Painting a Work of Art

I will hold you in my arms
In my mind
In my heart

I will paint with vivid colors
Through my life
A work of art

Do you think of your life as a work of art? I know I’ve touched on this before in the area of poetry, but I would like to touch on this now in the form of art in general. Yes, I believe that our lives are like poems. Some are sad. Some are intense. Some are flowery. Some are light. Some are dark. I like to think of mine as a plethora of experiences – emotional, intellectual, physical and spiritual. Holistic in a sense.

Albert Einstein said, “Only a life lived for others is a life worth living.” Wow. What do you think of that? I think it’s a pretty darn powerful statement. It seems so counter-culture for our modern times, where personal peace, affluence and the quest of ‘being happy’ and collecting things for personal gain seem to be high on humanity’s priority list.

These two cuties above are my children. I wrote this little poem (if you’d like to call it that) about them. Western culture seems to demean a woman staying home with her children, and not being realized professionally, as something bad. As a waste of life. As if she’s making herself and her life less than what it could be. I don’t see it that way. I see it as a life fulfilled. A life with far less stress and rushing about. A life of more tranquility, peace and fulfillment in what I invest in.

Yes, I think Albert Einstein just may have been right. After all, he was considered an amazing genius.

What are you investing your life in? Are you painting a picture of vivid colors? How are you doing so? Do you believe that a woman is ‘throwing her life away’ by staying with her children and investing in their good? Do you think she is a woman that is unfulfilled in life?

FFTF: Spirit – Patience & not giving up / Body – Chicken Veggie Risotto

It’s Food For Thought Friday.  Food for the spirit and the body.

Spirit

I absolutely love Albert Einstein.  I think much of what he said was absolutely genius.  I mean, he was considered a genius.  He is one of the people from the past that is suspected to have had Asperger’s Syndrome.  So, being that my son is an ‘Aspie’ I have even more of an appreciation for him now.  The following is one of his quotes.

People that have Asperger’s Syndrome tend to become obsessed with whatever it is that interests them at the time.  Right now my son is all into dinosaurs.  He literally becomes one.  I’m teaching him to read in English and I’m using a phonics course online by ‘Clicknkids’.  It’s phenomenal and very helpful in having a structured step-by-step process of learning the language.  However, he started to get really upset and was traumatized by seeing his name on the screen.  I decided to change his screen name to ‘Velociraptor’ and now he’s very happy to continue learning.

I will confess that I am not a patient person, and my experiences with Cauê have just proven that more and more. This quote above speaks to me about patience and not giving up, which is something that is very ‘real’ for me right now.  It’s like the saying goes, “Good things come to those who wait”.

Albert Einstein knew the benefits of being patient. He didn’t expect microwavable results. He knew that if he persevered and lingered in the presence of the problem at hand, he would see good come of it.  That would be his reward.  His answers and understanding would come to him, so longing he stayed with the problem longer.  So longing he was patient enough to wait it out.

Food For Thought:
How about you?  Would you consider yourself a patient person?  What problems do you need to stay with longer in order to see breakthrough?  Are you waiting it out? Leave a comment if you would…=)

Body

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breast fillets
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 onion
• 1 pepper (green, red, yellow, etc.)
• 2 tomatos
• 1 carrot shredded
• 2 cups shredded kale
• 1 bouillon cube (chicken or vegetable)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon mixed seasoning (like Mrs. Dash or Italian)
• 1 cup long grain brown rice
• a little olive oil
• 3 cups water

Directions:

Put a little olive oil in a small pot, add the rice and mix on low heat until the oil has coated the rice.  add three cups of water and allow to cook (you won’t cook all the way through though.  Just until it’s almost done.)

Cut the chicken in cubes.  Chop the garlic, onion, pepper and tomato.

Sauté the garlic and bouillon cube for 30 seconds in 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large saucepan or wok on low heat.  Add the chicken and stir fry until it’s no longer pink.  Add the onions first, and then soon after add the pepper and tomato.  Stir fry for a few minutes until the onions and peppers are soft.  Add the salt, seasoning, broccoli and shredded carrot. Transfer the rice (almost done) over to the large saucepan/wok and stir in to incorporate it with the chicken and veggies.  Add the shredded kale right before finishing, cooking it just enough to soften it.

Enjoy.  Have a great weekend.