Thursday, April 23, 2015

Peace in a Field

Found my way outside today on a stroll through a calm and empty field. It is a perfect place to quiet my mind.
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"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavour. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts."
-Henry David Thoreau

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Kindness

Lately I have been really focusing on kindness. Rather, I have been choosing it. It is so easy to be impacted by other people and adapt to their anger or bitterness about circumstances. That anger, bitterness, and hurt is completely understandable and justified, and I do not hold it against anyone for feeling the way that they feel. I myself have and do at times feel anger, bitterness, and hurt among other normal human emotions. As someone who suffers from an anxiety disorder it is easy to feel plagued and doomed by these awful thoughts and emotions on a daily basis. At a certain point I was feeling upset and overwhelmed, and easily irritated at many things and people. I realized that this was only hurting myself and causing a chain reaction of negative thoughts.

I have always been a daydreamer. Sometimes my dreams seam irrational or unreal but I don't care. I will never stop yearning for goodness and light, and this brings me back to kindness. I decided to make a conscious effort to be kinder because at the bottom of my heart love, friendship, and beauty are all I truly desire. I will cleave to the joyful thoughts and dreams that float through my head and do my best to be kinder and more understanding to everyone I encounter. I think we should all let the light in more often and feel it melt the coldness we let seep in.
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“Laura felt a warmth inside her. It was very small, but it was strong. It was steady, like a tiny light in the dark, and it burned very low but no winds could make it flicker because it would not give up.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Long Winter

Friday, April 17, 2015

Painted Photographs

Lately I have been working on a very dear project of painted photographs. Some are my own, and some are once beloved photographs that belonged to someone long ago. This is an ongoing project and there will be many more to come!

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