Wall Mural of a Cave: Happy Home of my Ancestors*.

Wall Mural of a Cave:

Happy Home of my Ancestors*

Mural and Verse by Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog (avrotor.blogspot.com)

Also open Naturalism -the Eighth Sense

Section of a wall mural by the author at his residence, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 2017

I imagine myself living in primitive times, in the stone age, when my early ancestors lived in caves high up in the hollow of mountains, and down below lies the world, sprawling, shrouded and seemingly endless;

I see the sky blue, unobstructed at the entrance, or through open domes, and plot the stars into many figures, trace the phases of the moon and relate them to the tides and seasons and behavior of living things;   

I make my home, raise a family, and protect my children, in fact the whole clan; I am a part of a community, and neighbor of those in other caves.   I realize that the key to survival is not competition but cooperation;   

I write and draw on the roof and ceiling, compose verses and songs about everyday life, celebrations, and offerings to the Great Being, appeasing, thanking Him of nature's boundless beauty and bounty; 

I enjoy and share love and kindness, cooperation and collective aspirations, from these grow institutions that become the foundation of society, where every individual respects law and order;  

I still live today in caves, basically the same as my ancestors’ , but in high rise buildings, where down below is the world we call postmodern, shrouded with smog and strange landscape different from a natural one;

     

I see the sky dark and gloomy, obstructed by spires and towers, the stars don’t seem to exist, and would I care about the phases of the moon relevant to the cycle of nature, much less the behavior of human beings?

I make my home, raise a family, all right, even if we are separated by reason of work or choice. I visit them in my free time which I rarely have. The key to survival is divisiveness, each pursuing opportunities in life;    

I still write and draw but on the computer, my art in abstract forms reflecting the culture of my community, now a big city. I still revere my Creator though less attached, dream of the future amid rapid change;

I still find and enjoy love and kindness within my own circle, part of collective consciousness, respect law and order, but quite often I ask, where is that cave, the happy home of my ancestors?  ~

NOTE: Section of a mural complex at artist's ancestral home, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur