wherein I Swank
According to Merriam-Webster, “the verb swank* comes from a Middle High German word that means ‘to sway.’ It's not too much of a stretch to jump from swaying to swaggering, and then from swaggering to showing off, and from showing off to ostentation.”
Having just finished a writing a grant— a process that requires some intense bragging— I realized in answering the Goals and Aspirations question that my aim is no less ostentatious than to CHANGE THE WORLD. I said,
“The work I do is to synthesize awareness of collective cultural themes, and then present the results in ways that reach deep into the psyche of those who encounter my art. And I want that encounter to be lasting and impactfully transformative.
“My art-site projectjelinora.com gives a big window into my creative world. There you can explore the themes I work through in my songs, along with other visual and literary elements I create and connect them with.
“I want you to engage with my art from a place of radical honesty about what's "working" in service of transformation in your life and what's blocking or preventing it-- the better to learn what your own Voice could share that will help steer our world towards an increasingly abundant and inclusive destiny.”
So, from swaying to swaggering to showing off ostentatiously… I’m SWANKing. Braggin’ on me. And on you. And on us. We can do it. This changing the world business.
WE CAN DO IT.
My Costa Rica hosts Margot Day and Kurtis Knight have the butterfly pea flower growing in their garden. Click on me above for a short pic-and-vid story of The Day We Transformed from Blue to Pink.
*The word ‘swank’ has a nice showing in the Urban Dictionary too, with many AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) applications, and some controversy over whether or not it can even be used as a verb and still be cool.
