Rose Jermusyk

Poisoned Apples: Issues With Meaning

Sometimes it’s hard to believe your creative work matters, or that anything matters. Sometimes we just don’t see the meaning in our work, or in our lives. Sometimes we’re overwhelmed by the work that’s required to do something right, or even just to share our work with others.

Mankind is logical to a fault. We’re constantly seeking out meaning, reasons why things are the way they are. We’re so desperate at times to make sense of things that we’ll even cling to faulty conclusions so long as the logic followed makes for a sturdy enough bridge.

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By Rose Jermusyk, ago

Are You Prepared to Help?

It’s hard asking for help. It’s humbling admitting that we aren’t 100% self-sufficient at any given moment day or night. It’s another opportunity to compare ourselves to others, perhaps even denying someone else the help we could so easily give.

We’ve talked about donors here before, right? Those teachers who come along to test us, show us who we are and give us the tools/lessons we need to complete an impending quest. We should always be our own donors first, but surely there’s room to help others.

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By Rose Jermusyk, ago

Sometimes Going the Wrong Way is Going the Long Way

Have you ever gotten a tarot reading? Did you go in curious for what future might be revealed for you, or prepared to wage war against a charlatan? I have, and I’ve given plenty of readings myself.

Rule One: There is no such thing as “fortune-telling”. When someone tells you your future, they’re really telling you just how predictable you are. The more they’re right, the more predictable you are.

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By Rose Jermusyk, ago

Mirrors Cannot Lie, So We Twist Their Meaning to Fit Our Fears

As children we are taught to “play fair” because “fair is fair” and when something isn’t fair, whether it’s deliberately cruel or arbitrarily ruled, we learn to see that something as broken. Then, somehow the term “fairest of them all” starts getting tossed this way and that, and we’re just supposed to take it to mean physical beauty. Now, that’s not fair.

So what if “fairest of them all” was originally intended to refer to SnowWhite’s physical beauty and the aging-though-still-gorgeous Queen’s envy of it? There is a lot more to be admired about the girl who traveled beyond the seven hills. There is even a great deal to pity with regards to the Queen and her actions.

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By Rose Jermusyk, ago