Pan Kicking the Universe
The Myth of Pan, According to Me — Truth to Power, Ancient Mischief, and the Birth of a Godlike Rebel
Pan Kicking the Universe is a large oil painting depicts an extremely fit, taut, nude male figure, Pan, kicking the center of a spiral galaxy with his pointed foot. Ribbons of stardust swirl outward, dispersing into the universe. His right arm and hand are raised in an ancient gesture of: “Up yours!” His head is adorned with a garland of magenta star clusters, with which the dumb and witless universe miraculously crowned him, a once-in-a-billion-years accidental convergence.
The Myth of Pan, According to Me
Pan arrived in Babylonia around 4,000 years ago, provocatively half man, half bull, his upper torso that of a man and all bull below. He traveled west from the cradle of civilization, the ancient Mesopotamian world. Along the way, he infamously screwed a lot and created hordes of little Panisci.
He found a home in Greece, but rumor has it he seduced the entire pantheon of Greek gods with his wily ways. Zeus was miffed with him and a little jealous, and since there could only be one bull, he reduced Pan to half goat.
Continuing his journey to Italy, a silly Roman proclaimed he was dead. This was repeated by gullible historians, and so Pan quietly disappeared from the ancient Western canon. But not to be dismissed so easily, he did resurface, but in this incarnation, he became 100% a bad boy.
Continuing his journey, he found himself in modern times, as far west as the idyllic granite outcrop, Tahquitz Peak. Dissatisfied with humanity, he leapt off the peak and fell upwards into the heavens, where he explored nebulae, planets, and galaxies. But he felt lonely and frustrated by the lack of humanity, indeed the universe's lack of any intelligence or wit. Actually, it had none whatsoever, not a speck of it.
In an act of rebellion against the universe, in a mischievous gesture of truth to power, he summarily kicked the living daylights out of the center of a galaxy, spreading stardust in wondrous splendor.
Moral: The universe has nothing on the mischievous and unafraid rebel.
So Michael, lets kick stardust everywhere and head out with our Galactic Family, into that stardust. When I was a very small child, I remember walking with my Dad (who was a GIANT to me) through a field in Alabama, and as I walked lights came out of the grass and I stopped in wonder and awe and watched the amazing, magical, joyful, display. I felt safe as my father watched me see something for the first time he had seen too many times to count. I finally looked up and said to him, "Daddy why are the stars coming out of the grass.?" I can't remember what he said. Anyway, thank you for the memory and the beauti!
This is such an incredible write up! So moving, so poetic, I felt it deep in my soul! I love how you included a depiction of the painting,
it just added to the beauty of the writing!! The words just come alive off of the page!! It's the most amazing thing I have read this morning!!
"Moral: The universe has nothing on the mischievous and unafraid rebel."
One of the greatest qoutes! I connect to this in every way!! It's how I emerged after I healed!
A Mischievous and unafraid rebel!!