Sometimes when we are alone

BENJAMIN LEE HICKS

sometimes when we are alone by benjamin lee hicks 2016; ink and pencil crayon

15.25 x 17.75 cm

This image is one of a series that illustrates a longer poem titled “A LOVE STORY.” The complete text explores what intentional love, care, and compassion might look like if we were taught to be aware of (and okay with) the fact that being human is hard . . . that love and forgiveness are skills. Love is assumed to be something that people innately know how to do, but the truth is that life and relationships have a tendency to complicate things. Our brains, rules, and history/power/ privilege/oppression get in the way of understanding ourselves and/or others with empathy. Sometimes we forget that no matter who we are or what we have been through, we are all essentially creatures who are hard-wired to give and receive love.