This is one of the most beautiful movie scenes I have seen. I return to it every year or two for a reminder of the true shape of sovereignty and for a big dose of sheer talent (a la Sally Potter, Tilda Swinton and Virginia Woolf).
I also like this as a depiction of transformation. We step out of a prescribed norm and find ourselves in a completely new world with an utterly different social body. At the same time, the core sovereign self has not changed. Perhaps it has simply become less encumbered by the habits & trappings of an inauthentic life.
When Tilda Swinton speaks those potent words “Nature! Nature! I am your bride. Take me,” there is no doubt that this is the truest possible marriage.
I love watching the leaves shake loose at this time of year, and am moved by the slow reveal of branches against the sky. As the seasons shift, I see our individual lives and creative expression echo the change. The detritus of past projects that no longer hold juice must fall away and leave us with our most essential expression.
What is at the root of us?
…A wild and sovereign being wed to the larger cycles of time.
…A framework of bone and tone locked into a precise and personal rhythm.
…A capacity for genuine and fearless expression, even as it changes our self-concept and the story we tell about ourselves.
To the extent that we are each willing to surprise ourselves in the labyrinth of being, our art becomes transformative – of ourselves, of others, of our cultural landscape. It becomes an offering and a path.
I imagine and wish for a time of unhindered honesty and expressive freedom for us all. May it be so.