Thought for The Day - I Blinked

I'm listening 24 x 36 Oils

I could drown in it, most days; the deluge of thoughts, ideas, images, visions, community supports and business ideas. Of course, nothing is of value until you act on it and in that respect, the flood becomes a trickle. But if you're reading this, believe me, that trickle is a growing stream, gaining speed nearly every day. Every weekend, I have plans of working "no matter what." I have a list of things I want to accomplish and tasks I want to start. Some get started, others are replaced by the "normal human things." Laundry, errands, cleaning etc are the normal things. You can't imagine the frustration of having all of this creative energy in you and not having the time or space to allow it to flow. It can get "backed up" and please believe, I KNOW the damage it can wreak on the psyche!

"If you're reading this.." if you are reading this, and have been reading my blogs for only a minute, you know I write a blog a day. I would and could write several throughout the day if time permitted, and still write test cases, talk to coworkers about health, exercise, cars and requirements! I journal sometimes as if my life depended on it; sometimes, I'm certain my sanity requires I do!

But I blinked...meaning for the sake of self-preservation, I have often said: "wait, wait, WAIT!!! I can't do anything with all of this!!!" There is a sense of being overwhelmed, feeling anxiety about the enormity of the task and the limited time available. And I pause to allow reality to gain balance (control) again. Even as I write in this moment, there is that sense of realization; something won't get written, a concept may remain untapped. And yet, for the time being I have to pause, I have to "blink," to allow me to consider the:

• Allotted time available
• Three works crowded on and around my easel - can I give them the right amount of time and energy
• The list of tasks to be completed in the house, my parents and at work
• I'm so exhausted I could try to sleep 12 hours - but rarely get 6
• Possibility that this does not make sense to you, the reader

It doesn't matter if I blink or not, the flow continues and quite honestly...I wouldn't have it any other way! Lord, I thank you for the gifts and the opportunity to express them to "those who will!"

Thought for The Day - Fall and River

Fall and River 12 x 18 pastels

Colors, dulling as the days shrink, the water still flows to the ocean...

It is all miraculous and yet so commonplace, we treat it as common. We have our moments, those isolated fragments of time when we put aside anxiety and see with the eyes of a child, sunlight twinkling through the mesh of leaves and tree limbs. We gaze, every now and then, at a night sky, where the moon shines its halogen glow, a few stars spot the indigo, drowned out by the glow of cities too afraid to sleep.

The river still flows...

There are parts of our life that won't stop 'cause I'm stressing! Farmers are out at 5:00 am, working their land, trying to get that paper, while someone's mom stands on a bus stop to get to that job, with a limited return. Her life is the neighborhood, this bus, her kids and the old storefront church where she's been on the nurse's board for 25 years. The river flows from one generation to another.

Leaves holding summer's warmth in it's fading colors...

The cool weather lasts longer than the dawn, insulating your thoughts, slowing down the pace of life way past getting to work or school. It's like someone stole heat and sunny days; we forget summer's warmth and try to get it in chicken noodle soup or a bowl of chili, the lure of bright colored Halloween personalities, before we settle at the table for Thanksgiving turkey. Passing from one mile marker to the next, brown and black hair replaced by silver, white and grey. A swagger becomes a slurred shuffle, limbs growing tired from carrying dreams that never seem to hatch. Life goes on, but it goes on without us...sometimes...

Thought for The Day - River Flow

Triplicate - 11 x 18 panels (3) Pastels

If you've ever placed your hand, a board, a brick or a sandbag in front of flowing water, you realized how hard it is to prevent it. It doesn't respond to words as we yell it and neither does it change direction. Have you ever paid attention to a drop of water? It works with gravity; put your finger in water, lift it up and watch: the water flows downward every time.

There are so many elements that for all practical purposes, we have little power over. Though its very cold here today, the sun is shining as if it were 90 degrees out! Unless you know the temperature before leaving the house, you might think it's warm and go out the door unprepared for the blast of air that takes your breath away! I considered the many elements, the multiple manifestations of matter that we literally 'swim' in any second of the day and it was near overwhelming! Consider what's happening around you - this is, by no means a comprehensive list:

• right now, you are surrounded by light and energy - whether you are asleep in a dark room or sitting outside, it's flowing around and even "through" you.
• The molecules necessary to produce a rain storm or snow are all around you right now
• You are made of water and so many other elements and molecules
• Right now, your eyes, ears, nose and tongue are working; your body detects temperature, or a comfortable level of humidity. It responds to the air and you decide whether you are comfortable or not. 
• And all of the above - and far more - are evidence of LOVE

Bilal, a singer has a song called: "All Matter;" I'm sure I've mentioned it before. In the chorus he asks the question: "what is love, what is it, what is love, what is it? Cool on the outside hot in the middle, cool on the outside, hot in the middle." Then he suggests "you don't even got to try, all you got to do is realize, you don't even got to try, all you got to do is realize....it's all matter, its all matter...."

Even love, though for all practical definitions is invisible, it is manifest in the physical. We usually think of it in the form of a mother and child or a couple, but God has manifests it in every way possible. From the light, energy and the movement of the universe, all is an expression of LOVE. In response to what you believe is in an absence of it, you might decide to be bitter and "grouchy." You might decide if anyone comes "near you" or tries to be kind to you, you will treat them with contempt and keep them away. But you can no more stop the flow of love than you can a swollen river. The air, the food, even the availability of "inefficient human engineered goods and services" declare LOVE. And whether your food tastes terrible or not, whether someone is "poisoning the air" we breathe, LOVE continues to flow! It flows to you, over you and through you.

You don't even got to try, all you got to do is realize!