thirty five

your happiness is intertwined with your outlook on life.

I am cheating a bit today. sharing an old letter from a great artist featured on another blog (or two or three). it gives a most beautiful perspective.

June 19, 1937

Dear Cedric,

A strange thing happened to me today. I saw a big thundercloud move down over Half Dome, and it was so big and clear and brilliant that it made me see many things that were drifting around inside of me; things that related to those who are loved and those who are real friends.

For the first time I know what love is; what friends are; and what art should be.

Love is a seeking for a way of life; the way that cannot be followed alone; the resonance of all spiritual and physical things. Children are not only of flesh and blood — children may be ideas, thoughts, emotions. The person of the one who is loved is a form composed of a myriad mirrors reflecting and illuminating the powers and thoughts and the emotions that are within you, and flashing another kind of light from within. No words or deeds may encompass it.

Friendship is another form of love — more passive perhaps, but full of the transmitting and acceptance of things like thunderclouds and grass and the clean granite of reality.

Art is both love and friendship, and understanding; the desire to give. It is not charity, which is the giving of Things, it is more than kindness which is the giving of self. It is both the taking and giving of beauty, the turning out to the light the inner folds of the awareness of the spirit. It is the recreation on another plane of the realities of the world; the tragic and wonderful realities of earth and men, and of all the inter-relations of these.

I wish the thundercloud had moved up over Tahoe and let loose on you; I could wish you nothing finer.

Ansel

peace.

thirty four

what will you do today to make tomorrow better?

I am a list maker. grocery list. to-do list. vacation list. packing list. errand list. want list. wish list. honey-do list. not a mission impossible. but always open for and to procrastination.

in my current state of unemployment I have a lot of time on my hands. time that I should use productively. but I find it quite easy to whittle away the hours. on the internet. reading. writing. rarely cleaning. shopping. sometimes cooking. I have several causes to occupy the hours. and happily, newly established volunteer projects that will begin next month have begun to fill the idle moments.

but how to make tomorrow better? wow! I feel that is such a grand plan. a monumental task. some earth-shattering realism. in reality. in my heart. and soul. and head. I see. pray. hope. it is as simple as to become more graceful. gratuitous. gracious. be there. here. where I can do the most good. guide me. give me strength. and patience. with you. with me.

peace.

thirty three

put your unhappiness aside. life is beautiful, be happy.

there is no better advice than this. life is too short. too fragile. too fleeting. to live any other way. we can dwell on the negative. or focus on the positive. see the glass half empty. or half full – and filling rapidly. and oh how glorious a good day feels.

my post today is short and sweet. I am asking ever so nicely. please do not dwell on the bad. the sad. the hurtful and the hatred. it is not good for you. emotionally. physically. or in any other way shape or form. look at what you have. count your blessings. be grateful. gracious. forgiving. tolerant. be in love. share. break down. stand up. laugh. cry.

it’s so easy if you will only let go. let up. let in.




















(image courtesy mbartstudios on pinterest)

peace.

thirty two

never cut what you can untie.

I learned a great many things when I read The Gifts of Imperfection by brene brown. but I remember and reiterate three simple words. courage. compassion. connection.

her definitions are simple and beautifully stated (allow me to paraphrase) …

courage is to speak one’s mind by telling all in one’s heart. courage is acknowledging hurt and not run from it or hurt back. talk about the hard things. things that get in the way. the misunderstood. the mistakes. be accountable. and it takes courage to listen. it takes courage to forgive and move forward. cruelty is never brave.

the heart of compassion is really acceptance. it is impossible to practice compassion from a place of resentment.

connection is to receive with an open heart – putting judgment aside. for everyone involved to be seen, heard and valued. to make love a priority. hatred is destructive.

it is my mantra that we can choose love over fear. love always wins. perhaps the ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but to hold hands. in my house we hold hands.

peace.