Day 57 September 30, 2010

Still
I
Paint

Still
I
practice
headstand

Thought
of
becoming
a
performance
artist
who
paints
everything
white

Oh
that's
right
that
movie
has
already
been
made

perhaps
I
could
paint
while
in
headstand?


 

Day 56 September 29, 2010

I still find a paint brush in my hands.  I want to paint everything in sight.  Even in the art studio.  I'm working with paint on clay.  And just for fun, I've offered to help paint on Sunday in my daughter's soon to be 'new flat'.  

There is just something about paint I guess, and the brush too.  It creates a new look so quickly. Maybe that explains some of its allure.  

One of today's other alluring aspects is the quality of the air.  It's a bit blustery, warm, very humid and fresh feeling.  Inviting.

As much as you can, look around you and enjoy your day too.

Day 55 September 28, 2010

Busy day.   Short yoga practice.  Shorter art practice.  But spending time with friends made it worth it.

MOMA  NYC 2009

Day 54 September 27, 2010

Being in tune with someone feels so right.  Wonderful really.  It makes me grateful to be a social animal.  David and I are both in tune today, working on our blogs, working on a bookshelf project together and we both practiced our yoga asanas today too, at home.

Then, I got a big inner smile when I read my friend Denise's blog a few minutes ago and she mentioned that today, Monday, is a good day to do laundry.  She included an image of laundry hanging on the line in NYC back in 1907.  Those were the days when both of my parents lived in Flatbush, Brooklyn, NYC.  My mother would have been 2 year's old and my dad 5 year's old.  I wonder if any of that laundry on the line was my parents' laundry?  I only say that because Denise's posted laundry image looked like a Brooklyn neighborhood.

Oh yes, and before I even read Denise's blog, I also washed two loads of laundry today and hung them to dry outdoors on a sunny, but cloud filled day.  A spectacular day.  I hope your day has some spectacular moments too.  Knowing that Denise and I are both in tune to Monday being a wash day makes me laugh.  We are currently separated by the entire North American continent, she in California and I in Nova Scotia, and yet we are still in tune.  Fabulous when things work out that way.  Don't you think?

Day 53 September 26, 2010

Today I re-learned that humans are a needy species.  It seems strange that we as a species have done so well on this planet.  We have a narrow range of comfortable temperatures for our living environments, we have a narrow range of likes and dislikes it seems, and we seem to make mistakes over and over again.  Why is this?  

Perhaps we are like those insects who die in one day.  We never get to pass on the wisdom from our elders to the younger generation.  We die too soon.  Or maybe even if we lived twice as long the younger generation just wouldn't be interested in the elders' words of wisdom or the elders would just be shocked that all of a sudden they were considered elders and had to pass on 'wisdom'.  

I'm kind of shocked that I'm now an elder.  What the heck happened?  Wasn't I just a twenty year old the other day?  Yes, being really young,  a young child or a teenager does seem like eons ago, but my twenties?  I can still relate to feeling like a twenty year old.  Full of life, fearless, stupid sometimes, reckless sometimes, depressed sometimes, invincible sometimes.  

But my mirror consistently attests to the passage of many years.  I guess there is so much to be grateful for, ……. that's what I need to focus on, being grateful.  Phew!  That was a close one.  I was getting a tad down hearted.

Sorry folks.  Sometimes my moments are not always cheery.  Just had to share how I really felt.  Maybe you thought I was always cheery and upbeat?  Nah!  Mostly, but not every minute.  I am an eternal optimist.  That's how I get through my life, but as you can see, I have some moments of doubt.

Enjoy this view of a very beautiful room for a moment, that will cheer us all up.  Art can really cheer me up, as you probably have gathered by now.  I love it when you find a room where the folks in charge have spent considerable effort to make the room as pleasant as possible, both to serve the room's purpose and to just rejoice in the world of colour, pattern, design, light, shape, texture, etc.  All those elements that speak to us of artfulness.  Yes, art brings out the best in us as a species I think.  So there.  We're back to art.

Day 52 September 25, 2010

Here's a toothy question for you that I heard today.  How do you know when you are on your path?  Being on your path meaning, finding what really rings your bell.  And once you've found what really rings your bell, then ringing that bell as loudly and for as long as possible (thanks Jim for the bell analogy, it's a great one).  Yes, how do you know when you are doing what is best for you?

Well, for one thing, if you've recently made the list titled "things that I hate"  and your newest career idea is on that list, that's not great news.  That new career idea is then definitely not your path.  

On the other hand, if you've recently made the list titled "things that get me excited" and your newest career idea is on that list, that's a hint you are moving in the right direction.

Or consider this, if you could give yourself a gift, a thank you gift as a reward and the gift was a complete day devoted to the pursuits you most enjoy, what would that day entail?  The list you create for that ideal day is a hint you are moving in the right direction of finding your path.

What makes you smile, not just on the outside, but on the inside too?  What activity captures your focus so well and so intuitively that sometimes you look up from your task and realize, oh…, I think I might need some lunch or a snack now.  I've been lost in this process so much I forgot to eat.  That feeling of being lost in doing what you love, what truly interests you, that's a hint you are moving in the direction of finding your path.  So basically, finding your bliss is another way of finding your path.  

The opposite is also true.  What makes you impatient, what makes you cranky beyond belief, what really bores you,  well that is not your path.  Sometimes it's easier to find what isn't your path and then through a process of elimination you are left with other options to explore that might be your path.  

Be playful and see what happens.  That can help you find your path too.  Do what is fun.  Could you do it all day long?  Would it still be fun?  Or even just for several long hours continuously?

Maybe some of these ideas will help you a bit in answering that question of how do you find your path?  I know it can be a bit of a confusing process, but try to be patient with yourself and perhaps start by making those lists. :)

Day 51 September 24, 2010

Taking my time today.  Not in a hurry.

But I did have to remind myself. The fact I needed reminding tells you something.  I was in some kind of hurry.  A neighbour of mine once mentioned that she'd seen me zooming around outside my place.  Yes, I did zoom around for quite a while.  Sometimes I still do.  Now that I've noticed this I can continue on or perhaps re-evaluate and change that behaviour.

In my yoga practice today, another back practice that lasted 2 hours apparently, at least according to the clock I noticed after I was done, I seemed to be in such a hurry.  Several times during the practice I told myself, what's the hurry here, let's do this right today.  That helped.

Being playful in the art studio helped too.  Seeing my self-doubt, the tension I carried when faced with a decision, taught me to say internally, caught ya!  Once I'd noticed the tension I could face it and talk myself out of it.  Can you talk yourself out of tension?  Coach yourself?

Steady now.
It's only  _________ (you fill in the blank), I'll get through it.
I've done this before, I can do it again.
Travelling to unknown places, I love that.  What's to worry?
etc.

Yes, perhaps you have your own favourite saying that coaches you through challenging times.  Here here, for all the help we give ourselves.  Those big brains of ours sometimes really do help :)

Guess what?  My David, to distinguish him from other David's,  just started a blog today.  Here is his link.  Today his entry is titled Corn on the Cob.  Enjoy.

http://exploringbodymovement.blogspot.com/

Day 50 September 23, 2010

On awakening my first thought is, I have to get up and make a green drink.  So I do.  Lovely colour, light green.  

Tired, groggy, a bit nauseous from too much driving in the car for two consecutive days, I quaff my drink.  Then my coffee.  David does his drinking in the reverse order, first coffee, then green.  Jen stands up straighter after her green drink and says,  I feel good, then she is off to work. 

May we all do something today that makes us feel good.

'Abstract'  Tiles

Day 49 September 22, 2010

Excess
Plenty
Harvest

Basil
Garlic
Extra Virgin
Olive Oil
Pesto.
Tomato
Onion
Garlic
Celery
Extra Virgin
Olive Oil
Spinach
Soup.
Potato
Corn
Onion
Garlic
Soy Milk
Chowder.

Cashews
Almonds
Dates
Apricots
Sesame Tahini
Brown Rice Syrup
Agave Syrup
Cocoa
Sesame Seeds
Bliss Balls.

Bring
Your
Hunger.
It's a
Good
Time
Of
Year
For
Appetites.

Day 48 September 21, 2010

Whirlwind.  Sometimes life feels this way.  I used to feel like I was part of the whirlwind.  Now I can step back a bit and see that I am experiencing a whirlwind sensation but it is really not 'part' of me.  Another way of describing how I used to feel was that I'd been on a carousel ride too long.

Over stimulation is what is really happening to me on those days.  I can now balance my life with quiet days and stimulating days.  Two days ago it was the very quiet day.  Yesterday was the stimulating day.  

Great times with great friends.  After driving my daughter to work, I squeezed in some backbends on the chair in the yoga studio, then met my friends.  For an hour or two we examined the new fashions for women in high end clothing shops in Halifax.  As an artist I was pretty critical, but did admit I really liked both the choice of colours and the plain solid colours I saw everywhere.  Very few icky patterns or over stated ruffles from other years.  A few jackets were memorable for their design features.  I admired the craftsmanship of the seamstresses of China.  Everywhere I went there were references to China as the country of origin, even in the most expensive shop where a light weight jacket could set you  back $450.  We weren't on Fifth Ave. or in Toronto after all, so no haute couture.  

Back to whirlwinds, the picture of me today is a bit of a blur, taken by my brother in law Michael.  I was touring the Sol LeWitt exhibit at MassMoca with him and my sister Kathy this summer.  You've got to experience MassMoca if you haven't already.  An entire complex of buildings is devoted to contemporary American art in a rural setting 1.5 hours from Boston.

It can be a bit of whirlwind, but hey, you know how it goes.  Enjoy your day.