Life is a journey

Heyyyyyyyyyy, I’m back. It’s been sooooo long since I’ve been on WordPress, and I’ve been longing to get back into creating and drawing and painting and all sorts of artsy stuff.

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Today I want to talk about choices. Life is all about making choices. We make daily, simple choices like what clothes to wear, what food to eat and what time to sleep. These simple choices determine our quality of life, like health, body image, and well-being. We also make bigger, often more difficult choices like which career to pursue, who to marry and how many children to have. Such choices determine our wealth, relationships and social status.

Our choices bring with them consequences, which oftentimes effect not only ourselves but others as well. There is an old saying, “You reap what you sow,” which is not only true in agriculture but works as a spiritual principle as well.

I have been meditating on a verse in the Bible lately that says, “Understand this… …be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving]. This is not an easy task, especially for an impulsive extrovert such as myself. The person that is able to choose to keep their mouth shut, carefully and thoughtfully listen, be patient and reflective instead of bursting out in anger, and forgive those that have wronged them, is a very wise and virtuous individual. I want to reap the good that comes from choosing these attitudes. How about you?

How have you reaped the choices you have sown?

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The Need to Create

Inspiration

I absolutely love it when an artistic or creative idea comes to mind. I never really considered myself a very creative person growing up, but I was also very lost. Lost in society and in knowing who and whose I was. There wasn’t much that inspired me, but now inspiration comes often.

As a Christian, I believe that humanity has been made in the image and likeness of God. So then, if we have been made in His image and He is the creator of the heavens and Earth, then that means we have an amazing ability to create. I would even go as far to say that we have a need to create.

Edith Schaeffer said, “Encouraged, we recognize the importance of living artistically, aesthetically and creatively as creative creatures of the creator.”

Francis Shaeffer said, “Art is a reflection of God’s creativity, an evidence that we are made in the image of God.”

Vida Dutton Scudder said, “Creation is a better means of self-expression than possession; it is through creating, not possessing, that life is revealed.

How do you like to express yourself creatively? Where does your inspiration come from?

You Inspire Me

You Inspire Me – Poem on Oil

I love to create. I believe we were made to create. It’s like a driving force within. There’s a certain high that comes with creating something. The inspiration high.

I am a huge fan of the Ted Talks. There’s this one I’ve watched a couple of times by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of ‘Eat, Pray, Love’. She spoke about creativity and how it could be divinely inspired. She shared the following:

In ancient Greece and ancient Rome people did not happen to believe that creativity came from human beings back then. People believed that creativity was this divine attendant spirit that came to human beings from some distant and unknowable source for distant and unknowable reasons. The Greeks famously called these divine attendant spirits of creativity ‘Daemons’. Socrates famously believed that he had a Daemon who spoke to him from afar. The Romans had the same idea but they called that sort of disembodied spirit a ‘Genius’, which was great because the Romans did not actually think that a genius was a particularly clever individual. They believed that a genius was this sort of magical divine entity who was believed to literally live in the walls of an artist’s studio … and who would come out and invisibly assist the artist with their work and who would shape the outcome of that work (source).

Now I don’t believe that there are genius’ in the walls, but I do believe that creativity and inspiration can be divine and is something that has been carved – breathed – into each of us. Like I mentioned in a past post, we all have an impulse to create. It’s in our veins.

Do you love to create? Do you believe that we were made to create? Where do you think creativity and inspiration comes from?

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The above poem is one that I wrote some time ago. I wanted to embed it into an original art piece, because in the past I had it embedded in a photograph. I’m not completely happy about the way the painting turned out, but I guess that’s all part of the learning process.

Please forgive me if I’ve been a little distant lately. I have been quite busy. I will be around very soon though ok. 🙂 ❤

The Quiet Journey (Monotetra)

The Quiet Journey – Monotetra poem on Oil

Do you think of life as a journey? I do. Looking back, I can easily see that my life has been a journey. The experiences I’ve had. The ups and downs. The joys and pains. The good decisions and the bad, as well as the consequences that came with them. I’ve suffered a lot, and I’ve experienced great joy and peace. I’ve thought a lot and grappled with my world-view. God willing, I still have a good number of years ahead of me, so I know that this journey continues. I’m very thankful that I don’t walk it alone, and that I am constantly learning and growing. I know that the phase, or season that I am currently living will come to an end, and mesh into the beginning of the next one. And when my life comes to an end… that’s just the beginning to a whole new phase.

Do you think of your life as a journey? Have you considered how your experiences and choices have shaped you into who you are today?

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The above poem is a Monotetra, which is a form that is made up of four lines in a stanza, each line being eight syllables long and each line rhyming. The last line in a stanza is a couplet of four syllables repeated. This is also in response to “The Reverie Journal’s weekly prompt, which this is week was “Quiet Journey”.

Dance me

Do you think that we, as humans, can benefit from times of pain and suffering? Do you think it teaches us timeless lessons and builds character? I do.

Nobody wants to go through painful experiences, but it seems like going through the tough times is what causes true growth and maturity in our lives. It’s like the age-old adage, “No pain, no gain”.

Allow me to share a few famous quotes about the good found in diversity.

“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” –Walt Disney

“You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.”  –Epicurus 

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit.”  –Napoleon Hill

These quotes hold a lot of wisdom. I’ve been through the wringer when it comes to inner pain and suffering. All I wanted during those times was to be rid of it all. In retrospect though, I see how they have shaped me, grown me and made me into the person I am today.

How about you? Have you gone through times of pain, suffering, adversity? Have you allowed it to shape you? To be your teacher? Have you grown wiser and allowed it to develop character in you? What painful experience have you gone through, in looking back, you can see that it has produced gold by being refined in the fire?

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This post is an updated version of one I’ve done before. I added another stanza to the poem and have embedded it into my original art. I have put music together and hope to record in the near future.

This is also in response to a 3-day quote challenge that I received from Pearl at “writeintent1“. Three quote for three days and nominating three others. I will be cheating though. I won’t be doing it for three consecutive days (time restraints) and I would like to challenge anyone that would like to take this on to go ahead and do it.

 

The Little Drummer Boy

Christmas girl

Are you an expert in anything? In art? In poetry? In photography? In parenting? In life? In anything at all?

The little drummer boy wasn’t, and he knew it. Heck, he was just a kid. An insignificant little boy. He probably came from a humble background. Maybe his father was a shepherd, which wasn’t considered a first class profession.

One thing he did possess though was curiosity and wonder. Like any little child, he wanted to know what all the excitement was about. “Come!” they told him. “A king has been born and we are taking our finest gifts to honor him.”

That little boy didn’t care if he was amongst the elite. Those that had fine gold and perfume. Those that possessed wealth and wisdom.

When they arrived at the humble stable, the little boy noticed that Jesus was just a poor boy, like him. He had to be, because the rich don’t have babies in stables. He knew, though, that Jesus was special. He was a king. The little boy didn’t feel like he had anything to offer him that would be worthy of honor. Nothing that would be fit for a king. He so badly wanted to give Jesus something, so he offered to play his drum for him. That’s all he had. Nothing material. Nothing with a price tag. Just his little drum that he carried around his neck.

So he played his drum for Jesus. Even the animals swayed with the tune. He played his very best for him, which was probably not perfect, being that he was just a young boy. He played with passion, and gave it his all. He knew he was doing it for a king.

Then Jesus smiled at him. W O W! The story doesn’t mention him smiling at the frankincense. It doesn’t mention him smiling at the myrrh. It doesn’t even mention him smiling at the gold. No. He smiled at the humble performance given with passion. He smiled at the gift given out of humility. The gift given from the heart.

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The Little Drummer Boy is my favourite Christmas carol. I love the simplicity and sweetness of it. What is your favourite Christmas carol and why?

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The above article was written for the faith arts community, His Kingdom Come, where devotional articles are being published daily for the advent season.

 

 

Hope in the wasteland

Mixed media – Hope

Wasteland:  A barren or desolate area of land, not or no longer used for cultivation or building. a region, period in history, etc, that is considered spiritually, intellectually, or aesthetically barren or desolate ⇒ ■ American television is a cultural wasteland. –Google

T.S. Elliot, the author of one of the most influential poems of the 20th century, “The Wasteland“, was deeply bothered by what western culture had become. The Wasteland was an expression of that. Thankfully, his lack of hope didn’t last.

A quote from his poem, “The Four Quartets“:

I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love
For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith
but the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:
So the darkness shall be the light and the stillness, the dancing.

Do you believe that western culture has become somewhat of a cultural wasteland? Have you ever read any of T.S. Elliot’s poetry?

Color me pink

Color me Pink – Part 3 of a 9 part poem on mixed media

Have you ever felt pink? I have. I know that most guys reading this will not be able to relate (sorry guys), but I bet you guys have appreciated it when your girlfriend or wife has been feeling pink.

Pink is a special color to feel. It’s the color that says, “Ahhhhh, I think I’ll go down to the outdoor market to buy some flowers today. Maybe daisies or gerberas to display on the dining room table.

It’s the color that comes in that sweet-smelling perfume. Maybe a floral or a vanilla bean.

It’s the color that comes in that pretty little sun dress that one wears on a late spring day. Maybe out to the park, or on an early evening stroll.

It’s the color of little girls dancing in their first ballet, or playing indoors on a rainy day.

Yes, pink is a special color indeed.

What comes to mind when you think of the color pink? How does pink feel to you?

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This is the third part of a nine-part poem and mixed media project I am working on. The ‘Color Me’ poem I wrote just over a year ago and can be read here. I would like to dedicate this post to the lovely Trini. She is the most pink person I know, and I love that about her.

Butterfly Tears

Mixed media and poem

Butterflies often symbolize transformation, and rightly so. I mean, they start out as a creepy crawly caterpillar, bound to the ground. Then they hide away for a bit in seclusion, all alone. Once their cocoon breaks open, they are set free. They’re given a new colourful body and wings to fly.

I like to compare this process of metamorphosis in the natural world to my own life experience. I see myself as this sad, dark and empty girl in the artwork above. Not me today, but years ago when I was young and immature. Years ago when I was asking what the heck I was doing here on Earth. When I was living an empty, meaningless life, without direction or purpose.

When I came to my senses and decided to leave that life behind, my transformation started. It didn’t happen overnight though. I spun a good thick cocoon because it took time. A long time. I am thankful that God has pulled me through. I owe it all to Him, because I know that I couldn’t do it alone. Nobody can.

I would love to know if you can relate to this at all. Please share your own experience.

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The above painting was done on recycled material. An empty cereal box actually.

Music and Stars

I have taken the plunge and decided to do a mixed media art course online. This is the first art piece, which is actually the warm-up, where there was an introduction to colors and the color wheel. It’s just meant to be an intuitive piece and the words I came up with as my message to this piece are written within the hearts, “My heart is hidden away with you. You rejoice over me with singing.” Part of this comes from the Bible verse, “He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will renew you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” I love this verse. It makes me think about how God’s love for me is not far off and based on religious rituals, but He feels for me as an Earthly parent would feel for their young child.