Truth Is Art
“If you can paint—you can also paint with words.”
Author’s Note: To all the artists, poets, photographers, songwriters, sketchers, storytellers, and truth-speakers here on Substack: this one is for you. Your craft is not just content—it is connection. It is courage. It is awakening. Thank you for daring to give your truth form.
“If you can paint—you can also paint with words.” That’s what one of Joni Mitchell’s teachers told her. But it began earlier than that.
In sixth grade, Joni had an art teacher who didn’t encourage her. He did something more radical.
He gave her permission…
There’s a quiet but profound difference between encouragement and permission. Encouragement cheers us on. But permission says: You’re allowed. Encouragement visits. But permission opens the gate.
Far too many of us have gone through life without that gate opening. We learned to be quiet. To tame our truth. To keep beauty locked in notebooks or buried behind jobs, judgments, and justifications.
But truth—when expressed in any form—is art. And when art meets truth, something sacred is created.
A song.
A painting.
A photograph.
A dance.
A single sentence that makes someone feel seen.
Art that speaks truth doesn’t need fame to matter. It doesn’t need polish or platform. It just needs presence.
It needs you.
Think of Maya Angelou’s voice echoing through generations.
“Why the caged bird sings.” Maya Angelou
Of Nina Simone saying, “An artist’s duty is to reflect the times.”
Of a grandmother’s quilt stitched with stories.
Of a child’s sidewalk chalk, declaring joy in crooked colors.
These are not separate from awakening.
They are awakening.
Because truth is not just something we discover. It’s something we remember—and then express in whatever language our soul speaks.
This is what we mean when we say I AM Awake.
Not that we have arrived, but that we are no longer asleep to the voice within us—
And we are learning to give it form.
Prompt for the Week:
What truth within you has long been waiting for permission to speak?
Choose one way to give it form—
✦ Write it.
✦ Sketch it.
✦ Sing it.
✦ Move with it.
✦ Speak it aloud.
Then ask yourself: How does it feel to be heard—even by your own heart?
We’d love to witness your truth.
Tag us or share at IAMday.org — because your art is part of this awakening.
The Artist’s Prayer (by Darius Bashar)
”Dear God, please use me as a vessel for your divine expression. Use me as an instrument of your love. Give me the courage to go into the depths of my heart and find my truth. And the courage to speak my truth in my own authentic voice. Whatever happens from here I let go and let God.”
So lovely to read this today. I've been so pleased to see more and more people stepping into their truth--permission. What a gift that might have been. Do it anyone has been my path, surfing, training wild animals, certifying in skills where I was not welcomed. I remember an English teacher who always criticized, and then one who cheered and empowered me. First published in junior high, I've done some amazing things. We all have our gifts and mine are tied to my truth and to my passions. Namaste and thanks for the lovely article.