Artist Statement: Humans have mastered many things in this world, but some elements of our existence, especially those that are unseen, are beyond our control. For example, we cannot conquer, control, or change time. Time is unseen and inanimate but impacts all of us, no more so than during the COVID-19 pandemic. All of us found our time to be altered in some way. Studies show that most of us experienced a change in how we perceive and use time. Many used this additional time constructively to enjoy family, to serve our community, to read, write, and pursue a long neglected hobby or project. Still others discovered that this new found time on their hands challenging to their relationships and destructive to their financial, emotional and physical health.
This piece is inspired by Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, a passage known as “There is a Time for Everything.” It is a cherished Bible passage that has been often quoted at the many funerals and memorial services precipitated by the pandemic. Contained in one of the Poetry and Wisdom Books of the Bible and written by King Solomon, this particular passage lists 14 "opposites," a common element in Hebrew poetry indicating completion. If you look carefully, you will see that these eight verses gather around three major divisions that correspond to the divisions of our humanity: body, soul, and spirit. The first four pairs deal with the body and our physical life. The poem then moves into the realm of the soul with its functions of thinking, feeling, and choosing—the social areas—and all the interrelationships of life that flow from that. The last six of these opposites relate to the spirit, to inner decisions and deep commitments.
Our lives contain a mixture of joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, harmony and struggle, and life and death. Each season has its appropriate time in the cycle of life. While each time and season may seem random, the underlying significance in the poem denotes a divinely chosen purpose for everything we experience in our lives, including a pandemic. The familiar lines offer a comforting reminder that time is a divine gift even during difficult seasons of life.