Completion

Being whole, thorough, complete. A person who has it all and not all the trappings; someone who knows their value, appreciates the moment they live in, as they contemplate their state and strives for growing, expanding and learning. I choose that path, that "being;" it is a constant state to maintain and at moments I regress to being incomplete and lonely. Both sides exist in me. They exist in you as well.

In a given day, whether you work a job, are retired or unemployed, we rise, start the process of our day and go about completing tasks, connecting and taking care of self. Moments throughout that day, you are aware of your joys, empathy, emptiness, longing and connection to others. A phone call, lunch with a friend or family, full of laughs, regrets and filling in the facts of life; a range of ideas, emotions and sharing. And this is life. Now maybe some time spent with others is less than fulfilling. Maybe some people drain you with an endless dumping of their "issues" and not a moment to hear your state of affairs...yeah I get it. I remember one friend told me I "didn't have any problems." Really?

We are in a state of moving, growing and expanding. Perhaps it may seem best to leave somethings in your past, to abandon some ways. Perhaps. But examine your life to see if those habits and personality types appear again at some point. They just might be what makes your life...complete.

Thought for The Day - Remaining Calm

Linen, Remaining Calm 30 x 40 oil (in process!)

The best laid plans of mice and men...

I can start a piece, intent on going "this way." But subtle changes crop up, appear dazzling and grand and I'm off in a different direction. The wonderful thing about it, is the entire process is a lesson in planning and trusting God to guide me along the way. A coworker had a saying up years ago: "Man plans, G__ laughs." I prefer to think of it as it's said in Proverbs 16:1: "To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue."

"Remaining Calm (working title, already changed from yesterday)" is a piece about just that: Calm, and remaining that way. Personally, I'm a big of calm, of smooth of peaceful. Even now, a recording by Pat Metheny plays in the background and in Pat's style, there is often this sense of something "epic" going on. But there's always a sense of tranquility. Creativity can be chaotic; often that's exactly what it is. The process can be full of anger, frustration and a sense of loss. But the completed product, the fully laid out message defines a start, a middle and an ending. In that sense, all messages are alike, but what is said, what is communicated through music, dance, fashion and in my case word and visually, is completion.

Peace.

Thought for The Day - Good Little Soldier

sketch for Pre-Dawn Light 18 x 24 charcoal

The daily grind; it's ingrained in your head, beaten in by routine and a sense of safety and security. You have become an expert at "getting it done," and to the world around, you're the model citizen.

But you honestly despise the course of your life and have for a long time. From the time of day you wake to the time you go to sleep, your root emotion is anger and frustration at the direction your life takes. Oh you wouldn't readily admit it, "responsible adults" are supposed to go to jobs and earn money and pay bills. Isn't that what everyone does? But everyone also struggles with weight, diet, exercise and downing that handful of prescription drugs that never quite cures their ailments. And for everyone, the only relief experienced occurs for a few brief hours in the evening and on Saturdays. And everyone assumes this won't end until retirement, that time of "magic" when the only expectation is living on a fixed income and waiting for the long sleep. But while "everyone" is feeling and living this way, you secretly ask yourself: "Is this really all there is?"

In the back of your head, tucked in the corner of the attic of your thoughts, is a notion of another way to live. And secretly, you believe you can live above the daily rush, the trips to Home Depot for fertilizer and the annual doctor exams that never resolve your ache. You believe not a single cure exists for what "ails you," but an overall dramatic change can dramatically alter your existence -- from the inside out. And who knows, maybe that can affect everyone around you. 

But go on, be a good little soldier, and rush off to work, now... Or...