Celebrating Ben

I am incredibly happy that my young friend Ben is cancer free! In order to celebrate, I spent some time yesterday in the studio using my art as a form of prayer, giving thanks to God, angels, his surgeons, doctors and nurses, the labs who studied his tumor, our friends and the faith filled community that supported us all through our fears and hopes. I am thankful for Ben and his parents for waking me up to big issues, such as mortality, and teaching me to let go, face loss, find meaning and comfort where I am. I felt how important it was to live in the present as much as possible...

Carving the linoleum and rolling the ink, tearing the paper and pressing the print is a focused and glorious process. It's one way to spend time relishing this fact that Ben is alive. I give thanks when I talk to my sons, swim laps, drive to work, and am about to eat a meal. He is alive and planning a future! We, who know him, are really lucky. A miracle has happened. After Ben, there is now hope for others to be cured of this previously terminal diagnosis.
The colors are for the miracle, the wings are for the angels, and the thanks is to God who-is-love, through Ben.