Simplicity

Simplicity.

Calming. Soothing. Quiet.

My pages just lately have felt very busy and a bit overwrought. I suppose it reflects my thoughts, but it can get a bit much some days! So here is a simple page to try to bump me out of my rut. It was made with gelli-printed greaseproof paper, a little scrawl of leaves, and a few lines of Neocolor II.

Whenever you feel a bit overwrought, find ways to simplify your life. It may be that you need to clear your calendar for a day. Or maybe you need to sit down with a special mug of coffee and a book for an hour before the children come home from school. Find the thing that works for you and simplify.

Sometimes I feel...

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed...

... by the size of the universe and the smallness of man.

... by the beauty of creation.

... by the whirling, barely-formed thoughts that whizz around my head.

... by the love I feel and receive.

Obvious

The meaning isn't always obvious.

For some reason I couldn't get away from the 'tree' shape reminding me of Hebrew writing. I think it's something to do with the particular curve on the 'leaves'. Who knows! But just as I can't read Hebrew, I also have no idea what this page is all about.

It just reminds me that we don't always know what things mean, even when we think we do. Quite often we misunderstand what other people say to us. Even when we think we know what they said, we can be mistaken.

The meaning isn't always obvious, so look at things from many angles.

Serve

Serve: do what needs to be done rather than what you'd prefer.

I've been taking a skills inventory, but my skills and passion aren't necessarily what are needed in this particular place at this particular time.

But there are things that need to be done right now that I can do.

So if I truly want to serve, that's what I need to do. For now.

Badly drawn

Some days I feel badly drawn.

This page felt like it was getting out of hand. There was too much going on. I grabbed a pen and drew this face with my non-dominant hand, hoping to pull it all together. The face felt badly drawn to me, but then I realised that sometimes I feel like that, too 😳

A pale imitation

A pale imitation. That's what this small circle is, imitating but not mirroring the larger circle. It has some of the same marks, the same colours, but is a pale imitation.

I am a work in progress.

As yet a pale imitation of Christ.

Pulling together

Drawing all the parts together.

When I stood back and looked at the background for this page, I realised that I had stuck down two pieces from the same gelli-print at the top and bottom of the page. The print was made using a fern leaf and I felt that I needed to draw in the central stem, joining the pieces back together so they didn't fly off opposite sides of the page.

As I contemplate my next steps, I feel like I'm drawing parts back together that may have moved to the edges. This doesn't mean having to lose all the stuff in between, but in some way arranging everything to fit together without losing anything; to use all I have and all that I am because we each have a unique history and set of gifts with which to serve the world.

Thought spilling

Sometimes you just have to let your thoughts spill out. Art journals are great for that! I'm firmly of the school that says you don't have to be able to read everything you've written after the fact. You don't always want to revisit your thoughts. For me, the thoughts often turn into prayers. I find that if I start with what I'm thinking my mind is cleared to see what I need to be praying about.

Emerging

Emerging...

What you know

Go with what you know instead of letting what you don't know paralyse you.
(paraphrased from Mike Donehey)

It can be so easy to let what we don't know hold us back, especially if you are the sort of person who can easily see all the risks.

It is easier to turn a ship if it is moving. Yes, it can take a long time to turn, but the forward momentum helps. A course correction can only be made if you're actually on a course. If you stand around waiting to know for sure which way to move forward, you're not going anywhere.

What if I take the 'wrong' path? Well, then you just turn around and retrace your steps, or find a path that links back up with where you want to be going. Maybe by taking that path you'll discover something new.

Moving forward with the knowledge you have - using the gifts you've been given in the ways you know how - is the best thing you can do until you have more information. So let's move forward until we receive a course correction.