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This was such a beautiful reflection, friend! I especially loved how you worded the wisdom earned through experience and relationship - mm, so good.

And I appreciate your note and opening of the conversation around the connection between an artist and their work. I’ve recently struggled with that around the abuses committed by Jean Vanier and his work and vision of L’Arche. Thank goodness the Lord can work through imperfect tools, but how do we reconcile that in our own hearts?

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I needed this music rec. thank you!

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This is beautifully observed and shared. I loved seeing this poem through your eyes. Your final question is a tricky one. Concepts like innocent until proven guilty and mercy come to mind. Another idea is that the art, once shared, is for the observer/reader/listener to interpret through their own life. The art itself does not carry with it some mystical permanence passed on by the artist, if that were so we would not still have the Eucharist. But to Alli's point about Vanier, I think we should discern art/writing/music with eyes wide open to the humanity from which it was created.

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Thank you for sharing that poem!

I like your thought provoking question at the end about separating the artist from his/her work. I think it can be hard for me to do that. This topic has come up in discussions with my husband. It doesn't seem to bother him as much as it does me when an artist (and I use that term generally- maybe a podcaster, author, comedian, etc.) has done lived experiences that don't mesh with my values.

My husband can more easily separate the actions from the person. Maybe I am more apt to make character based judgements and so if the person is "tainted", I am more apt to reject the work or at least become less interested. My husband would argue that you can love the work for itself and its own goodness. This doesn't even account for the fact that we've all sinned, no one is perfect and that yes, people can change. Is it a sign of the times and the "cancel culture" movement that we (-I-) quickly reject the work of someone when we disagree on issues or discover past sins that we think haven't been atoned for? Maybe they haven't been but is that our business? I don't know.

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And by "tainted" (which I think isn't quite the word I mean)... I think I mean colored by the negative experiences/decisions of his/her past. As if those experiences are a part of the person, and not easily separable.

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