Energy

 

Choose carefully what you give your energy to.

This is my first post of this week because I've been giving my energy to other things. The summer has finally arrived here in Adelaide and I've been feeling the lassitude that comes with the heat. When energy is in short supply we must think carefully about what we choose to use it for. I had a couple of social engagements at the beginning of the week, and that, combined with the heat, meant that I was a bit wiped out.

So instead of journalling (although I have done a few minutes each day), my creativity has been going into new shirts for Zach. Here's the first one - we call it 'the space unicorn shirt':

Make your mark

 

How will you leave your mark this year?

What are you going to do that's new?

How are you going to build on what you've already done?

What marks will you leave on the lives of others? Will they be good or not so helpful?

How will you leave your mark on the planet? On history?

None of us leave this life without leaving a mark on others, so let's decided to make it a good one.

New starts

 

Any time is a good time for a new start. 

We make a lot of fuss about changing things for a new year. The start of a new year feels like the best time to make a new start, but really any time is a good time to make that new start, to change your habits, to begin again. So don't be hard on yourself. Make the new start whenever you need to.

Direction not goal

 

Set a direction rather than a goal. 

It can be disheartening to not reach a goal. We can get 99% of the way there and still miss it. Does that make you a failure?

But if you set a direction, even if you don't get a long way, you can celebrate each step you make. It's the difference between a lifestyle change and a diet. 

Focus

What's your focus for the new year? 

What are you going to concentrate on?

What will you put your energy into and toward?

Will you expand your horizons or hone in on one thing?

Things to be considered...

And for those who wanted to see the origami angels, imagine this as a 10 foot long curtain moving in the gentle breeze from the fans:

More storms

 

With Christmas fast approaching I'm only finding a few minutes each day to work in my journal, but that doesn't mean that I'm not 'arting' in some way or another. These canvases now have their edges painted black and are just about ready for exhibiting, so I thought I'd show you another batch of five. 

In this Christmas season of peace and goodwill, may the storms of life pass through quickly and as quietly as possible.

Branches

 

Branches - wide or high?

When a plant grows, it can put it's strength into growing up or growing out. There are people who grow 'tall' by being really good at one particular thing. They tower over others in that area, but they don't necessarily have a wide canopy. 

Other people grow wide. They spread out, producing many branches. They may not be as tall as the other plants, but they have a large canopy. They try their hand at lots of different things and can bring those things together in new projects. Height may come, but it takes longer.

Neither is 'right' or preferable. They are just different ways of approaching life. 

Feeling lacklustre

 

Feeling a little lacklustre, stuck in a rut. 

Just keep going.

Whenever I find myself stuck in art - when I find myself continually doing the same things and boring myself with my pages - I just keep going. It's funny that I've made a breakthrough on canvas, but my journal is boring. Maybe it's that I'm a bit busier in this season. Maybe I just need to do a few exercises to remind myself of techniques I've forgotten about. Maybe I should pull out a different palette. 

There is a way forward if I keep going.

Growing seasons

 

Not all growing seasons look like it from the outside. 

Those times that seem the most quiet can be the ones where the most is happening internally. The quiet life of everyday obedience has a lot going for it, even if it doesn't look very exciting from the outside. The depth of personal growth it can provide is often under-rated.

Motives

 

Our underlying motives... and how they can affect our actions.

When we get hurt by something, when there is an injustice, we can set up rules or hoops for people to jump through so that it doesn't happen again. Often we don't even know we are doing it. 

It can be the same when we go through an unexpected situation such as the storm that we have just endured in Adelaide. Now people are going out to buy all those things that they wish they had had before the storm. It is unlikely that we will go through the same thing again for decades, but it makes us feel better. 

So when someone acts in a way that feels odd, maybe there is an underlying bit of history that we are unaware of.