New words

 

Fargin - we need more of it.

I learned a new word this week. It's Yiddish, and I think it's a lovely word that we need more of in the world. It means 'to wholeheartedly appreciate the successes of others.' Isn't that great? This world, with its competition, its oneupmanship, its envy and desire for success, needs people who cheerlead others when they have a win. We need people who will get behind others and celebrate with them instead of feeling that they are competing with them. There's nothing wrong with a little competition so long as it is healthy and we are able to lose gracefully.

So let us practice fargin and make the world a kinder place.

Winter approaches

 

In the southern hemisphere we are heading towards winter. 

I love the strong colours in this page. It made me think of a landscape even before I added the tree. Then the tree made me think of winter, and how it follows the autumn - a fruitful season. I feel a little like I'm in a personal winter, living on the fruit gathered in the autumn. I had a six month period of painting, producing fruit, and now I'm 'using' that produce. 

We need winters, even if we find them difficult. Without them we don't have the breathing space to gather our energy for another fruitful season. We can try, and maybe do a few years in a row, but eventually we burn out. So winters are necessary, but they can still be colourful as we experiment and play and see what ideas start to germinate in the spring.

I love the little red marks here, and the purple patch that appeared because of the overlap of colours. 

Last minute

 

When you have to wait on others before you can make plans...

We all have them - those 'last minute' friends who are consistently late, or only tell you they're coming at the point where you only just have enough time to prepare. For an introvert this is really stressful! Yes, I'm one of those people who is always early; plans the menu for the week before going shopping; doesn't cope well with sudden changes in routine or surprises. I'm sure plan-as-you-go extroverts find me equally stressful, and it wouldn't do if we were all the same. But! I'm allowed to find it frustrating 😊

One thing

 

Change one thing.

This page had a greener shade on it at one point in its creation, as you can see below. Once I put some teal on top of it, I knew the green had to go. Changing that one thing changed the whole feel of the page for me. 

Sometimes changing one thing - even a small thing - can make all the difference. Changing the time your alarm goes off by twenty minutes so that you can do that thing you want to start doing and feel that you don't have the time for. Taking a short walk during your lunch hour instead of sitting at your desk to improve your fitness. Putting your phone down half an hour before you switch off the light and reading instead to improve your sleep.

What's the one thing that would make all the difference in your life right now?

And now the wait

 

You make the paintings.

Find somewhere to exhibit.

Put in your expression of interest. 

Then you wait.

I have two EOIs out there at the moment. One of them will get back to me by the end of the first week of April. The other towards the end of April. So I'm waiting.

In the meantime, I keep creating in my journal and think about the next series of paintings. Looking forward to getting started :)

Comfort

 

We can stay in our comfort zone, peering out and watching life go by, or we can venture out into the light and live. 

I couldn't see anything else but being inside a cave and looking out at the sunshine on this page. It can be so easy to hide away where we feel safe, never venturing far from our 'cave'. But it's a life of shadows and fear. We need to go out into the light, even if we return to the cave at the end of the day. Sometimes we need to be somewhere comfortable. There are times of stress and exhaustion where our body and mind need to be in that comfort zone, but it isn't a place to live in all the time. 

We all need reminding to step out of that comfort zone from time to time for the exact reason that it's comfortable.

Days

 

The days follow on.

It's been a week since I last posted because I ended up working three days instead of one in the bookshop last week. Suddenly I had less time and the days flowed together, leaving me tired after all that 'peopling'. It made me realise why I don't want to work full-time. All the other things I do don't just disappear because I'm out of the house more. The washing still needs doing, I still have a bunch of admin stuff to do, and there is a lot less energy available when I get home. 

Sometimes it's good to get out of your normal routine just to realise that they way you live your life - in my case, slowly - is justified.

Company

 

Travelling together.

The three white marks on this page made me think of people walking. We walk through life with company. Not always the same people, but with companions nonetheless. Companions help us up when we fall, and we do the same for them. They provide sounding boards for ideas, help us to talk through problems, and we carry our burdens together. Some of our companions are lifelong - family, for example - or very long-term, such as a spouse or close friend. They know a lot about us and have walked through difficult times with us, as we with them. Others are only around for a season, but we walk alongside one another as long as we are on the same path. 

So how good a travelling companion are you?