Lately I’ve not been finding too many friends in history. After the November elections I wanted to write about how much better it used to be.
I did some research, looked up Aristotle, Copernicus, a few golden ages and a renaissance or two only to find a lot of human foibles expressed and not as much wisdom as I was hoping to find.
In fact I found that we are better today. I also know that we do not always hear or know about all the small acts of courage, the gentle touch, the passing of a smile, a clear and profound desire for clarity.
These can escape with the deadline, the editor’s knife, the eye of the beholder.
You and I, we are stuck here and now. In the moment. What to do, what to do?
I started by taking my eyes off the past and giving the present a look. My dogs Sadie and Georgi and Henri are very helpful. Guinnie is downstairs on her bed and is fine in this present. But the moment I look around the other three stand up and see me back. I keep my focus on the present and notice how beautiful each one is. Eyes of love could not have better representation.
I notice there is heat on a cold day, light when it’s dark out and my chair supports me well enough. I love my pens and the feel of my paper, there is a linoleum stamp empty of design waiting for me on my desk. Water for tea is available and I have made coffee. These days may have shortness of light compared to other days and that will change. Things always do. I didn’t do anything to make the day appear. It did as it must. I haven’t thought of my breath for at least a half hour, and that too comes to me without struggle for which I have much gratitude.
So, nevermind history. I love Aristotle but I can leave him be for now. And George Herbert and Marie Curie and anyone else I need to re member can be had on Google or with my library card.
I’m good. It’s a good day. Leading into a good month and with some consciousness directed at what’s right in my world, I can make it a good year.
Why not?

I’ve been out campaigning, going to people’s homes and calling them. They and I are likely – very likely – to be nervous and at least a little defensive.
What do you want? In your life? From your surroundings?
If I were to ask you that, even if I were to put it more mildly; “What are your concerns? Do you have questions for my candidate?” In my experience, no one wants to put themselves on the line. “I care about health care. I don’t have insurance and I don’t know what to do. My electric bill is too high. My road needs paving. My kid’s school buses are unsafe. Are gas prices going up?” Sometimes you don’t even know what there is to want.
Do you know that the people you elect to the legislature of your state, whether you vote or not, whether you care or not are responsible for the environment in which you live? If it’s hard to vote because you’re black or Hispanic, if the schools in your area allow your girls to play sports or your boy who dresses funny to come to school (and support him while he’s there), or even if you go to the police station thinking you’ll get help and you don’t – these are the policies put into place by the commissioners, judges, senators, and treasurers you have put in place.
Sometimes they are there because you didn’t vote. Maybe it was a mid-term election, or “just” a town or county election and you thought you’d do something else. Sometimes you don’t know who to vote for, who would/could serve your interest and you didn’t/wouldn’t/couldn’t go to the polls because . . .
Every person elected to government – local and national – makes decisions for all of us every day, including weekends sometimes. They bring integrity or deception, they take away and they give. Every single one of them has gotten where they are by a few votes.
Know what you want? Have a complaint? Speak up and out. VOTE!
Oh, and I’m not doing much art because I’m out making calls and knocking on doors. You can leave me a message or come to the polls where I’ll be working on Nov 6th.

What we do every day defines us. Thoughts, actions, intentions and avoidance (it’s an action, but an important one and I wanted to give it its full valence); are the mark of us. Do we see ourselves? Would we recognize our description from someone else’s mouth/mind?

We are saying “Happy New Year” a lot right now and my Vipassna teacher Narayan Liebenson says, “Happy New Moment.” Which she can say any time. Which is when we can give ourself a wish or a boost for the new life we are uncovering in this moment and every other.

Can we be serious about that? Can we forgive ourself enough to get to the next moment without falling backward? I work in paint and different colors allow me to show the history of the painting or obliterate it. I wish for my mind to be like my paper or canvas. Every moment a choice to bring history to light or let it go. Every moment to bring the color of acceptance, concealment, ambiguity or awakening of that color on that substrate/paper/form.

If I threw away each piece that did not work for me in that moment I wouldn’t be able to paint for long. If I allow myself to come back to it perhaps I will see something else. I will be different and so will it. I have to let go of being “sure” of it – whatever that means. If I don’t like anything or like everything I cannot let my expectation of good or ill overpower what I paint or allow it to direct me.

For me this new moment of painting has to be planned in that it needs space in my life, but the outcome has to remain a mystery. I cannot plan to make a master piece and remain open to the magic or gloom of the next moment – which will bring me who knows where which is where I want to be.

The point of meditation is not meditation. The point of time management is not about time. Time doesn’t exist, it’s a synthetic device or tool that we use as a bludgeon to one and all. The worst “one” we put it on is ourself, the very person we are supposedly “helping!”

You might or might not have a habit of beating yourself up about not getting enough done, not being enough or, perhaps when you look on FaceBook, feeling insufficient and insecure. Over what? Is there a list of what’s makes a “good person,” or a “productive person?” Of course there is! And it’s made up by you!

Making things up is great. It’s what we love about movies and books, sports and plays, business and politics. As an artist, I make up stuff all the time. What I make up that isn’t so helpful is different. It starts in my mind. Every cell in my body has what we call mind in it. I notice thoughts and actions I generate have a widely, vastly different origination. What I use to beat myself up or what’s telling me I need more of something is conceived in a vastly different location in my body from where I get the vision for my next painting.

So what’s the point? Well, the point may be different for each of us. What is your passion may or may not coincide with mine. But if we are both playing out our passions then we will have commonality and something to share with each other. That’s a point. If we are living our lives in a coherent way that can satisfy many of our most important hopes and dreams, well, then we have another point in common and we have something to talk about.

If we are treating our bodies with respect and gratitude, as well as those bodies of others’ – then we won’t have any fear of each other. Why would we? There isn’t much to argue about if we position ourselves for love and acceptance. There are so many studies done showing how we as children embrace the new, expect success and accept difference – until we get a bit older. Then we say, “reality kicks in.” What’s the point of that? Give yourself a star for doing something you consider good and beneficial. Don’t listen to hate, you can’t help hearing it but you can stop reacting to it. Color something. Draw something. Look at art. Take it in. That’s what we are here for – to give beauty a chance and a featured place in your life. Moving your body changes your mind!

That’s the Point. Do it!

How does a flower grow?
The above photo is a Passion Flower, it arrived in a plastic bucket at my house some years ago. I thought, “cool, passion. let’s see what it brings.” At the time I was thinking that passion could get in the way if it was too strong. Sometimes my double-Aries self gets in my way and I over-think it as passion. But it isn’t. It’s just me being bull-headed.
Where I live a Passion Flower is an annual. In more southerly climes it can be perennial. It has a lot of flexibility and adapts to its environment – to a certain extent. It is always a Passion Flower nonetheless.
This particular flower spent the summer blissed into constant bloom. I found its ability to keep going admirable and thought about all of our abilities to bloom – constantly or not. I didn’t fetter it in any way, although I gave it some guidelines, which were followed. Watching it softened me and it felt as if it helped me hold myself with compassion as I saw it moving up the trellis. Compassion will awaken the heart and action can come from that opening. I am reminded of the story of the sun and the wind vying to get a man to remove his coat. You know who won. That’s what I experienced with the summer’s passion. Nurtured by the sun and some water, it kept going, growing beyond expectation. Willingness to nurture yourself is guaranteed to motivate, it is intrinsic to our nature. Just like the Passion Flower.