The Abstract Art of Dying

Infinity Bites 9

I bought nine ephemelopes yesterday. Oh yes, and I invented a new word to go with them. An ‘ephemelope’ is an ephemeral envelope, and in case you were wondering, they’re colourful… and square.

This is something I’ve been meaning to do ever since I saw such things in the BHV department store next to the Hôtel de Ville in Paris years ago. I wrote a detailed piece on crafting an artistic ending (to everything) in my Paris Photo Chronicles N°501 (I’m at No.2459 as I type).

Many years before that, I wrote a poem called I Want My Death To Be Beautiful, so there’s something of a recurring theme here.

So, let’s get to it. What’s this square envelope, sorry, ephemelope malarkey about anyway? More importantly, how could it help you to enjoy a peaceful departing, preceded, of course, by a fine full life?

Two Sides of the Same Coin

The whole point is, as ever, to enjoy living here on the planet in this current form as much as possible.

Unfortunately, a lot of people spend many of their living moments feeling very unhappy about their impending demise. That’s a shame, but is it natural? Is it inevitable – worrying about death, I mean, not death itself, which certainly is?

Not if we change our way of looking at it. By thinking about our lives and our deaths regularly and curiously, we can appreciate them both a lot more.

Running Hot & Cold

Life has no meaning without death, and vice versa. One defines the other in the same way darkness defines light, cold defines hot, bad defines good and boy bands define the Beatles. We often assign negative and positive values to these apparent opposites, but this is often problematic.

One person’s awesome is often another person’s awful – look at the conflict in Gaza for a striking current example of bipolar perception. There’s even constant inconsistency within a single human: if I’m too hot, being cooler would be… cool; if I want to read a book, bright light would be better. But if I’m cold, a warm blanket would be welcome; if I’m trying to get off to sleep, I want the lights off!

So, let’s not look at life and death as positive and negative respectively. Let’s just enjoy being alive now, and have fun with it.

Squaring The Circle

The way I do that is by playing around with squares and circles. Or circles and squares, if you prefer.

You might think that’s pretty random, and so would I, except that I don’t know what random really means. These shapes seem to entertain me so I’m going with that.

The circle and the square and their apparent differences give me something to structure my world. That might seem odd, but we all need some sort of structure or frame or we feel lost and I like those ones. I chose them myself too, which makes me like them even more.

Looking around me, at contours of coastlines and languorous leaves and cotton wool clouds, I could be tempted to think that perfect circles and squares don’t occur in nature. Which would make these concepts interesting in their own right, right?

Preternaturally, My Dear

But wait, what about a fish’s eye and a sunflower’s beaming face and the cross-section of a tree trunk and our planet and the sun itself – aren’t they at least approaching perfect circularity?

And what about pretty crystals and the Giant’s Causeway’s hexagonal columns and the countless rhomboid and trapezoid slate samples with razor-sharp edges I spot as I walk the Lake District fells? Right angles and (almost) straight lines do seem to be part of Mother Nature’s plan too…

Meet The Square Guy

My ephemelopes, then. Not only am I going to use these bright containers to hold little square ‘jigsaw pieces’ as I offer them to random people on the street; I’m also going to enclose my ashes in them once I’ve gone, morbid as that may sound, to be scattered at meaningful times and places by special people.

The ephemelope will then be set alight in the same way my own ‘envelope’ was set on fire, in the same way, perhaps, as ideas, emotions and memories may be ignited in the hearts and minds of those who remain. That’s where my wacky plans for ‘creative disintegration’ are at the moment. And what a moment!

What’s The Point, Again?

The only goal that’s really worth entertaining is to enjoy life while you’re here. To have the feeling that you are happy to be alive. That’s it.

How do you do that? Well, you need a vehicle to experience ‘fun’ in the same way you need sensations and emotions to perceive the experience of ‘living’ in the first place.

My FunBus is called ‘creating stuff‘, be it pizzas, pictures, websites, imaginary worlds, painful puns or painted stones, it doesn’t matter in the slightest.

Share things with others. We’re each and every one of us connected – you didn’t arrive here all on your own, did you? So, interacting with people and especially adding something intimate or intriguing to their lives is part of what makes us feel special. Sharing moments like walks in nature counts too.

Keep on learning. Life and the world around us are pretty interesting. It might even all be inside us, if we know how to look! Exposing ourselves to new experiences and ideas with an open mind helps us feel like we’re growing. And growing feels good!

“Create, share & learn; laugh, love & repeat” has been my motto for some time now; try it on for size and modify it to your liking…

Leave A Legacy

You want immortality? Fine! Just create stuff that’s going to be around after you’ve gone. Which could include kids but doesn’t have to!

You can’t really decide or choose to what extent people will value your work or your words or your money or emotions after your death, but you can at least leave some things for people to remember you by.

Heck, they don’t have to be anything impressive or imposing. Often things as simple as words and symbolic gestures are what stick in people’s minds the longest.

Write a modest poem or paint a little picture for your grandson or sister or friend or partner. You can be sure that it will be a precious and lasting keepsake for them for the rest of their lives. Is that immortal enough for you?

If they ever create something for you, treasure that too. We never know when it’ll be time to gently open our loved ones’ envelopes and let them drift away…

Paragraph 9

This is Infinity Bites article No.9. Nine is one of my favourite numbers. My Infinity² puzzle paintings have nine square pieces, all of which match up exactly with the other eight by their sides and corners.

Nine is three squared (3²). Three is my other favourite number, although I like powers of two too. My paintings are square. When you get to any edge of a picture, you can see that it continues perfectly on the other side, repeating itself forever.

The infinity symbol is made up of two circles and you can travel these loops on and on. See this journey as one with the cycles of the seasons, the phases of the moon or the perpetual oscillations of life itself.

Birth and death don’t trip over each other but merge seamlessly, neverending or perhaps… neverbeginning. Who knows?

All Enveloping

Surely not us, so let’s stop worrying about what we can never know. Let’s play full out with what we seem to already have: brand new days, hits and misses, circles and squares, hugs and kisses, learnings and shares.

And if quirky questions are still lurking, stopping you from creating, sharing and learning like you’d like to…

… note them down carefully in your best handwriting with your favourite pen on some pretty paper and tuck them inside a colourful square ephemelope.

Then burn it.

Watch those pesky queries go up in swirly smoke. That’s what they were worth. Now you can write some more sentences, ending in exclamation marks instead!

GET COACHED BY SAB!

🧩 Sab has been exploring the creative human experience in Paris for over 25 years. He writes words, makes pictures and encourages connectedness every day. He thinks that being creative on a regular basis is a wonderful way to lead a worthwhile, enriching and generous life. He’d love to help you make the most of your infinite potential too, creatively and authentically…

🌈 Let’s EXPLODE 💥 your CREATIVITY ! 🚀 Get in touch…

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