigan Lombardo, the focus was on how she let chaos in her life create something beautiful. Her work of art is an impressive 30-foot watercolor painting with an equally impressive 30-foot poem along the bottom, created by an even more impressive artist/poet/teacher over many years.

    As is the case in most group settings right now, the most recent school shooting came up. People from all walks of life are asking why, and some are asking what can be done. This morning I read again Glen Snyder’s article (Lion’s Roar is from the Buddhist perspective) which invites some possible answers to the question how. The article is titled Why We Go for the Gun. Greg Snyder is a Zen Buddhist priest and President of Brooklyn Zen Center. You may want to take time to read his article for yourself. Here is a brief excerpt:

    This is not to say we should not work for legislative change, organize to reduce homicides and suicides in our communities, stand up to systemic violence and law enforcement abuses, critically engage our own consumption of violence as entertainment, and actively address our nation’s child-soldier problem (that is, gangs). But these efforts alone will not change the soil in which this violence grows. We must illuminate this culture of domination, grieve our shared karma, and introduce the sacredness of spirit and all life back into our nation.

    Glen’s article touched a sensitive spot for me. As my husband is in the living room watching TV in the evenings, I am often in the other room working on a jigsaw puzzle. Hearing the soundtrack only of what he is watching, the movies he watches all sound the same. I hear two hours of gun shots, guttural grunting and desperate breathing, along with the repetitive use of the four-letter-nasty. I told him I don’t think they even make individual sound tracks….

    Reading Glen’s article, the thing that was most salient for me is how what I think, say, and do contributes to our collective experience. This morning I appreciated today’s thought from the Brahma Kumaris:

    The ability to enjoy one’s own company is one of the greatest gifts life has to offer. Learning to turn my thoughts away from all my responsibilities at the day’s end and take my mind into a state of peace and benevolence enables me to carry greater and greater loads without feeling the burden. When my inner landscape is full of beautiful thoughts, everything I do is a pleasure. Gently, I calm down chaotic situations and offer solace to troubled minds.

    Perhaps enjoying one’s own company and cultivating the sweet sound of silence is the how of inner and cultural peace….