and uses our bodies to touch and affect other people. Many people call this spark of energy the spirit of the
person, the soul. Call it whatever you want, like Shakespeare said, “What’s in a name?” A name, or
description of something, doesn’t change what it is. Quantum Field Theorists tell us that the raw material of
the world is non-material. That on the subatomic level—protons, electrons, quarks and bosons—everything
that we call particles are actually impulses of energy and information. So at my very core, my extreme
essence, the me that is me is pure energy. Energy is the part of me that causes me to laugh, to cry, to touch
others, to feel. And science tells us that energy cannot die. It can't be destroyed, it only changes forms. In
other words, it transitions. Thus, the 11th Stage of Life, "Transition".
The hand coming up out of the casket and grasping the side can also be disturbing to some. But it is only an
allegory.
Is the man trying to hold on to this physical existence? Change is uncomfortable and difficult for many
people. After all, we spend a lifetime in a world built upon time and space, living in a tangible environment
where we translate almost everything through our five senses. To change to something other than that could
be difficult. Especially if it is an existence with no time, no boundaries, no limitations. Eerily ironic, it’s
somewhat similar to Stage 1, "Birth". At birth we are thrust from a familiar world of boundaries and
limitations into a bright, wide open world that’s totally alien with no boundaries or limitations like we knew in
the womb.
The hand coming out of the casket could also be an attempt to rise up, to move on to the next existence. The
man's face is certainly serene. He could have accepted this Stage as just one more of the exponential
Stages of Life and realizes with contentment it is time to move on.
His inner child sits beneath him, curled up in panic and fear. What does he do now? Where does he go?
His has been a stationary, eternal existence and he knows nothing of transition. He may have been shut
away and buried before, but now he is lost.
Note the wood behind the boy. The grain should be familiar, you have seen it before in 12 Stages of LifeTM,
Stage 7, "Career". It is the same as the front of the man’s desk. The desk, of course, serves as a symbol of
the man’s obsession with his career. The allegory is that, in a sense, the man’s career became his coffin.
Some people die physically from obsession with their work, others die spiritually. Others just die to those
they love and the career replaces those they love.
I chose not to have any other background, and place what was most important against white, because I
wanted the casket and the boy to be the focal point. Like birth, transition is an all-consuming, life-changing
experience, one of the major Stages of Life, and deserves special attention.
| 11. Transition A Personal Note from the Artist |
This Stage can be pretty disturbing for many
people, even though it’s a required part of life.
I choose to think of it as consoling. I call it
"Transition" because that is exactly what it is.
We are transitioning from one existence into
another, from one Stage of Life to another.
However, some would argue that after this
Stage, the curtain is forever drawn. It is the
end of the play. Consider this: are we really
our bodies? Or are our bodies only a vehicle
for us to express ourselves? When we lay in a
coffin such as this one, and no one can hear
our voice, smell our skin, feel our caress, taste
our lips, or see the spark in our eyes, our
bodies are still there. So what is missing? I
submit that what is missing from our bodies is
the spark of energy that animates our bodies
people, even though it’s a required part of life.
I choose to think of it as consoling. I call it
"Transition" because that is exactly what it is.
We are transitioning from one existence into
another, from one Stage of Life to another.
However, some would argue that after this
Stage, the curtain is forever drawn. It is the
end of the play. Consider this: are we really
our bodies? Or are our bodies only a vehicle
for us to express ourselves? When we lay in a
coffin such as this one, and no one can hear
our voice, smell our skin, feel our caress, taste
our lips, or see the spark in our eyes, our
bodies are still there. So what is missing? I
submit that what is missing from our bodies is
the spark of energy that animates our bodies
| Actual Image Size: 16”x 20” |
| Copyright Bruce Carnahan All Rights Reserved |
12 Stages of LifeTM
| 11. TRANSITION |
| NEXT STAGE |
PREVIOUS STAGE
| NEXT STAGE |
PREVIOUS STAGE
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| See something here that made you think of someone else? Why not share it? |
| Use this Button to Share |
this Page with a Friend
| About the Artist |
*The Circular Copyright Mark you see overlapping each Picture only appears online for
protection against electronic internet theft. Your prints do not have any such mark.
protection against electronic internet theft. Your prints do not have any such mark.