Philosophy Friday - Summertime.....

.....and the living is easy, as the song goes.

                              

So go for long walks.  Indulge in great conversations.  Read some good books or stitch in the garden.  Question your assumptions.  Love yourself.  Pay attention to the moment.  Be a little crazy.  Count your blessings.

Let go for a little while and just be.......

                                                                                     

Philosophy Friday - Love, Art and Life

                                        

                                                        " Generations "                              



" When we love something it is of value to us, and when something is of value to us, we spend time with it, time enjoying it and time taking care of it. "
                                                                                             - M. Scott Peck

Taking time out from art this week to care for those I love.   L

Philosophy Friday - Keeping Your Head above Water

                       " You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf."
                                                                -  Jon Kabat-Zinn

                                  

Philosophy Friday - Further thoughts on Creativity

"The creative is the place where no one else has ever been.  You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition."  - Alan Alda

I've been contemplating further the subject of creativity. In reading various people's opinions and thoughts on the subject, I came across a lecture given by the British actor and comedian, John Cleese of Monty Phython fame, who one could absolutely define as a " creative".  Mr. Cleese offered up " Five factors that you can arrange to make your lives more creative" and his thoughts definitely resonated with me.








1.  SPACE - "You can't become playful and therefore creative, if you are under your      usual pressures."
2.  TIME - " It's not enough to create space; you have to create your space for a     
     specific period of time."
3.  TIME - " Giving your mind as long as possible to come up with something
     original, and learning to tolerate the discomfort of pondering time and indecision."
4.  CONFIDENCE - " Nothing will stop you being creative so effectively as the fear
     of making a mistake."
5.  HUMOUR - " The main evolutionary significance of humour is that it gets us from
     the closed mode to the open mode quicker than anything else."

I wonder as to how often we look at a day when we play and dream as a day to be considered as " unproductive". Is it societal pressures and expectations, family commitments or self flagellation that gives us these " guilty" feelings, even though we know this time for us personally brings a sense of well being and produces many thoughts and ideas for our work?  How do we reconcile our feelings on this?  I do believe that personal meditation and more play time is required to come to terms with
that one !!  (-:

Philosophy Friday - Take that chance!

" Leap and the net will appear "   - proverb

Never put off or give up on a goal that’s important to you.  Not because you still have tomorrow to start or try again, but because you may not have tomorrow at all.  Life is shorter than it sometimes seems.  Follow your heart today.
                               - anon

PHILOSOPHY FRIDAY - New Beginnings

"The sincerity of the art worker must permeate the song as naturally as the green leaves break through the dead branches in springtime " .....Alma Gluck

                                                                              Iris Bog photo credit - LHH

                                                         
    Here it is Easter weekend and once again spring has arrived and new beginnings are everywhere.  I marvel every year after our bleak, frigid Canadian winters that the earth warmed by the sun, begins to nurture tiny green buds and life begins anew once again. Such is the wonder and beauty of nature!
April for me is my personal happy new year - my birth month and a time to reflect, take stock and move forward.

                                                               " March on. Do not tarry. To go forward
                                                                is to move toward perfection.
                                                                March on, and fear not the thorns,
                                                                or the sharp stones on life's path."
                                                                                                           - Kahil Gibran

                                                        

                                                                              
                                                                                           Photo - LHH                                    

PHILOSOPHY Friday - Silence is Golden

" Remain quiet", says Paramanhansa Yogananda.  " Don't feel you have to talk all the time.  Go within and you will see the loveliness behind the beauty."

                                    

" Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence". - Desiderata

Happy Birthday to the philosopher king - the DA - x

PHILOSOPHY FRIDAY - Lost in the ozone.....

      

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.  - Thomas Merton

                                                                         
That's just about where I am at this week - too many thoughts, ideas, and major distractions.
Lost in art, seeking to find my way.
Hopefully, by mid week, I'll find where I left my mind and get it to re-focus on one major project!

How about you?

PHILOSOPHY FRIDAY - Knowing When to Stop

" When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt ". - Henry J. Kaiser

   Wise words - enough said! LHH