Thought for The Day - Decoding

I'm a fan of learning and a fairly wide scope of topics. Sitting here now, there are any number of sites open in tabs in my browser. As I sit here, I feel like I have antennae scanning the room and the house; measuring the state of affairs of the world, my children and determining the messages in lyrics of songs. I dive in deep, depending on the song or I sit at the edge of the pool and observe the depths, waves and light bouncing off the water, for it's beauty. In my opinion, there is no single way to learn and nearly everything is fascinating.

I take pleasure in the process of discovery; certainly there are bumps and hiccups along the way, but there is nothing more rewarding than seeing something through. I often compare the process to working on a jigsaw puzzle or a particularly challenging word puzzle. It's about examining the parts in light of the whole. The steps to assemble, break up, examine and act are critical to this process.

And in all of this, there is a deep underlying message; a word or expression that can set us free! Free from ________ and to ________, well that's part of the mystery! But it's a journey I've been on all my life. And whether I uncover it in part or whole, well that's also part of the challenge! I hope you are doing your part to unravel life's mystery. I feel the process and the goal are equally rewarding!

Thought for The Day - Troublin' Times

Oh it's a troublin'
These days and times
We don't know where we're goin
 And we sho' don't know how to get there!

I look out my window and see the movement of traffic north and south. All day, cars (people) going and coming, visiting and leaving, here and there. A billion thoughts, feelings, memories, todays and tomorrows going by. While it is dark, their thoughts are driving by, not resting, not enjoying a warm bed or the arms of a lover. It is, indeed 'troubled times.' Like a constant churning of waters from below, it leaves us all 'unsettled' and wondering.

I guess we love our drama...we like it served on fine china, on mahogany dining tables underneath crystal chandeliers. We like to trouble the waters - in another's life - and complain when others aren't giving us our dessert with the silver plated dessert fork. We are a troubled people.

All across the land, over the seas and in the far reaches of continents undiscovered (Maybe they should remain undiscovered; there might be peace there. But Lord knows we won't let it remain that way!), trouble rules the land! And when we lie down, our dreams are full of the raging, boiling waters of turmoil and chaos.

And yet the children play when we let them... undisturbed, full of laughter and not a care (trouble) in the world. But not for long; we need them as fodder for this fight!

Thought for The Day - Tracing Lines

Soul Dance 8 x 11 colored pencils

I've got my finger on the pulse

I'm drawing it across the path

Following the link

From source

To the place where it's needed

But I don't understand what's going on

Some mysteries are too deep to explain in a paragraph

And the network of interconnected lines and pathways

Too complex to map

At least, not alone

This is a group effort

Needs a team approach

The pattern

The intersecting lines

And the interwoven material

Leave me scratching my head

Thought for The Day - This is Where We are Now

Let's admit it: our crystal ball is broken and our "sticks" are defective. We can't see very well into the future, so we make guesses based on where we are at the moment - as if nothing new can ever occur.

• phones with cameras, email and text messages
• social networking with people you've never met in person, living in countries far away
• Traveling in trucks as smooth as a cadillac
• A four year degree that costs as much as a home

Our world is full of surprises and what we did yesterday may not be what we continue to do next week. Life shifts and the dream career becomes sour and unsatisfying. A child you thought would not accomplish much, surprises you and becomes the CEO of his own corporation. 

Roller coasters...that's what life like seems like. Hold on, we're going up, down and who knows maybe outside down!

Thought for The Day - Beneath the Surface

Externally, smiling
Within, something else
On the surface, quiet and shy
Beneath the surface, 100,000 ideas are flying about
On the surface, a somber yellow
Beneath, a kaleidoscope of colors and patterns...

For each of us, what is unseen is far more than what is seen. The eyes, to the observant, give away a hint at what's behind them, but we remain a mystery to  one another.

Thought for The Day - The Unspoken Tongue

The Elements - 36 x 42, Oils

Red typically represents excitement, energy or passion. But it can also represent blood, which is life or in some cases, death.

Blue, depending on its shade, represents sky, water, cool, mellow or relaxed.

Green usually means life or nature.

Orange usually represents energy as well, but because of the association with the fruit, it can mean nutrition and healthy eating.

Yellow represents light, illumination and of course energy.

Without much thought, whether you have a favorite color or not, when you wear certain colors, it reflects your mood or personality. For some, it may represent a subtle impression about the environment where you are or you're going. Certain patterns in clothes, loaded with colors, attract us as we're shopping. Years ago, while working at a particularly reserved bank, a consultant came through and seeing the tie I wore that day, he said: "That's a power tie! That tie means something!" Mind you, I loved the subtle browns, deep oranges and burgundy colors of the tie and I know in some strange way, I liked the way it made me feel, but I hadn't given much thought to what others would think. I especially didn't think of it as a power tie and most importantly what "power" it gave!

Years ago, in college, a teacher of mine critiqued the above painting and said that I forced background tones to the foreground and vice-a-versa. Once again, I didn't see it that way; I only knew the feeling I had rendering it. I loved the way the colors moved and seemed to have an energy of their own.

There are things we immediately "know" while others dance around the periphery of our understanding. We can assume it's day because the sun is up or if you're like me, rising before it does, you know it because you're body responds to the time of morning. But there will always remain a degree of mystery; some facts remain incognito. But we can know about them, we can experience them without naming or identifying them.

Have you ever felt like the floor was dropping beneath you, or as if the area where you stood tilted? More on that another time.

Thought for The Day - The Well

A Response 24 x 36 Oil

I wondered how deep the well ran...

As a child, for a few days of the summer, we traveled south to Mississippi and Arkansas, visiting my parents aunts and uncles. Both had a few cows, more chickens and a few horses or mules; the folks were old and spent last time working the land than used to. But on my father's land, there was a well that his aunt used as one of her sources of water. A well with a bucket attached to a rope that you lowered to get water from the bottom of it. I don't think I've been too many places since and seen a working well. Anyway, if you wanted water for cooking, cleaning and drinking, this was the best way to get it. And the water was cool and delicious! I remember thinking how could the water be so cold when it was so hot outside! But it was and we drink it often.

I remember wondering how water was below the ground; did it just sit down there? Or was it flowing here, there and...you get the point.

Makes me wonder still, when I think of sources, are they just lying there waiting to be 'tapped?' I've been trying to get to the bottom of this, quite literally, all my life. A deeper searching and understanding of this living, this life. Seeing beauty in the mysteries of life as well as the simple and common. A drop of water, coming from your eye, or as will be the case in a few minutes, water dripping in the form of sweat...from my body...really...where is the well?

The source...the necessities of life supplied...