Oasis. Or Paradise.

Oasis. Or Paradise.
48x60″
Mixed media on canvas.

When dying of thirst and crawling through a desert, even an isolated, minuscule, and ultimately useless oasis could feel like a personal paradise, protecting you from the arid heat and inhospitable landscape that stretches for hundreds of miles.

After quenching your thirst and retrieving your senses, though, you may realize this "paradise" is nothing but a mirage itself. The trees, though providing shade, cannot travel with you and cannot deliver you to your destination. The water, though life-giving and necessary, cannot be stored for later use. The rest, though energizing, is temporary and physically keeps you from your ultimate goal.

The oasis, at one time a necessity in your quest once carrying the promise of life, now, in many ways, stands as a barrier to reaching your destination. The water that brings life now displays the utter lifelessness of the desert around you. The trees now serve to enhance the beating sun whenever you step out from their shadow. The rest, once a welcome change, now holds you in an embrace as you dread the thought of another step.

Today, it is very easy to sit still. Instead of walking away from the oasis, we get comfortable with the simple things around us. It's easier to browse social media than look for work. It's easier to scroll through page after page of mindless news rather than educate ourselves in meaningful ways. It's easier to wallow in listlessness than it is to self-motivate. We grow used to where we've come to rest and forget the destination that once drove us.

It's not to say that the oasis is an inherently bad place or a place we must avoid (it wouldn't have appeared to be such a paradise without fulfilling some important need at that time) but, in order to truly reach any meaningful destination, we must avoid falling in love with the ease of rest and the comfort of ease. For when the oasis becomes the paradise, we've forgotten that we once actually had a place we were trying to go.

Oasis. Or Paradise is currently available through the Artist in Milwaukee, WI.

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http://www.dflemingart.com/
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