Daniel Salij

Artist, by any means necessary.

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day 2 : the Rightful King

I am not a religious fanatic. I will not try to convert you, or persecute you for your beliefs. But I do see value in the thoughts and actions of those who revere life.

At the root of this, behind the images and words that I use to convey this message, is the idea that life is a precious gift which deserves reverence – meaning, the systems that support us, the natural systems that have allowed life: animals, plants, bacteria, fungi… to flourish for millions of years.

With the astonishing advancements in technology it becomes easier and easier to get lost in the man made world, in the society we have built.

I think of children staring at their phones. I think of people obsessed with status and objects and countless other distractions that distance us from the fundamental aspects of our existence.

We live in a time when breathing has become boring, and there are a thousand different ways to escape it.

We run from the stillness. Especially here in the metropolis, we devour media and content in seconds. As the attention span gets shorter, depth is often sacrificed for flash.

Not always, and not everyone. I’d say that if you are reading this, there is something of a ‘preaching to the choir’ going on.

So I return to the topic – the rightful king.

I admire those who dissect the mind. Who are not afraid to trade discomfort for truth. The one’s who have ‘gone beyond becoming’. I highly revere the founders of religions for the depth of understanding they embodied and the commitment they represented.

More than a movie star, or a musician, I model myself after saints and sages. I admire the difficult work they have done. The willingness to let go of the lesser for the greater. The willingness to surrender the ego for the spirit.

This is a very simple collage. It is only 4 pieces. But more than the aesthetic it is the idea that carries weight. The juxtaposition is strong enough that I thought any extras would start to take away from it. What we see is a statue of Moses sitting in Buckingham Palace with the words, ‘History of King’, above his head.

It represents my desire, and my willingness, to place those who revere life in places of power. An idea, sort of aligned with Plato’s philosopher kings.

In Moses I see a figure who loves truth. It is a commitment to live life for the greatest good. For the liberation of all beings. Imagine a world where our leaders were the greatest role models – ethical, compassionate, understanding.

This collage is a prayer for the Kings and Queens to rise into seats of power.

There are a lot of changes that our Earth and global civilization could undergo to improve the health of the planet and people, but I believe that it starts with the people we admire and look to as role models.

Before we change the energy structures, and the food production, and the medical communities, we need to revere life. The very simple, but also breathtakingly beautiful natural systems that have given us a place to live. To revere a rainforest means that we don’t cut it down. To revere the earth means to not over mine it, and to grow rich organic nutrient dense systems that align with the psychology of harmony.

So before we end deforestation, we need to raise the reverence for life. For the organic systems that make the earth our home.

This will mean sacrifices, but all leaders must be willing to make sacrifices.

Revere life. It is a bowing down to the simplest fact that you exist, and that you exist within a structure that precedes the economic, political, and technological systems that we have in place.

It is a returning, again allowing the natural world to awe us.

This is not a condemnation, but an encouragement to celebrate the miracle of life.

The base of the pyramid is the earth. Without a healthy planet, nothing on Earth exists. It is a very simple truth. If we can begin to acknowledge the beauty and miracle that our planet represents, we can start to fix it. But it starts with an understanding.

I call Moses a king because I believe he knew that. He brought us the law, that idols should not be worshiped. He did not seek power for himself, but for the realization of truth, so that all beings may know peace.

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