11/11/25

Musings on situational stillness

I love poetry. At its best, it is manifestations of crucial life observations rendered succinct and essential. Robert Frost’s quiet words from his conversational poem Snow have been, for the last few years, resounding with rhythmic regularity; “Our very lives depends on everything reoccurring till we answer from within. The thousandth time may prove the charm.”

The left half of my body (the side most affected by the CP) I have associated with creativity. My educational career, which culminated in an MFA, was entirely focused on fine art. Conversely, the right side of my body was always my labor half, the half that earned my income. I owned an automotive detailing business for over 2 and a half decades. That really is a young person’s profession.

On 09/04/25, an afternoon of overexertion and a seemingly unassuming crack in the sidewalk became the perfect cocktail for a fall. That moment of lapsed attention necessitated a surgical repair, on 09/29/25, of my right shoulder’s rotator cuff. This was, in fact the third time having this procedure and the second for the right shoulder. While I knew what to expect of the recovery process, it took me out of my daily earning activities for the succeeding 3 months.

(The above images show complete tears and where they were reattached.)

Out of the resolve of resiliency, I determined that that time would be spent making the best possible forward movement on all things ERS (Earle Rock Studios). I would pull together the social media platforms and begin the implementation of “The Plan.”

Then on Thursday 10/23/25 I strained my right knee, BADLY! I thought I had torn the ACL. What I had relied on my entire life had been completely compromised. It was a terrifying period of extreme vulnerability. Mobility of my right side was now so severely limited that leaving the house put me at risk of falling in public and re-injuring a freshly repaired right shoulder. Five days after “the knee incident” a physician confirmed that the ACL was NOT torn and surgical repair would not be necessary. I cried tears of relief.

The following week, physical therapy for the knee was piggy-backed on the PT for the right shoulder. My shoulder was recovering well but now my knee would also be on “rehabilitation road.” Stability was beginning to be restored and pre injury activity looked close once more. I was on the mend, but 2 more months still lay ahead!

The real marrow of this period was the lesson of learning to lean into a situation. There is an aspect to the artist’s life that has always been nearly unbearable, the solitude. It has always felt like a simultaneous personal indictment and punishment. Creative work invariably came in fits and spurts. Projects always took longer because at some point, escape was essential. Now stillness was now the new essential.

The cosmic humor is not wasted on me. My left side was now the most stable and strongest support structure. The most crucial reverberation of the meditation that is stillness was the epiphany that solitude is neither indictment nor punishment. The narrative of anything else is an attachment to self-induced suffering.

Three months of nothing to focus on BUT my left, my creativity. What ultimately is my greatest source of joy, IS my experience. And that experience is as an artist. It is the place from which I can offer the most honest expression and thus provide the most value for others. This situational stillness has “proven the charm.”

Thank you for reading.

Earle Rock,

Earle Rock Studios