Origins of a Dream: La Boheme Reverie
Where did it begin? When did La Boheme Reverie start? It's fun to think back on what it was that initially spurred us to fancy the life of a Bohemian, to roll off onto the path less traveled and seek a living through art and music.
It all originated with a thought.
Several years ago, we gathered with friends to share a meal. It had become a weekly event to get together for a potluck and a sauna. It was a night filled with good food and good company.
On this particular night, many of our conversations circled around the woes of the world. Perhaps ironically in retrospect, considering we were experiencing so much goodness right then.
Even so, topics ranged from corruption in politics to environmental issues, mainly the overwhelmingly oppressive 'powers that be'.
image from Osho Zen Tarot
As a group, we noticed that this discussion left us feeling frustrated and hopeless. In short order, our thoughts turned to questioning 'What shall we do'? Well, what can we do?
We began to seek a remedy by asking ourselves, "What is it that we would like to see? What do we want more of in our lives?"
The answers came like a flood. Art, music, dance, togetherness, love, beauty, inspiration, celebration. All things that give us a feeling of being actively and joyfully engaged in life.
painting by Mark Henson of Sacred Light Studios
What we give our energy to, we give life to. What we want to see, we have to bring into being through our actions. It seems we all know inherently that it is important for us, as human beings, to focus on the good things. It is actually quite radical, to sustain a positive outlook.
But, why? Well, as Howard Zinn said,
“TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
It seems our real power lies in our choices. That evening, talking with our friends, we came to the conclusion that we wanted to dedicate ourselves to bringing what we wanted to see into the world.
Not so much change the world we were seeing as to actually work to bring into being the world that we wanted to see. We planned to do this by focusing on creating art.
It became our philosophy, Artful Living. And it has indeed shaped our experiences.
And so, La Boheme Reverie was born, although we didn't know it yet. A seed had been planted.
