Two empty chairs, facing a beautiful sunset. So sublime, yet so many questions. If you can visualize, who do you see sitting in the chairs? You and your husband (or wife)? You and a son or daughter? You and a mother or father? Or, you alone? If it is you alone, what are you thinking? Are you content and at peace, or troubled, yearning for a partner? If you are sitting with your partner, are you young or old? Are you happy or sad?
So many times we look at a picture and don’t really pay it much mind. What was the intent of the artist while painting or taking the photograph? How did they feel? Does it really matter what the intent was? I suppose it doesn’t really matter. Art is not a static thing. It is rich and meaningful. It matters more what you think, how much meaning it has for you, not what the artist thaught. It is why for centuries, people have been debating the smile of “Mona Lisa”. Freedom of perception is the gift that art gives, it’s in the eye of the beholder.
Back to the chairs. I guess if you looked at the same picture at different stages of your life, the picture could take on different meanings to you. When young, you see two empty chairs. Because who actually sits when you are young? When you are in your married phase, perhaps you see you and your spouse. If divorced, with children, maybe you see you and your closest child. Maybe it’s you and a best friend. If you are leading a double-life, maybe it isn’t you and your spouse, but your lover. If you are caring for someone who is ill, maybe you are sitting with them. If you are widowed, maybe you only see yourself, or maybe it’s you and your partner who has passed on.
Right now I see a troubled man, sitting alone, praying and reflecting. Thinking about all that was, is, and could be. Pondering life’s fleeting moments. How one decision, or a succession of decisions over a long period of time, can shape a life so seemingly fragile, that a stiff wind could simply blow it all away. I feel hopeful that the woman he loves, that he has always loved, is walking up to the chairs to meet him, yet she is still not in the picture. She is coming. I wonder what he will say when she arrives. I hope that he says something selfless that makes her happy and smile. Maybe they hold hands as she sits down.
Who do you see in your chairs?