Today along with my most recent drawing I’m posting some quotes from the book: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan because on one of the Radical Compassion Challenge podcasts hosted by Tara Brach, actress Sandra Oh referred to The Joy Luck Club film, which inspired part of this drawing. I have been drawing while listening to the podcasts, and even though multitasking may not be such a great idea, it saved me time and I got to listen to the podcasts twice. Although I gave the book away a while ago during a recycling spree I re-watched the movie on you tube and realised that even though the book and film are about Chinese women’s experiences, the basic themes of oppression, sexism and power dynamics in marriages, immigration and communication barriers,  generational transmission of patterns and customs and the power of story and love to connect and create transformation and identity shifts, are relevant to many cultures.

“That is the way it is with a wound. The wound begins to close in on itself, to protect what is hurting so much. And once it is closed, you no longer see what is underneath, what started the pain.”

“Because sometimes that is the only way to remember what is in your bones. You must peel off your skin, and that of your mother, and her mother. Until there is nothing. No scar, no skin, no flesh.”

“But now that I am old, moving every year closer to the end of my life, I also feel closer to the beginning. And I remember everything that happened that day because it has happened many times in my life. The same innocence, trust, and restlessness; the wonder, fear, and loneliness. How I lost myself.”

“After the gold was removed from my body I felt lighter, more free. They say this is what happens if you lack metal. You begin to think as an independent person.”

“This house was built too steep, and a bad wind from the top blows all your strength back down the hill. So you can never get ahead. You are always rolling backward.”