Jan 6
“Music is liquid architecture; Architecture is frozen music.”― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise, we harden.”― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Peace, light, color
In the midst of winter
Gratitude, grace, delight
In the midst of struggle
May these be yours on ordinary days
Receptivity, generosity, joy
Stay soft in a hard world
Liquid architecture.
“Remember to live.”― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Art is the funnel, as it were, through which spirit is poured into life.”― Thomas Mann
“Laughter is a sunbeam of the soul.”― Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain
Art
Laughter
Solitude
Connection
Reflection
Celebration
Reverence
Color
Hue
Light
Awe
Wonder
Weave these threads throughout each day
Fabric of ordinary to extraordinary
Giving birth to beauty, joy, peace.
“Solitude gives birth to the original in us.” – Thomas Mann
“How hidden the heart, Nance thought. How frightened we are of being known, and yet how desperately we long for it.”― Hannah Kent, The Good People
“We are all givers and receivers, we all need each other and are called to enrich each other.” – Pope Francis
My good friend Angi asked me to stop by yesterday to give me something.
She started art of needle felting recently.
She felted figures of Abby and Sasha for me, adding a tennis ball for Abby too – nailed it!
Beautiful detailed art, simple profound kindness.
Blown away!
In a world when we often feel unseen, we have the power to see each other.
What’s right in front of us.
To offer the generosity of seeing others, noticing, sharing.
That’s what Pope Francis did in and for the world.
That’s what Angi did in my world yesterday.
That’s what each of us can do each day in different ways.
Do not bypass, rush past, miss what and who is in front of you this day.
And let them know you see them.
We see ourselves when we see others too.
Kindness, acceptance, love feed the receiver and the giver.
“It’s beautiful when someone recognizes and appreciates us for who we are, for how we are, without trying to change us, and without any judgment. Unconditional acceptance is the truest form of love.”― Akiroq Brost
“Colors have the capacity to change our respiration, our blood pressure, even our body temperature.”― Susan Magsamen, Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
“Play is a key component of the arts and aesthetics in myriad ways. Art and play are like two sides of the same coin, with play being a part of artistic expression, imagination, creativity, and curiosity.”― Susan Magsamen, Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
Outstanding podcast on making this week by Kelly Corrigan with the authors of Your Brain on Art on the science of how art heals, develops, expands and transforms us.
Get outside
Doodle, color, paint
Listen to music
Nature
Art museum
Play
Have fun
Fresh air
Colors, fragrances, light
Awaken all of your senses
Make rather than do
Build up rather than break down
Unfold rather than bind up
Breathe, in and out
There’s plenty of chaos, noise and destruction right now
Regain your footing to add and multiply rather than divide and subtract
Permission slip granted to go on a field trip daily
To be renewed, refreshed and ready to participate meaningfully rather than spectate in exhaustion
Long game, joy, resilience and grit required
Recess on
“Learning comes in many forms: cognitive, emotional, embodied. There is explicit learning, where you actively seek knowledge, and implicit learning, where you passively take in experiences that change you. Many elements go into making experiences more salient for learning, among them novelty, humor, curiosity, attention level, creativity, motivation, environment, and the unique way your brain develops.”― Susan Magsamen, Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
“Hope is the hardest love we carry.”― Jane Hirshfield, The Lives of the Heart
“What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.
In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp — praise song for walking forward in that light.”― Elizabeth Alexander
Do not believe the cynics.
Do not join them.
They have plenty on their team.
Be courageous in hope, love, joy.
Eternal optimist despite the “facts.”
So much more below the surface of first impressions.
In proximity and connection.
Be a light bearer.
Do, create, build.
A new canvas with each wave of love.
Walking forward in that light.
“Art replaces the light that is lost when the day fades, the moment passes, the evanescent extraordinary makes its quicksilver. Art tries to capture that which we know leaves us, as we move in and out of each other’s lives, as we all must eventually leave this earth. Great artists know that shadow, work always against the dying light, but always knowing that the day brings new light and that the ocean which washes away all traces on the sand leaves us a new canvas with each wave.”― Elizabeth Alexander, The Light of the World
In a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) driven society and coming from a family of engineers, “be bad at math” won’t go over well on the surface. My preference is STEAM – adding art to the mix to add nuance, creativity, fluidity. Right and left brain. Heart, mind, spirit.
But the post isn’t a debate about science or art. They coexist and are not in competition. Both are important and complete the picture. Rather it’s about being bad at math in relationships. Stop counting, comparing, keeping score, weighing, predicting, assuming, calculating, estimating.
Love, kindness, generosity, listening, reaching out, hospitality, holding a hand, not giving advice, showing up, forgiveness, walking along side no matter what, being present fully (without a phone in your face). None of these can be punched out on a calculator or will be replaced by AI. And they all become more important as we stray further and further from each other opting for the next cool technology that will transform our life. Love transforms. The quality of our relationships is the quality of our life.
So go out and be bad at math and love well, without conditions. I learned this from my Mom and Dad. Happy Father’s Day Dad. I miss you and Mom every single day. Thanks for the lessons planted and woven through that remain with me to this very day. Especially the one about being bad at math in life. Cast light!
“Only those who look with the eyes of children can lose themselves in the object of their wonder. ”― Eberhard Arnold
“When things get difficult remember who you are.’
‘Who am I?’ asked the boy
‘You are loved’ said the horse”
― Charlie Mackesy, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Kindness, hope, optimism, enthusiasm, joy, generosity, delight, empathy, compassion, awe.
These are what change the world.
The eyes of wonder. Of refreshment.
Go change the world.
One smile, one glance, one embrace at a time.
You are loved.
Pass it on.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“Kind,” said the boy.”
― Charlie Mackesy, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
“I’ve begun to realize that you can listen to silence and learn from it. It has a quality and a dimension all its own.”― Chaim Potok
“I have woven a parachute out of everything broken.”― William Stafford
In all that is present, not the past, not the future, create.
The material is available to shape, mold, make our own.
Shapes, dimension, air, space.
Emergence, unfolding, arriving. Daily.
Experience this day in fullness and delight.
“I embrace emerging experience.
I participate in discovery.
I am a butterfly.
I am not a butterfly collector.
I want the experience of the butterfly.”― William Stafford
“Life is a mystery- mystery of beauty, bliss and divinity. Meditation is the art of unfolding that mystery.”― Amit Ray
“Expectations are resentments under construction.”― Anne Lamott
May you fall into the mystery, let go of rules and regulations.
Pull back the veil to see clearly.
Embrace possibility, with a side of trust and faith.
Greet grace, hold light.
Bliss, divinity, sacred ground.
Walk lightly, feet and heart.
“My art and profession is to live.”― Montaigne
Jun 21
“The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity.” – Walt Whitman
“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh
A paper plate, some paint and fingers meet and dance, art blooms.
Uninhibited and with delight, a child reminds us to return to this place again and again.
No boundaries, no rules, no judgment.
Colors, shapes, beauty.
New day, fresh palette.
Paint.
“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” – Pablo Picasso
