Life is a journey…. That’s what they say right? And that the kind of journey we have is down to our choices, which I’d say to be the truth at about 85%. I think I’m mostly a positive person but I’m not deluded that life sometimes throws us curve balls that are out of our control and seem impossible to find the positive in.
We can still find a way to deal with the remaining 15% that seems out of our hands, by having control of our reactions. I know it sounds a bit cliché, and I agree… sometimes we don’t want to be in control, we don’t want to smile our way through days when we feel like crap, but it really is the best way, if you can. Find the positive, find a focus or make a plan… well, do all those things after you’ve had a moment of less control. A moment when you cry all the tears you have, or scream and shout all the anger inside…let it go… release it…and move forward. Sometimes life doesn’t deal us the cards we want and some day’s life feels more difficult than others…and on these days, certainly for me, I’m negative nelly. On the more difficult days (after drowning in our own self misery) we have to put that smile on and find a way to move forward. We have to take the bull by the horns, or so they say.
When I talk about following my dreams and how it’s important to do what’s right for you in your life, I don’t talk about it in a lightness and fairy way, or suggest that it’s super easy to do. Nothing in life worth having is easy… yeah I know another cliché quote… but it’s true! hehe I want a simple life… with adventure and spontaneity! Lol Maybe there’s variations in the meaning of a ‘simple life’ though. My simple life is with less ‘things’, a life without focus on the material objects we own, I want to have only material items that better my life… like a VW Westfalia to live out my adventures in! hehe One day I’ll own one… but it’s not top of my list right now.
So, what is at the top of my list? Can I have a few things up there? Lol I try to advise people to prioritize their life. We can’t get everything we want at the same time. But if I’m honest, it’s advice I struggle to follow. I have a million things on my list, here is a few; • To move to England • To move to Spain • To travel from country to country for a year • To travel Europe in a Volkswagen Westfalia • To have kids, a family • To walk ‘El Camino de Santiago’ again • To be a successful artist • To have my own gallery • To teach my love of art to others that love art just as much as I do • To inspire people to follow their dreams • To meet my new nephew, in the flesh, so I can snuggle and cuddle with him! To just name a few! Hehe
So, I’ve pushed a couple things to the lower part of the list… to own a VW Westfalia, to travel Europe and travel country after country… but the rest are up there! I want them ALL! Lol
I guess one of the things at the very top of my list though is being an artist. Being a successful artist, partly because it’s my passion and I love it! (Haha) ….and partly because I have bills to pay. (Oh and earn money to buy more supplies to paint more! Hehe)
Speaking of my passion…did I mention I got to see Claude Monet’s paintings in the flesh recently? Omg! I didn’t tell you? Well I did, I got to see some real, in the flesh, raw canvas Monet paintings!…and they are amazing, and the experience was amazing… and I could talk a lot more about Monet…but the only thing I’ll add is that if you’re not sure who he is…google him! He’s probably most famously known for his water lily paintings. ….oh and I bought myself a couple of originals!
Some things in life are just a part of it that we have to accept, sickness and dying. We all have someone we miss and someone we’d love to have just one more hug from, and although I’m sad I won’t ever have that cuddle from them again, I’m thankful for all the memories I have with them. It’s important to make the days we do have count for something. Life doesn’t always smell of roses, but try to embrace, or at least accept the days that are more difficult, so that those days don’t suffocate the days we could spend happy and smiling. I truly believe there is a lot more in this life to smile about than to be sad about. I hope you find your strength to see more positive than negative and to wake up excited and happy, for more days than not.
My journey as an artist is a bit of a roller coaster. Some days I’m not sure what direction it’s going to go next, and it overwhelms me, but then I remind myself I hate repetition in my life and 90% of the time, I embrace this unknown world. I’m thankful for all those that support me, whether it’s buying my paintings, sharing my videos on Facebook and Instagram or attending my shows….there’s nothing worse than having a show that nobody to comes to! lol… so thank you.
Now I’ll shamefully plug my next show. Haha July 23rd 3pm-6pm there will be multiple artists and vendors, everything under one roof…. A sort of mini market! So come join us … it’s free, but bring a food donation to be entered into winning one of MANY door prizes! Check out the poster for full details. It’ll be the house with all the balloons! Hehe
Now back to the blog and on a more serious note to finish… I encourage you to follow your dreams. Be prepared to make some compromises, but it’ll be worth it to be doing the thing you want most. We only get one life (as far as I’m aware… but I guess that’s a whole other topic!) …so live it with energy and passion.
Follow your heart! Follow your arrow!
…Please comment and share what’s on the top of your list!