Creation Spirit

An Interview With Author Jim Young

The following are excerpts taken from a recent interview with Dr. James H. Young pertaining to the initiation of his new MY SPIRITUAL AWARENESS SERIES:

Q: How does greater spiritual meaning help fulfill life’s purpose for you?

JY: “Life has taught me that our purpose is much simpler than most of us make it out to be. People often say in despair that ‘there must be more to life than this.’ My response is that actually there’s much less to life than we make it out to be. We give far too much importance to things that really don’t matter in the larger view of life. Most particularly, we take ourselves way too seriously. And we often think of purpose as some grandiose plan to implement or a glowing legacy to leave behind. For me, I express my life’s purpose best when I simply express ‘what’ I really am, and not ‘who’ I think I am, through all of my being. This keeps life simple in its expression of spiritual integrity. Most of us want to know and express who we are, when ‘who’ speaks mostly only to roles we play, and doesn’t really speak to ‘what,’ or the essence, of what we really are. Thus we have the inner conflict between our essence, that is, the divinity of our existence, and the roles we play mostly out of ego-need. Interestingly, when we drop the illusion of roles and express only from the Truth of our essence, the inner warring between the two ceases to exist, and we become One in being. When this happens, we are at peace with the world, primarily because we first have made peace within ourselves. We hear so much about the potential for weapons of mass destruction these days, but it seems to me that our own inner peace is a good place to begin the transformative idea of a spiritually-oriented mass re-construction that is so badly needed on our planet.”

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Jim Young’s photographs have consistently explored the spiritual realm of human activities, both secular and religious in nature. Even the titles of Young’s photographic essays bear out his search for the spiritual: Impressions of the Heart, 1990; Cathedrals of a Different Kind,1991; With Eyes to See,1992; and Spiritual Life in Israel, 1996, to name a few, forge a context for his ongoing thesis. Whether creating photographs in Mexico, Israel, Greece, or the United States, Young produces visual images that celebrate the reverence of all peoples toward life, a reverence he himself practices both personally and as an artist. In this new body of work, Young combines all of his photographic acumen and his personal aesthetic to bring the viewer a unique visual essay.

The photographs in From the Stained-Glass Window to the Unspotted Mirror lead us through a private world of individual as well as group spirituality, sacrifice,and devoutness. The success of this essay lies not only in Young’s skill as an artist but also in his ability to relate to the individuals he is photographing. Their trust in Jim is evident in the way they have welcomed him into their world and given him permission to share it with us. This symbiotic relationship, built on trust, love, and an understanding and sharing in God’s work, has produced an exhibition of unparalleled strength.

Stephen C.Sumner
Professor and Director
Division of Fine and Performing Arts

Beyond the Stained-Glass
Window to the Unspotted Mirror

The Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Little Rock, Arkansas

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