Thought for The Day - Small

That little boy, skinny - ridiculously so - who, in his head was a little muscleman! LOL! A yellow No. 2 pencil in his hand, trying to draw a flower growing out of pot, the underbelly of a car, the "Mach 5," and on and on. Trying to master this drawing thing; trying to learn how to color within the lines as his older cousins did so well. And thinking about how to get his hands on a paint set and when he does, being disappointed that it didn't look like the picture on the box! That little boy, wanting to fit in, but so sure he didn't, he stayed to himself and created a world of his own...

Fifty-two at my last birthday; two young adult children of my own and a fifteen year old who is taller than me. I'm far from 'skinny,' now, but a great deal of my mass is muscle! Years of "on again, off again," weight training and big meals and I'm consistently over 200 pounds - way over! I wouldn't say I've "mastered" pencil or painting tools; what I like to believe is it is a life long process of developing skills and more importantly, speaking images into form. At the moment, I'm not nervous about the lack of work created because when my hands aren't busy, my mind is so active, I would need to concurrently work five canvases to get all this stuff out! And I don't 'sweat' that I'm not in a studio for eight hours a day because, this is another step in the growth process. Baby steps...

Last night I spent some time working on "Linen - A Storm's Coming," and realized that techniques I either learned in college or just "figured out" on my own were the finishing touches to bring this piece to completion. The image is more than I would have thought possible and had to "grow" organically. And like me, it's "end" is far larger than it's beginning...

"Who dares despise the day of small things?" Zechariah 4:10 NIV

Thought for The Day - When No One is Looking

A Rhythm of Her Own 18 x 24 pastels

It’s not a matter of who’s watching

When no one is supposed to see you

But who you are

In those unscripted moments

When your mind reflects your thoughts back at you

When you see you as a child

As an adult

And as so much more and

Yet so simple

Pure Human

Carved out of light and matter

Smiling

A private joke

A moment all your own

I’ve seen you in those moments

When no one is looking

A thousand faces and bodies hovering about

No one finds you in that moment

But me

And quite suddenly

And by accident

You aren’t self aware

Or other aware

Just aware of a world no larger than the body you inhabit

All images and expressions are the exclusive property of Eddie L. Hudson. Do not reproduce without permission.

Thought for The Day - Tip of The Iceberg

Well they are almost gone; apparently the temperatures of the world have gotten to a point that the icebergs floating in climates that were cool to cold, have melted away. But the idea that a mound, or mountain of water, frozen for hundreds of years, floating around like a mobile mountain fascinated us! And the saying "it's just the tip of the iceberg" was apparently true. Though they were taller than most ships, what floated beneath the surface was far deeper and larger! Impressive, awesome and potentially deadly. Here's a thought: perhaps the world's water supply is "improved" with the melting of the glaciers. Maybe the minerals and elements stored there are released into the water and sea creatures have a fighting chance against man's greed. Just a thought.

"Tip of the Iceberg"... What lies beneath the surface is far more than meets the eye! You and I my friend! When you consider what lies beneath your surface, what comes to mind? What emotion, reasoning or attitude comes to mind? Do you imagine yourself as damaged, worthless, happy, joyous, introspective (which can be "good" or "bad") or outgoing? I recall years ago, a young lady declared in Sunday school class I taught: "I don't trust nobody!" She said it with such conviction and emotion, that immediately I felt there was far more to those four words. My fellow teacher said, "You have to trust someone; you can't live in this world without trusting people." Both were right in that moment, but here's my point: that young lady, in that moment, pulled up painful memories where an expectation wasn't met, a desire left unfulfilled by someone who should be in a position to meet. Isn't that our lives at any given time?

What is unseen defines what is seen. I quoted the song a few weeks ago and it bears repeating:

"Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream..."

My friend, we put a great deal of emphasis into what is visible and perhaps we should. But understand, what is seen springs from a world we don't perceive. Our thoughts, the very fabric of the universe is made of far more elements than our science world has yet to discover! Truthfully, it's not in the realm of science to define everything; some things have to be perceived through belief and faith. And no matter your relationship to the community of faith, one would be hard put to refute the many examples of "some thing coming out of nothing."

Be, my friend. Be.