Inspiration II

I am trying to figure out my camera, there are a couple of images I want to share but I cannot figure out how to post them.

              

Inspiration

Flowers are one of my favorite things to look at. I try to draw them but I am just not that good. This one is a little easier because it is in profile. I try to draw them from the top and it is a lesson in futility. My camera is able to do what I cannot and then I can translate what I see. Perhaps I will give this one a try, it is just such a pleasing photo.

Gratitude

Gratitude is such a tough topic for me. It seems that there is always something to complain about. My sister recently lost her home when a tree fell on it. She had not been in it long and it was destroyed. Rather than look at the fact that the place was empty at the time,you ask yourself  how often does a tree destroy a home? What are the odds? There have been more events like this in our part of the state in recent years. It seems tornadoes are more common. My sister was lucky, not everyone can say they avoided something like this. Anyway, I am grateful for my sister coming out unscathed. She had left the house to ride out the storm in a safer place. A good thing she did. She dodged a bullet. My dog has become more sensitive to storms as he has gotten older. He whines when a thunderstorm occurs. He was okay as a puppy, but now he is very sensitive. Perhaps there is the sense that they are more dangerous now than they once were. Or that now he realizes what they are. There is an increasing need to be grateful for the way that we all dodge bullets at times. In a way I have that over my dog, he doesn't know when he has been lucky and avoided a nasty situation.  Or perhaps in a way he does and I just don't realize it...

Gratitude is something that I have to work at. There is a lot to be grateful for if one takes the time to think about it. There is being able to help others. For a long time I didn't have that opportunity. My disability is one that makes gratitude tough. I often deal with bouts of self-pity. There is a saying that goes, I go about in self-pity while all the while I am pulled across the sky in a chariot of wind. It is paraphrased. I think that we all are miracles. It is amazing we are here. Picasso said that it is amazing that we don't all dissolve in our bathwater.

Dreams Die Hard

 The bookshelf in my studio. I have always wanted to be an artist. Ever since I was very little. I went to art school for a little while. It is so funny to think that even if we can't live our dream, there are ways we can adjust that give us solace. Even if it is just acknowledging that we have a dream...

Nothing Interferes With Creativity...

One of the little quotes I like to do. I have a tremendous problem with resentment at times and I have to remind myself that it affects my attitude in many subtle ways. This is one I was not aware of... Sometimes there is this tendency on my part to get down on myself. Reminding myself that things could be worse helps. And that sometimes it does a bit of good to stay grateful if at all possible. .
     My images always come out lopsided. How does one correct this?

Leaving Our Footprint

Sometime ago I had the opportunity to see a photoessay published in "Spirituality & Health" magazine. The article was about  seabird chicks that had been thousands of miles from civilization, yet were the victims of pollution. The story detailed the damage that was occurring when the chick's parents did not recognize plastics as being inedible. The chick's parents saw the plastic floating on the water and picked it up to feed to their young. Photos detailed the decomposed birds insides littered with plastic. I don't live near the ocean but the story really affected me. I could not believe how heartbreaking it must have been for the parents of those birds, and the pain the chicks must have went through. I am not pollution-conscious yet it did something to me. I immediately started recycling, something I had done sporadically, but with little motivation. Recently, there is more of a response on my part when I see sealife being threatened. That one article affected me more than anything that I'd experienced before. When I was younger I spent a few vacations at the Shore and it was always a pleasant experience. I'd been to Mexico several times to vacation near the ocean and these were  life-changing events... For many years aquariums were a source of great pleasure in my home. The life in the water has always influenced me. I'm not sure why. Lately I have been paying more attention to events and legislation that affect wildlife. Right now there is some legislation in the U.S House of Representatives that will affect endangered species. It is HR 2578. Take the time to learn about it and make your voice heard. We have only one world and even if you can't make it to the seashore like me, there are many ways to be involved. Even if it is only something as simple as recycling. Thanks. Dale

Staying the Course

There was a fall tonight that concerned me. Visiting a friend, I walked up the sidewalk and missed a step. I went down hard. A month ago I fell down a flight of steps. A new medication I am taking causes problems with balance and coordination. I undestand the changes are permanent. Since December I have lost forty-five pounds. I am reluctant to stop taking it. My last medication caused me to gain around fifty pounds and eventually I developed diabetes. The medication caused intense sugar cravings. I slept up to fourteen hours a day. It was a nightmare. I was on the medication twelve years. The whole thing started some years ago when I was a victim of a random act of violence. The world became a very frightening place. My medication was supposed to ease these feelings. The medication worked but the price I paid was substantial. The medication cost a thousand dollars for thirty tablets. Some of the symptoms did not disappear. There was always the fear that there would be another attack. There was the fear that people were going to hurt me. This was a frightening kind of world to live in. The medication removed all desire for a normal lifestyle. Everything around me became unimportant. I am not sure why I share all this except as a warning tothose that there is a heavy price to pay for avoiding the world. Perhaps after being  the victim of violence there is a need to distance yourself from danger. I did. But what a price to pay.