I know I tend to avoid “negative” emotions and want to focus on feeling “good”. However, there are those days when pretending to be feeling good just doesn’t cut it, because deep down I have this unsettled, yucky feeling in my gut. It usually takes me a while before I am ready to acknowledge that yucky feeling, and when I do, it doesn’t make it go away, but it does allow me to pause and reflect and try to understand why I feel the way I do. Easier said than done to be sure! Fundamental to any spiritual tradition is the struggle between good and evil, yin and yang, sacred and profane, and I believe that in the personal spiritual realm this paradoxical antithesis is just as pertinent and necessary for one to accept, to find solace, inner peace, and harmony with others. “Desolate”—perhaps better titled “Desolation & Consolation”—is my attempt to express this phenomenon.

Let me know if you feel the balance between desolation and consolation comes through to you, or not!