Saturday, November 9, 2013

Inner Strength!!

Change yourself, find yourself, find your inner strength. Look for it and you'll find it. It might be hidden but it is there. We struggle everyday to find that inner strength we seek. Look for help if you need to. We read books and listened to audio books. We meditated and listened to spiritual music. Talk to someone, a friend, a family member or seek professional help. Whatever you do, do it all with positive thoughts. You will find the strength and it will come. You will feel it. You have the power.

There is a lot of information online for free. There is no excuse. If you are here reading this, Google it and you will find it. Some people work better with books, some work better with audio. In some cases your partner can read to you and you will both motivate each other.

We are not professionals, we are just like everyone else looking for answers. We hope that the people reading this blog will contribute ideas so we can have a healthy dialog exchanging philosophies and methods to create our lives. Ultimately the goal is all the same, to feel joy and happiness throughout our journey.

“You must make a decision that you are going to move on. It wont happen automatically. You will have to rise up and say, ‘I don’t care how hard this is, I don’t care how disappointed I am, I’m not going to let this get the best of me. I’m moving on with my life.” – Joel Osteen

The path most traveled is the most painful!

Sometimes I wonder why some people leave their house in he morning. Are they on a mission to make the rest of the world miserable? I watch the news and see the news anchor/reported relaying the days news with a smile. Happily reading the teleprompter like if they are reading they just won the lottery. They are so desensitized, they are actually reading about murders, gang wars, child abductions, molestations, wars, threat of Terrorism, acts of terrorism and so on and so forth. We listen and are emotionless like it is what is expected and we are not surprised. We are glued yet with no emotion. We need it like if it is part of our daily diet, routine and so on. Where di we fall off the face of the earth. When did we not care anymore. I know it is nothing we can do. There was once a time when I would come to work and everyone was upset about the world events or local tragedy. The morning cooler topic was how awful we must feel for the loved ones. Now the topics are so random. We don't care. I realize we cannot do anything about it. I realize it is a choice of humanistic needs. People want drama and they want to be a part of it. They ask for it. They become it. They create it.

Why can't we create a wonderful happy environment for ourselves. Surround ourselves with positive people when we have the control to do so. If we don't surround ourselves with positive thoughts. We can make our own difference. We can make that change internally excluding the outer influences. Boy! That is a lot of work. It is not easy and I never said it was. But it is a worthwhile choice. Stick around and we can show you how to travel that path with us. You are not alone.

Tolerance

As we start this wonderful way of helping people learn how to feel the joy that we are feeling and the lessons we are experiencing in life, we feel that a great way to begin this blog is with the word "Tolerance".
Tolerance takes on many meanings. One is acceptance of one another's differences, thoughts and ideas. We all have a voice. We all should be respectful of our individuality. When you look at people you see a myriad of differences. We are all different in our interests and characteristics. In essence we are all the same in our creators eyes. Why can't we all just see the obvious. A grain of sand in the desert is so minute in the bigger picture. We are all grains of sand in a larger sense. But we are all so very important. We are all the same, yet we are all different. We should be tolerant of each other and embrace the differences we learn from one another. Helping each other, enriching each others lives, sharing of one another and listening to ones differences. What a world it would be if we just took the time to get to know one another's dreams and hopes. Our own family and small inner circles. We do not even take the time to love one another and learn who we really are. Our children have a voice as well. Yet sometimes as parents we get caught up in our busy lives. We do not take the time to stop and listen. Why not teach our children tolerance at an early age, so that they may make a difference in their future and change the world. We all need to break the cycle of ignorance.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

We Are Connected.

Ever since I can remember I can feel the essence of people. I can feel their pain and love deep inside. I could see right through someone and know. Know the innermost emotions. I would ask myself why. AS I got older I thought this gift was a curse. I felt like I never fit in. I felt like everyone was watching me. It felt like paranoia. I had a childhood friend that had voices, true voices in their mind. Schizophrenia? I don't know what it was called. I often thought it was what I was feeling. The difference is this did not drive me crazy. when I became an adult I knew I had a gift, know what to do with it was very confusing. When the churches found out I had this they thought they had an answer for it. They said I had a calling. I told them everyone had this gift because we are all connected. For some reason they all were offended when I spoke this way. Friends did not understand me nor did my family. So I left, among other reasons. I experienced life. I became what the world wanted me to be. What society wanted to create of me. What was expected. I buried that person deep inside me. I gave in. I lived a life always running from my true self. Avoiding the mirror. My eyes always called me in the mirror. Wanting me to see my soul. My soul was trying to reveal itself in my life at different junctures. Again at church, People would tell me the same thing. I would leave. Another church someone else would tell me of my calling. I would leave.

Places of employment I would always be thrown into leadership roles. That is where I flourished once I got over the nack for seeing through negative and using to my advantage. I always knew I had a purpose in this life. I knew for certain at some point I had to face this calling if you will. I had to introduce myself to my soul. Discovering that true self was very hard. I was fortunate enough to have the journey in life to explore and come back. Mose of us leave this world never knowing. Never expressing themselves through the eyes of their soul. Never listening to that inner voice. The voice that is connected to our creator. A voice that is our soul. The energy and spark that gives us life. Our soul is the inspiration behind all imagination and creation. Man has the capacity of so much because they search within. Our soul. That is the gift we have. All of us. That is how we are connected. That is the love we feel out of no where. That is how we feel others pain. We all have a common thread in us. IT does not have a physical description but it has a very real purpose. Know and believe that this is real. Scientists cannot prove or disprove. THey can measure it as energy. They can give it a purpose and beginning by their language.

When we were created in the womb, we were a combination of two, a male organism and a female organism becoming one. Both had a presence and a purpose to unite with one another. These two organisms were alive. Before that they were each apart of a single larger organism. Our parents. The creation is constant. The souls are connected. We are all connected. IT was not magic. It was not a big bang. That is another story. We have the capacity. We are very powerful. There is so much more to us than we can imagine. And there is more to us that we CAN imagine. Believe. I guess if your mind is still stuck in the worlds lies that we are to be controlled and asleep, then you need to know I am trying to tell you to wake up. We are alive. Strong. Gifted. Powerful.

If we are connected then we are gifted. We can see in each other. We can feel each other. We can help each other. Inspire, encourage, love and open each others eyes. I always tend to separate myself from the negativity. I will try and improve the environment if it is within my control, so to speak. If I have exhausted all my efforts and it is a choice of the other to remain in that state, I will move on. What can we do? We can think positive all we want if the other party involved has made a decision to follow a different path I need, we need to continue on our path. Remove our self.

Remember we are connected. We can hurt ourselves if we remain. Love heals many situations. Love can only plant a seed sometimes for a future event. You might not reap the results instantly but the seed has been planted.  If we send love in our thoughts and prayers it gives them hope knowing that you have not given up. Silently they appreciate. Outwardly they are defiant. Pride is the difference. Pride can sometimes be the demise of a nations leaders. Hope is the defining moment of a people. Hope starts revolutions.

Strive for love, peace, harmony, joy, respect, encouragement, mindfulness of one another. Where we come from and what we are.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Going Forward

I do not know where to begin. I am at a crossroads in my life. I am changing my blog. I am changing the content. The purpose. I have had a hybrid type of blog acting as an Artist kind of advice forum. I have been wanting to write so much more. I have been wanting to write about life. Not complaining but encouraging. I will continue to encourage artists in their world, for those of you that remain reading my blog and are artists. I want to reach a broader audience. I have a passion for helping people and feel this is the perfect place for it. In essence helping people in this forum will help me be a better person. God knows I need the lessons. I have found out in my life that I learn so much more from life when I listen, watch, appreciate and observe. IF that makes sense. Someone told me that an artist experiencing a creative block is a lazy artist. I beg to differ. I strongly feel that SOME of us artists that experience a block are struggling with unresolved challenges in their soul. I see it as an artist creates and is inspired from their souls. Our art is an expression of our deepest emotions. We can see the pain and joy in our textures and colors. Not necessarily our subject matter but our way of putting it in our media and or medium.

SO where do I go from here.

How do I transform my blog. Well, I will tell you how imperfect we are and that we all need to be one as a human race to grow. We all have to love each other and open our hearts to encourage one another to live the remainder of our days positive. We admit our mistakes and failures, move forward to hold each other while we get stronger. Not take advantage of one another being mindful of every act and relationship we partake in. Every contact with another human being, every precious moment we cross one another should be meaningful. Know that our lives are all intertwined. Be respectful of each others space in time. Avoid the confrontation that can transform someone's life negatively. Release the hatred and anger for one another. Love one another and avoid the negative thoughts like a bad disease that kills. Because it does. Accept that we will have tragedy and hardship, but that this world is unpredictable. We do have some control of how we perceive those horrible moments. Do we perceive as an attack against us personally individually? Or do we know that each of us has a path we follow and sometimes the path leads to circumstances that are a result of a decision. Loved ones we will hug today and say goodbye tomorrow. Going back to before, Every precious moment we cross one another should be meaningful.

I will address all of you that read this blog going forward as if though you are in front of me and you are loved ones in need of encouragement. We will bond as loved ones do. Our souls will connect. We will break bread. I will create a place to escape the life that might be a hindrance to your happiness at the moment. I will not claim to have all the answers, but I will surely have an opinion that you might relate with or to. You might read something that will strike a cord in your pain. You might share a joy that my life has given me. We might laugh together as I am writing and you receive the message as a blessing. Our quest can be contagious. To be happy and live happy. To fill ourselves with joy when we wake and appreciate the love we spread throughout our day. We might be misunderstood, but we will surely be loved by many. The misunderstood will be outside looking in. I cannot help that. It is a normal reaction to positive and negative in the same space. Water and oil.

I am not a very school educated person. I do not hold degrees in humanities nor do I claim to be an expert in the human psyche. I have a passion for seeing people being happy. I will not impose a religion on you. I will give you my insights on spirituality and basic humanistic values. I will let you in to my soul if you want to. If you continue to read do not be insulted, If you choose to open this blog then you have some interest in moving forward with me. Discovering together a purpose we are all looking for in this life. Whether it be a long or short life. If my blog stops because I am gone and my journey ended for as long as this blog stays it is yours. I have no control over what you read. I do not email you or call your house to read my words. You found me. If I have invited you and you know me personally, I gave you my card out of love. I felt you need to be loved. This is one of my ways to share myself to people I cannot normally speak to in person for different reasons.

Please enjoy the pages going forward. I cannot guarantee you will like everything I write. My goal is to help you think about life differently. More positive. Work it out with me.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Why Do I Fear Criticism?

I have not written in this wonderful blog of ours for a while. I know many of you have emailed me asking me why. It is not that I have nothing to say, it is I have been distracted lately. I have been distracted from my passion. I have been avoiding creating or focusing on creating. Why? I guess I am my biggest critic. When I create I enjoy the feeling I get. I relish in the high I feel when I put together colors. But I am so hard on myself. I go against everything I believe in when I look at my own works. I tell everyone not worry and just create your masterpieces. Yet when I create I am very hard on myself. I have to remind myself not to fall into the worlds thought of what is nice and what is not. I am blessed to have experienced people in the art world to accept me as one of them. I have been blessed to have sold so many pieces to people that will genuinely enjoy my works. I know there is a market for my interpretations or style of works. I have connected with this community. That is a privilege and honor that is earned. I feel I have done this.

Where do we move forward from this fear we sometimes get. How do we move forward when there is that pain inside of us that does not allow us to be all that we can be. All it takes is for us to let go and just be happy. Create with a sense of urgency everyday. WE should be looking at life for an inspiration to our works. WE should be inspired by the colors we experience daily. Everywhere we look there is beauty. There is beauty in people and things. There is beauty in nature. We should be enjoying these moments of calmness and clarity. Be ready for the periods where there is tragedy and take advantage of the calmness. WE waste time going to and from that we forget to be appreciative of the great moments we are given on a daily basis. Worrying about what is happening around us that we cannot control really distracts us from what we want to do. I want to love. I want to reach out and hold my loved ones hand. Kiss my grandchildren whenever I see them. See them more often. Listen to my children and give them a breath of life when needed, or a good kick in the ass! I want to connect with friends and co-workers and help them open their eyes. I love talking about how we can improve our lives and be happier. Instead we gossip of others and complain.

The world is full of idiots why are we trying so hard to join that group. IS that an achievement we want someone to speak of us in memory? I want my legacy to read that I was giving of my heart and soul. That I loved unconditionally. That I was charismatic with my affection for the human race. I want others to do the same. Why is this world I yearn for so hard to grasp as a possibility? Who are these folks in this train of thought to criticize me in anyway. WHO gives anyone a right to judge?> We are lonely souls traveling in these bodies for a very short time. We are eternal beings using this time away from home here in these bodies. Are we experimenting? IS this a test for something better? There are religions that say we are trying to level up like a video game. Trying and trying again until we can move on to the next level. there are others that say we chose what we were to become. There is the consensus that says we have a destiny and we are to fulfill and find clarity through sacrifice and humility. All I know is that I am aware of this omnipresent life force that surrounds us and is the source of our energy and power. WE all have access to this power. We do not know the extent of that power. We are so afraid to try. We are so afraid to love one another and yet that is the fuel that powers that strength.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Create Joy Again.

There is so much in life to to see. There is so much in life to experience. People to love. Lives to inspire and connect with. Sometimes we get caught in a rut and think we have to rush everything in our life. Sometimes we look for that moment when we can slow down and enjoy our lives because we are too busy right now. Funny. All we have to do is slow down look around and realize that every moment in our daily routine is filled with inspiration, love and beautiful connections with anyone and everyone. I think we have been numb to the world. I believe in my heart that this world is lonely as a whole. I see the news, I see the results of decisions made by our world leaders. I listen to the pain caused by distorted ways of thinking that causes people to lash out in violence against innocence. We watch and hear of stories where world leaders called women and children being killed in war as collateral damage. Young boys, men, fathers and sons being slaughtered because they voice out against oppression. Brave women standing side by side losing their lives. The effects of which children are also orphaned. Most of the worlds tragedies other than natural causes are the result of a human belief. An opinion that is forced upon a society. We watch and think we are helpless. We realize that all of these precious lives are martyrs. because in the bigger picture doesn't change require sacrifice? But the cost is sometimes so high. The media glorifies it to make a great story with dramatic picture. Stunning soundbites. Graphic yet gripping images of war and struggle. They brand these human experience with big strong bold words. They sell it to the highest bidder. War has never been any less destructive nor has it been any more romantic. It has always taken big numbers from this world. It has always taken its toll on a populace(Hiroshima/Germany/Syria/Darfur). But they call it sacrifice for change. there have been genocidal events in our history which have wiped out countless families by the generations. Yet we look back at it as a moment in history. Now the media is so dominant. We have a play by play, step by step. We even influence the outcome at times. So we can use our voice for good. We can communicate to each other against tirrany. where is the improvement? How can we use technology to bring peace? How can we use this opportunity in our human history to gain momentum against hat, destruction, war and so on. These might be my thoughts. These might be words spawned by what I hear see and experience. But what i tell you as my readers, all 3 of you is this. Create joy. We are all creators.We all have the strength and the power to love, create love, create joy, happiness and positivity. Quit making excuses for your misery whatever it is. It is a human experience. We create strength from our obstacles and challenges to be powerful. We love more. We laugh more. We appreciate more. If there is anything else in life to do before we take our last breath is to Love.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

spec of sand

At the very least show each other respect for the masterpieces you create. Do not be so selfish as to think you are the only one to create art. Just because you had the privilege and the opportunity to flourish in a learning environment to learn and grow as an artist does not mean you have the authority or the right to demean another and judge someone elses efforts. Do not chastise another creator for their works. Everyone has a voice to express what they feel inside. If art is their passion and it looks different than yours, then let it be so. Who is to say that someone might enjoy the works of the artist that is the target of ridicule and shun. We all have gifts that we love to express. We are all cut from the same cloth and from the same creator whether or not you believe in anything. OR we have evolved from the same fish. We are just but a spec of sand in the worlds sandbox. We are small in the bigger picture. Yet we are large and influence so many. We are important. We encourage. We empower. We love. So why are we having such a hard time to get a long? Let alone as artists but as human beings on this earth. We all pay a price and also reap the rewards for decisions we make. We all reap the results of the thoughts we have. We think like shit we get shit. We love like angels we feel angelic. We act like an animal we are looked at as an animal. You get the picture here. I implore you as artists, as humans, as creators of your life, I implore you to love one another and appreciate each other. Always.