September 6, 2008
The Storm
Gustav has been nothing more than a cool breeze for me for five days now. He, however, was a significant gust of wind last Monday, Labor Day and William’s 26th birthday. Gustav caused the winds to blow and the clouds to burst, trees to break and fall and more significantly, at least for me, he caused questions to surface. These questions were not comfortable and not easy to confront. I still am in active combat with many of them. Beyond the primeval fear you feel when you are subject to the wrath of nature; you survive it and are left with a feeling not of the ordinary sort, not the everyday garden variety. Questions pop into your head, like, why am I here? Perhaps I should go to another place and begin again, a place away from these storms. I watched as the late summer beauty of my garden and my yard bowed to brambles of twigs, limbs, and green leaves that would never turn to hues of autumn and I was disappointed. Those superficial feelings of disappointment lead me to further feelings of doubt. I doubted that insurance companies would even remain in our state much longer and I doubted that our business policy would be renewed and soon I doubted why I wanted to fight this beauracratic battle. I don’t like to put this negative jargon in this website, for it is the antithesis of its purpose, but after a natural disaster of sorts, my response is on the surface and I felt inclined to post. I began this site as an effort to simplify my life and to see the simple beauty that surrounds me each day; to seek it out and to share it. I apologize for the deviation on this date. I will work through these thoughts and torments soon and post something agreeable. Something good that happened because of the storm was the opportunity I had to do several really fun drawings. I am still trying to get that part of my site up, but it is painstaking. With all the complications in mind and in my quest to simplify, I think I will only post drawings, not paintings, at this time. Again, so sorry for the negativity, but I have been witness to an extraordinary occurrence and an extraordinarily negative insight. I am very thankful, however, that we have survived this brutality from the Gulf and promise a more pleasant post soon.
In response to my somewhat downbeat preceding entry, I would like to share the following antidote with you. My son, William, is reading all of Dale Carnegie he can unearth in his university’s library and he earmarked the following passage from the book Public Speaking and Influencing Men in Business. The excerpt was authored by a man named Elbert Hubbard. Mr. Hubbard lived from 1856 to 1915. He was a writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher and was a noteworthy proponent of the Arts and Craft Movement in America. You are probably familiar with one of his quotes: “Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive." Here is a bit more of his philosophy; I hope you can find something in this that makes a difference for you.
“Whenever you go out of doors, draw the chin in, carry the crown of the head high and fill the lungs to the utmost; drink in the sunshine; greet your friends with a smile and put soul into every handclasp. Do not fear being misunderstood and do not waste a minute thinking about your enemies. Try to fix firmly in your mind what you would like to do and then without veering of direction you will move straight to the goal. Keep your mind on the great and splendid thing you would like to do and then as the days go gliding by you will find yourself unconsciously seizing upon the opportunities that are required for the fulfillment of your desire just as the coral insect takes from the running tide the elements it needs. Picture in your mind the able earnest useful person you desire to be and the thought you hold is hourly transforming you into that particular individual…. Thought is supreme. Preserve a right mental attitude- the attitude of courage frankness and good cheer. To thing rightly is to create. All things come through desire and every sincere prayer is answered. We become like that on which our hearts are fixed. Carry your chin in and the crown of your head high. We are gods in the chrysalis.”
Till next time,
p.s.
No comments:
Post a Comment