getting ready to paint
In fact I did quite a bit of shopping, whilst also being mindful of my intention to be frugal. If I have to justify this to myself, I had made a list of things I needed (not just wanted), that I believed were consistent with my behavioural goals.
This included the camera, new pens, a box file system for storing my sons' school photos and reports (an idea I got from Gretchen Rubin's book, The Happiness Project: http://www.happiness-project.com/), new pillows (the old ones smell really bad), and headphones for my i-Pod (the old ones have exposed wires).
I also had to collect a new pair of glasses, which I ordered last year, but which I needed to collect in 2011, to get the rebate from my health fund. It felt weird to be spending a lot of money in one hit, but it was the logical thing to do and although I felt magically drawn towards the clothes shops, I didn't go into any of them! Wow, only three days into 2011 and it already seems like a crazy idea, to buy no new clothes for a year. Wonder how I will go on that one...
Toohey Forest - last photo with old camera
Before the shopping trip, I took the dog to Toohey Forest. On the way there, I saw a large dead snake on the road beside the creek. Was this the carpet snake that had eaten one of our chooks about three weeks ago, run over whilst in the process of coming back for another meal? S had seen the suspect very near this spot, just after the offence was committed. So quite likely it was the same one. Karma perhaps? We still need to make the chook house snake-proof, as there will be others.
I have had a lot of time to think about this blog in the past couple of days, and have actually been having to restrain myself from writing in it whenever I get the urge. I have decided to regulate this by having to make a piece of artwork before I write. This will ensure that I do more art, which is one of my goals. It turns out the writing part comes more easily, now I have got over some of my initial terror. I also see the process of writing about my art as one of the primary goals of the blog. Here is the next image:
grounded
This painting was a bit less spontaneous than the two previous images. I had planned it as a visual response to meditation: I decided to use water colours, and even referred to the Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, so the (barn) owl looks a bit more like an owl than the last one I drew. The painting attempts to capture an experience I often have during meditation, of feeling that my spine is like a tree trunk connected to the ground (actually the mattress of my bed), and that my mind is opening out like the branches of a tree. At least, that is how I depicted it, which made it more concrete than it originally was.
The birds seemed important to include for several reasons. I had an owl in my previous image, where the owl was supposed to represent The Observing Self, which as I explained in the previous post, is closely related to the experience of mindfulness. As a counterpoint to the owl, I chose a parrot, to represent the chattering noisy mind. This parrot is a rainbow lorikeet, which is native to Queensland.
I have a couple of other reasons for including birds, some to do with other peoples' artworks, which have influenced and inspired me. One of my artist friends often paints birds in trees: I am not sure what they mean to her, but her paintings are always very beautiful. Another friend made a clay sculpture of a person's head, and placed a clay bird in a nest on top of the head. He did this when his father died, and it helped. The theme of birds is also related to writing: Anne Lamott's writing guide Bird by Bird, was inspired by her fathers words 'just take it bird by bird' (her brother was trying to write a school assignment on birds at the time). On a more prosaic level, we are currently bird-sitting a budgie and a cockatiel, while their owner is on holiday. This has been surprisingly fun - they are very low maintenance and don't squawk much.
On another matter, I have recently come across a blog by a Brisbane psychiatrist, Dr Graham Martin, in which describes his account of a seriously disabling medical condition he experienced just over a year ago, where he ended up being a patient in the hospital he works in. This gave him cause to reflect at length on the patient's experience of being in hospital. I am including this here as it is relevant in at least two ways:
- the therapist/healer being more reflective (and transparent) about their practice, which is what I am writing about as well.
- the effect of illness on our lives, and how it can be life-enhancing as well as debilitating, if it creates a more mindful state of awareness and appreciation.
Graham's account also reminded me of visiting my father in hospital in February last year, just before he died. It was not a good experience. Some of the nurses were quite hostile to us as visitors. We upset their routines.
Graham also writes Haiku, and this is the latest one:
Haiku on the end of the year
New Year's Eve tonight
Fireworks will make quite a show
Illuminating?
This is the link to Graham's blog: http://child2100.blogspot.com/
I am continuing to write out my behavioural goals in my journal - I need a format for this, and am hoping to use Rubin's Resolutions Chart. It is pretty clear to me that this month's focus so far is health and home. I have been slowly clearing out cupboards and creating organised spaces. I found out I can donate my surplus linen to the flood recovery effort. Excellent.
Sounds grim in the flood affected areas.
Sounds grim in the flood affected areas.
A storm is brewing right now. Does this mean more rain?
More later.
No comments:
Post a Comment