Duende (n.) the mysterious power of art to deeply move a person. “Heightened sense of passion.”
It is incredibly brave to sit in the stillness of something beautiful. We dare to open our hearts to the isolation of depth within our own mind’s eye. Our emotions can be one of the purest, yet most vulnerable acts of our humanity.
We breathe in light, then exhale all that distracts us from our joy. That is where our true passion resides.
We have the gift of grace as a gentler place. We don’t have to be loud, or pushy or in a constant state of oneness with the awe inspiring world around us. Sometimes, too much is just too much.
We can simply, be.
Duende
We often speak of our vulnerable state of being as a super power, yet only the strongest are the duende’s of our world. Those who understand the power of gentleness intertwined with being swept away by the beauty that is all around us.
Our passion for aesthetic wonder is not to be taken lightly.
Our aesthetic world is as critical to our wellbeing as our ability to find gratitude for all things. We do this in order to process healing, find thanks in what we have as well as to honor our life experiences.
To Feel Deeply
To delve into the depths of what we feel, while holding ourselves in a space of consciousness, we allow ourselves to explore our six senses without fear. To be fully and holistically present in our experiences, we must also become conscious of how each experience makes us feel.
Human beings have been given the ability to create music, visual art, movement through our expressions. We have been given the gift of sensation and perception. When we lack sight, we gain nuance in sound. The human body is a wonderland no machine can replicate.
Love
We the duendes have often times in our modern world, been discounted. Our value has been considered secondary to the critical minds that create lab coat sciences; precision in numbers, or practical applications of rules, designed by few, yet followed by many.
We have forgone our realization that the sound of the wave; the sight of a falling star; the wonder of light glimmering on water, are all there for us to absorb.
We are made of the stuff of passion as well as logic. One balances the other. Each emotion is a piece of the heart that beats in the rhythm of the earth itself. To heal from pain is to allow love to course through our veins. To celebrate life, we feel an emotional connection to each other. One cannot hate while also loving.
We do not fear death, while also fully embracing life. We do not hurt each other, while holding ourselves in a place of peace. Authentic, genuine, fully balanced and calibrated sentient beings have no urge to outshine one another.
We shine with each other. We feel, therefore we are.
In Gratitude,
Karen
About the Author: Karen Henry is a former university professor and now author of Indelible Women: The OM [Original Me]. She owns Henry Healing and Ink, Honey Press, a boutique Indie publishing house. Karen’s been a positive psychology practitioner since 2007.