Begin...Again...

Linen 30 x 40 Oils

A Kiss 12 x 18 pastels

Linen - A Storm's Coming 24 x 30 Oils

Linen - Remains Calm (in process) 30 x 40 Oils

Start it over, wind it back. Do it again and again and again. Then do it some more. Resolve, be resolute and firm in your intention and when you fall, again and again, get up again and again and again. We love the merry-go-round we call life! We love the grit and disgust, followed by quiet introspective moments, sitting alone with our guilts and thoughts. At some point, we apply the one remedy that seems to dull the pain of disappointment: laughter. And at some point, we remember we are more than a failure and that we have wants and needs that go beyond the basic. And we remember - we reason - that no one will give you anything, so you better get off your butt and get it yourself!

I have friends who don't realize the tenderness of their heart. Oh that beating mound of flesh in the middle of your chest is resilient! It has to be! We toss it around, send it into the blast furnace of difficulty and expect it to be quiet when we meet someone who makes it beat harder! But have you ever told your heart "thank you?" Have you ever laid your hand on your chest and said "thanks for your thump-thump" and "for putting up with ups and downs I reason you through?" We will reason ourselves silly, then fall flat on our face with angst and rise again!

One. That singular digit, the representative of beginning. On a calendar, its preceded by a 31, or a 30 and that rare "28" or rarer still "29." And that represents a cycle far larger than us. Sure it's time to start something. There are dreams and plans and well thought out goals just waiting for this day, but please bare in mind, while you may have abandoned the old, it might come back for a visit. You may be inclined, when the "new" isn't going the way you planned, to pick up the "old" once again. And be gentle with your heart when it brings back desperate, unneeded coping mechanisms!

Begin...Again!