This image is called Presence. It’s a digitally altered section of my painting Witness. I often start my blogs by searching my artwork to see what speaks to me. Here we are today. Presence. A day after the amazing flip from right to left politics across the USA inside states where real differences can be made. Here we are today, when the truth of Gaza is more obvious than it has ever been and suddenly (why so late???) people are calling for the world to pay attention as it did during Apartheid. Here we are today, when Ukraine disables one more infrastructure of logistics in Russia to slow down the damage to Ukraine’s sovereignty. And here we are when Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Cameroon and more experience war daily. Here we are today when Jamaica searches for what can be saved and seeks healing. Here we are today. When there is tragedy and joy, worry and hope. Today is like every day. And it isn’t. Because Presence - hope, lightness of mind, hearts warming, knowledge brought to the open, courage, patience - Presence grabs us and makes us choose to live. Presence inside us helps us choose to see the turmoil whipped up in this artwork and it reminds us of light pushing those clouds into new shapes, reminding us that clouds are only vapour. If you need it, sit with this image, let the Light work its Presence into your soul.