Many years ago when I was quite young I was invited to participate in a showing of art that would support the people of Africa. My dear friend and traveling photographer, Jennifer J Parker, shared the moments she captured, as she always so beautifully did, of the faces of Africa. These drawings were created and inspired by her travels, her stories and her photos.
Even today, over 30 years later, they speak to my heart. I feel the gaze of the child into the camera with so much authenticity and the determination of fire in her soul and the dance of the women in the context of such poverty and struggle.
The fire and the dance. The energy of life and soul that transcends the universal struggle of sufferings in the human experience and ignites the spirit that gives life.
We move on.
We go forward.
We dance.
We gaze with determination and fire into the unknown.
I often wonder about these beautiful people that I have never met but feel deeply their resonance of life in my soul. I have been profoundly inspired through my life by the incredible heart, faith and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King. He speaks of “the majestic heights of soul force" as he demonstrated this through the courage and message of his life. In these beautiful faces of Africa I see “the majestic heights of soul force.”
I wonder about the faces you have seen that resonate deeply in your soul. Please share with us their “the majestic heights of soul force.”