it only takes a moment

It happened again! Another artist surfaced right under my nose! This week you have to check out Andrea’s photos at http://365project.org/triplescoop/365. Go ahead—do it now. I’ll wait.


…Neat, huh? Proof that beauty…and meaning…surround us if we take the time to look carefully and deliberately at the simplest things—frost on the window, melting ice, a cup of tea. So much of what we take for granted touches the artist’s soul and the rest of us don’t even notice it. Which is why we need photographers, painters, writers, and composers to open our eyes and ears, to claim our hearts and souls.


There is something to be said for walking slowly, breathing deeply, listening carefully, and looking closely at the world around us. Beauty is easy to miss…or ignore…or deny because we are hurried, or anxious, or irritable. Because we have an agenda to accomplish from day to day that doesn’t include jumping puddles, or listening to the wind, or watching the sun set…so we miss a lot. Thankfully it only takes a moment in time to rectify the situation…just a moment to glance up at the sky or down at the earth, a moment to inhale the fragrance of honeysuckle or wood smoke, a moment to listen to the sound of the wind or the waves. It only takes a moment to awaken to what is given to us to write about or sing about, to draw or photograph.


Tonight I’ll be gathering with friends to celebrate the retirement of another spent woman, another unseen artist. Three of us have taken the plunge now. I went first and I wrote a novel. Next was a talented woman who has found her niche doing exquisite wood-burnings. And tonight we’ll be joined by another friend who will finally be able to enjoy the time and freedom she needs to explore the handicrafts and party-planning she does so well. I'm pretty sure she'll be happy, too.


I believe that, like the beauty that surrounds us, artistic longing is present but hidden. We have been taught to deny it…or trained to ignore it…or forced to forsake it. But stay alert. Given a little time and freedom and inspiration it might just surface right under your nose.


When is the last time you caught a snowflake or listened to the wind or took a deep breath?

*

“Imagination was given to man to compensate for what he is not.

A sense of humor was provided to console him for what he is.”

--Horace Walpole--

*

In my next post I’ll tell you about a new blog I’m working on.

jan