Friday, November 27, 2015

can you make the world a better place?

Of all the paths you take in life,
make sure a few of them are dirt.
- John Muir
Hello folks!
Here's a little glimpse of my world
during the past few weeks...
Today is Black Friday
and I'll be as far away from the stores & malls
as I can possibly get.
A frenzy of crazy, desperate shoppers...
One of my worst nightmares. ;)
I'll be going for a walk here instead
later this afternoon.
A much more centered, sane place for me.
And alas,
COLOR FOR CLARITY has arrived!
November 17th was the date of mom's passing -
3 years now -
and this was what it looked like outside.
It'll always be a sad day to me.
My mind naturally goes back
to that time,
to that room,
to those last moments.
I don't spend the whole day crying,
but I just wake up with a heavy heart
and I'm always relieved when nighttime falls.
But this year was different.
There was glimpse of happiness
in this dark, snowy day
when I received the box from Amazon
filled with our lovely books!
It's a strange thing
how "living in the moment"
takes so much effort sometimes.
The whole process of collaborating
on this colouring book
was great.
Choosing our words,
doing the illustrations,
sending them off,
dreaming of holding
COLOR FOR CLARITY in our hands.
And then we get them,
and of course it's exciting,
but within the first few minutes,
I was already thinking,
"What can I do next?!"
I literally had to stop myself,
sit myself down with the book,
smell it (like I do with most books) ;)
and slowly go through it page by page,
and only then,
i began to feel gratitude.
There's always a time and a place
to consider our next dream...
but it's important to appreciate
the moment of THIS dream
while it's here.
So fall is here
and winter is just around the corner
and although last winter was long
and cold
and snowy
and fucking depressing at times...
there's still a part of me
that loves the cocooning of this cold season.
I tend to write more, paint more,
and feel more grounded, for some reason.
With everything happening in the world,
it's more important than ever
for each of us to find our own
quiet, peaceful place.
To do what we can for others,
without losing ourselves.
Everyone has an opinion about everything.
The yahoos think they can solve world problems
when they can't even find their own socks.
I've come to realize this:
I.
can't.
save.
the.
world.
I can't solve world hunger.
I can't bring peace to everyone on earth.
It's too heavy a burden for me.
All I can do is make my own little corner
as peaceful as possible.
All I can do is my own little part,
here in this corner of the globe,
and hope that others do the same
in different little corners everywhere.
And sometimes,
that little part for me
means nothing more
than smiling at someone.
Sometimes it means giving a few dollars,
or food,
or sending a card
or clothes.
Sometimes it means 
putting myself in someone else's shoes
if only for a moment
and trying to understand their fears
and their crushed hopes
and their sense of desperation.
We live in a first world country
with first world problems
so most of us have no idea
what it's like to worry about your next meal.
Or about the safety of your children.
Or about making it through another day
alive.

So I've been playing in this little book
on and off since June.
As you can see,
some of my drawings & doodles
are far less serious than others. ;)
Books like this are designed
to encourage bad drawings...
which are as important as good drawings.
I am nowhere near perfect
so why should my drawings be?
I hate even the word "perfection".
Or anyone who strives for perfection.
Perfection is not truth.
If anything,
it's farthest from the truth.
Which is probably why i dislike social media so much...
because we see a LOT of "untruths".
A lot of "pretend perfect lives".
The happy faces.
The happy wheels.
The happy meals. ;)
And on that note,
THANK YOU to everyone who bought
a COLOR FOR CLARITY colouring book
and those who helped encourage and inspire me
along the way.
It may be a small, dinky dream to some,
but small dreams are still sweet. :)
oh, and newsflash...
I'll be doing a giveaway of Color for Clarity
right HERE in the next week or so!!
Come back for a visit soon
if you want your name to be entered in the draw!
hugs to all of you.
xx

ps: Visit Amazon.com if you want to buy your own copy of Color for Clarity today!

9 comments:

  1. I love how those significant things happen on a once tough day... it brings balance to life, hope and light to a dark moment! Always such profound writing and thoughts. All your so called bad drawings are so happy! I do love them! Congratulations having book in hand!! I am with you about black Friday and boxing day too! I think I have only ever shopped once on boxing day when Cupcake was a teen, she got some terrific deals during a time our budget was really stretched! Other than that it's a sad trade off. Thanks for sharing all the beauty that is you!

    Hugs Giggles

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  2. What a thoughtful post, and really poignant art to accompany it. I love when after bad times a change occurs and things begin to get a bit brighter. Congratulations on the book-that is a great title!!

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  3. Not sure about overseas, but there's a thing going on over here called "buy nothing Friday". It's a counterbalance to the Black Friday thing, although I'm not sure it's working.
    Besides, it's not black Friday, it's more grey, wet and dismal Friday! Time to get out the yellow crayons then :)

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  4. Pauline you need to add the link http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=COLOR+FOR+CLARITY+
    on your post....and an American amazon link too!! Market it because it's awesome!!

    Hugs Giggles

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  5. Oh, Pauline, I know how you feel about the date of your mother's passing. I too have felt the thick dark clouds that engulf and suffocate, since the passing of my father, My friend, my fishing buddy, my kindred spirit. Some days I feel full of life and others I just want to curl up and sleep, and cry.

    This is such a beautifully written post accompanied by heart filled art. You have touched my heart.

    I am so proud of you for reaching one of your dreams. It is not the size of the dream that is important, it's that you made it come true! A lot of us dream, but that is all we do, dream. You actually made it happen and that is commendable.

    I am also starting to feel more motivated to create art and write. The coziness of late fall and early winter seem to settle my soul and free my mind to create, too.

    Hopefully, winter will be a lot more gentle on you this year!

    Thank you for sharing your wonderful art and heart with us!

    Best wishes to you,
    Renee

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  6. All of your art and photos are wonderful. However your words today gave me hope and healing. My mom became ill on TG of last year and passed on Dec.4 I have been having a hard time. My family tells me to move on that mom is OK. I tell them I know she is, I am not OK. I don't dwell but some little thing comes up and I am a bundle of tears. So thank you for your post today.

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  7. I am glad your sadness for the loss of your mother is starting to abate. I agree we can only do what we can in our own little universe where we live. I really like your drawings, especially since accuracy in it is my weakest point and your emphasize"not to care!"

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  8. Hi Pauline.
    Your post read like a Bollywood film... it made me sad, it made me chuckle, it made me question and it ended with a big smile in my heart. THANK YOU.
    Long walks can beat shopping (especially the frenzied, crazy kind) hollow-- any day:)
    I love the aquamarine, blue reflective artwork of yours...introspective and calming.
    I know what I'm getting myself this Xmas...Colour for Clarity:) I'll have to wait a bit as Amazon takes a time to deliver here.
    Sending you a warm hug while chuckling to 'The yahoos think they can solve world problems
    when they can't even find their own socks.' Take care my friend and enjoy your creative season.
    Arti xx

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  9. Those yahoos. lol.

    When my books arrived I took one to bed with me so I could really focus, and I looked at every page and when I got to the end I realised I'd been smiling non stop the whole way through. That's the happiest and most 'complete' I've felt in quite some time. Are you keeping one for yourself to colour in? I decided I am. :)

    Also - enlightened butterfly! Love that so much!
    xoxo

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