It all depends on how you look at it

Erik Henningsen, Evicted Tenants, 1892

When I was 12 or 13 years old, my mother would lean large reproductions of famous paintings (e.g. Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh) against the sofa and invite me into the living room to discuss the art. 

She would prompt me with a few questions such as:

• "What do you see in this painting?"
• "What part of the painting do you like"?
• "What do you think the artist was trying to tell us?"
• "What do you see that makes you say that?”

Then she would ask me to look at the painting from a distance, and then close-up:

• "And now what do you see?"
• "Anything different?"

She would offer her perspective on each painting, adding background stories about the artist and the painting. These facilitated discussions helped her prepare teaching notes for her work with underprivileged children -- teaching art and art appreciation. Mostly, I was co-operative. I knew it was for a good cause. She was not trying to torture me with arty conversations.

When I saw this painting at the National Art Gallery of Denmark, I was struck not by the beauty of the painting but by the many stories I saw within it, stories that were speaking directly to me:

• The most obvious is the sad and devastating story about a family losing their home. I remember a professor who had run into difficult times say to me, "a few bad choices could land someone very quickly onto the streets." We must be grateful for our homes and compassionate toward those less fortunate people who lose theirs.
• Not always, but sometimes, we have 'warnings' or 'red flags' that things are going to go downhill or crash if we don't act quickly, and change something we are doing, or make a decision that will avoid a crash. What is the pivotal moment when we decide to make a change? And how can we act before we 'get evicted' and find ourselves on the street?
• What is home? Can we be at home where ever we are? I've always hoped I could feel at home wherever I am. I don't have this perfected, but it is one of my favourite pastimes. 

All of us can look at scenes from our lives as if they were paintings and ask ourselves:

• "What do you see?"
• "What do you like?"
• What do think you are trying to say or do?

And then we can walk around the scene again, and look at it from different angles and distances and perspectives.

Lookingly yours,
Coach Minda