(Winding path, Mount Usher)
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.” – Steve Jobs
Listen, sometimes it’s very quiet…. Mairead.
choices
What’s your story?
(Mount Usher in Ashford, Co. Wicklow)
The story of our lives is not the story of what happened… It’s the story of what we are. The story that starts “I am….” The story we think we became because of our behaviour or our actions. The story that says this is the type of person I am. This story is probably built up from lots and lots of small experiences and things other people told us… From the moment we learned the story of us everything that happened after that had to fit into that particular story. It had to make sense in our story. If it didn’t then it got deleted… We become very attached to our story.
(Strong, beautiful tree even with all its flaws…)
Like a film maker producing a movie about a famous politician – only stories that agree with the filmmaker’s belief about the politician will be included…. if he believes the politician is a wonderful honest statesman then the stories from his life that show him as an honest and a wonderful statesman will be included. If the filmmaker believes that the politician is a dishonest scoundrel then the film maker will depict stories from the politician’s life where he is dishonest and a scoundrel. The filmmaker may be completely honest in his choices, i.e. he truly believes the politician is honest or he truly believes the politician is dishonest.
(At the boundary of Mount Usher there’s a fence. Beyond the fence there’s a field with very old trees. You can either see the fence or shift your focus a bit and see the trees…..)
Same with our choice of what fits into our story – the movie of us. If the story we truly believe about ourselves says we are flawed then we will only include the times we have been flawed into our movie. Even if we have been a good friend at some point in our life we will delete or distort that memory and remember instead the time we were a bad friend. This is in order that our flawed friend story remains intact. If the story of you says you are flawed then fortunately, you can start again with a new story.
Choose something in your story you don’t like and start to notice the opposite. Mairead.
Friday Quote – Once upon a time Picasso couldn’t paint….
(Remembering Canada)
I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it. – Pablo Picasso
What do you want to learn to do today? Mairead.
Good Luck!
“I’m a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” – Thomas Jefferson
Today could be your lucky day! Mairead.
Friday Quote – The secret of a happy life?
(Beauty from Mount Stewart’s Gardens)
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill
Are your difficulties fraught with opportunities? Mairead.
Friday Quote – Choose your own Way.
(Path in the Wilderness)
“Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Viktor E. Frankl
It’s your choice, Mairead.
Friday Quote – There are many types of slavery.
(Flowers from the National Stud in Kildare)
“The moment the slave resolves that he will no longer be a slave, his fetters fall. Freedom and slavery are mental states.” – Mahatma Gandhi
A slave… to fashion, to social standing, to money, to work, to family, to friends. Mairead.
Practice makes perfect…. bit by tiny bit.
(Printing practice)
It’s before dawn on an autumnal wet kind of day here in County Wicklow. I’m up early because there’s a lot to do before I leave for my classes. Today it’s drawing… not my favourite but I want to improve so I continue to practice. Last week on my day off I found myself near the National Art Gallery on Merrion Square. Although I do love to visit, usually I go there only if I have time to kill while waiting for an appointment or a meeting. When I realised how close I was I went there purposefully… to practice my drawing.
(Printing practice… possible wallpaper design?)
Practicing my drawing might seem straightforward, all I need is a pencil, paper and a subject, right? No. Well, yes I do need the pencil and paper, but I carry those with me all the time now and non-moving subjects are readily available. There are other requirements… 1.Making a choice – it is sometimes tempting to wander from potential subject to even better potential subject and the available time is gone before I have even started. 2.Opening the notebook – it is also tempting to wait until the coast is clear and there is none nearby before I open the notebook and take the pencil in my hand…. (“Oh look, someone drawing”). It’s scary but I must be brave.
(Printing practice…. using a net the oranges come in)
3.Making a start – possibly the most important requirement, the potential for disaster is huge. Well… disaster might be too dramatic a word but if I don’t start there’s no drawing. 4.Perseverance, defined as, the steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. Very useful because at this point there are many thoughts going through my head…. You don’t have enough time. On consideration, this is not a good subject. You need more practice to attempt this one. There’s someone coming, quick put your notebook away! What about a nice green tea and a scone instead? Time’s up!
(Then we went for lunch)
So much of what I’m learning on this course of drawing, painting, printing and ceramics can be applied to any area of life. 1. Make a choice. 2. Open the notebook – be willing to be different. 3. Make a start. 4. Persevere in spite of difficulties. Last week in the art gallery I found a statue, sat down and practiced drawing and my drawing skills are improving… a bit…. very slowly, so I’m learning patience too.
Go Practice, Mairead.
PS not ready to share the drawing practice…. yet.
Friday Quote – Is it you?
“There are thousands and thousands of people out there leading lives of quiet, screaming desperation, where they work long, hard hours at jobs they hate to enable them to buy things they don’t need to impress people they don’t like.” — Nigel Marsh
Find what you love, Mairead.
Travel stories 