I just returned from my visit to the Columbia Museum of Art where currently you can catch a glimpse (or a whole eyeful) of Vincent Van Gogh’s artistic mastery - on display through the end of 2019.

While taking in the genius of the works, and the works that have contributed to the inspiration and style of Van Gogh himself, I felt many things;

Awe
Depression
Fascination
Terror
Enchantment
Frustration
Peace

Quite a palette there, don’t you think? As an Empath, I often experience the energy or the object or a work of art so deeply, that I experience a direct connection to the feeling behind the creation of that piece. I feel what the artist feel. I experience what the artist experienced directly, triggered by their work.

At the exhibition, there was a table equipped for any visitor to use to write a letter. There were the parchment, the envelopes and an old-fashioned graphite pen. Several letters with sketches once created by Van Gogh were on display. A tour guide at a distance from me asked the group of kids she was leading, “So tell me - how do you think we know about the details of day-to-day life of Vincent Van Gogh?” His letters, of course!

Suddenly, I thought about my journals. I write down my thoughts, take notes and keep track of ideas every day - I have been journaling ever since I was a little girl. This habit is so visceral to who I am, to my daily life. I realized: if not for the sake of my story, then at least for the sake of our lives, lives of people living right now, for the sake of the details of our place in history of humankind, my journals have value. If nothing else, I can hope to leave behind an account of human history of our times.

This inspired me to sit down and the table and write a letter to myself in 2029. In ten years, if I remember, I will open this letter and follow the instruction I came up with today. It is simple - find a few moments for gratitude, joy, and realize that all my dreams are always within reach.

Making History with Vincent Van Gogh