Empty to Whole

I worked on this early this morning as a study for a larger painting I want to do for my friend who just reached his 90 day anniversary in Alcoholics Anonymous. In recovery, whether from alcoholism, perfectionsim, overeating, overspending, it seems that "wholeness" is so elusive. One must begin with emptiness and keep working at emptying out the negativity. The journey towards wholeness is so gradual that the two states seem dichotomous (thus the point of view of the painting with it's strict boundaries.) We don't see that we are growing and evolving and rely on others to help us remember where we came from and where we are going. It is only after time that we wake up in surprise with a new breath and say "Yes, I AM different now."