Tag Archives: philosophical

Spring of Hope

See this oil painting “Flower Angel” come to life in 2 minutes

Today was much better! It was a beautifully gorgeous sunny and warm spring day. I was right, my next blog post isn’t a dreary “Losing Hope” theme like yesterday’s. I worked at packing for the unwanted move, while opening my mind more to the idea that this will end up good for us in some way in the end. I worked on my painting and transplanted more bell peppers for our plant sale. The first created something new, the second is letting go of my garden since we have to vacate before harvest time. Life is often this way, something gained while something is lost.

I imagine our lives as a train station where tracks run both directions. Sometimes they run at equal speeds, sometimes not. Sometimes you can see both trains at the same time, other times not. But one train doesn’t negate the other, even if their journeys and destinations are different. I have to remind myself of this often because I have a tendency to feel as if I can’t enjoy the pleasure trip if a crisis trip is running alongside on the other track. But most of the time there’s an overlap of good things and bad things. We can’t wait for all of the bad things to go away- we must live our lives and find joy where we can.

So, on that philosophical note, I’ll wrap up by saying that our housing problem is unresolved. In fact, it’s worse. There are now NO homes that meet our needs listed for rent by the property management, and very few outside of that company either. What few are available are ridiculously expensive. It’s not a good outlook at the moment. It could change any day. If it doesn’t, we’ll muster through somehow. I’ll take one day at a time. It was a good day because I had a better attitude. I got a lot done. And my husband brought home cookies.

Invasive or Beautiful?

See oil painting “Cherokee Rose” come alive in 2 minutes (time lapse)

This beautiful white rose is the state flower of Georgia. But due to their thorny and hardy nature, they are considered an invasive species when they take off on their own in the wild. If being philosophical, this situation can be a metaphor for occupations, lifestyle choices, and relationships in our lives. Sometimes our circumstances seem very appealing, but are nonetheless destructive, growing ever too fast around us, and are difficult to break free of. January is a good time to reflect on the invasive white roses in our lives and do what we can to change what entangles us. May you break free of anything that is holding you back and look to 2022 with hope.