There are thousands of extremely popular books and websites about positive thinking, promoting the idea that anyone can do anything if only they put their minds to it.Although the idea is so tempting, reality shows that we can all of us, during our lives, be held back by outside circumstances and influences from within that we have very little or no control over. For example, I can not become a rocket scientist with an IQ of 65, or a pilot if I'm deaf and blind.
Thinking of those who are sick, dying, mentally ill, stricken by poverty, oppression, war, or natural disasters, some positivist quotes are hideously insensitive. For example: 'What you can dream, you can do' - Walt Disney (But Walt, do you seriously think I should tell that to my friend who is dying from cancer?). And how about this one: 'Everything you experience in your life is invited, attracted and created by you' - Robert Anthony. Reading that sentence I immediately think of those who died in WWII concentration camps. How can anyone use their rational minds and seriously believe that?
Positive thinking is dangerously one-sided, as it in no way prepares us for dealing with the very difficult sides of life which we all may have to face at some time or another. Also, it can easily lead to an impatience with others' imperfections and a lack of compassion for those who are suffering.
My thoughts about this subject have inspired me to start a project on the subject, consisting of nine paintings in which the images are in contrast with, and therefore a protest against, the quotations. Basically, they are a cry for more rationality and compassion.
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