I uploaded this art video today to YouTube and I was thinking about how this fun little guy comes to life in 2 minutes. How many other things are fun in 2 minutes? Eating a chocolate truffle? Pausing to say hello to a neighbor before continuing on our way? Stopping to look up at the stars or observing a sunrise?
Two minutes is a short time, yet we often need a reminder to invest two minutes into something that makes us happy. Don’t wait for the world to get better, your schedule to get easier, or for life to give you permission. Two minutes goes by fast. If you don’t grab it now, it’s gone.
Challenge: be mindful this weekend of how long two minutes is, and make a willful choice to spend at least two minutes absorbed in a simple joy.
I felt a bit of panic, but I willed myself to keep my cool, as cool as this puffin. Today I was working on the new painting and at the end of the session I decided to compile the video footage I have thus far and I was horrified to see that an important chunk of the painting session was missing! It skipped from one part to another in a big jump. Oh no, no, no, no! It was an important part of what I hope will be a special painting.
But, no need to panic. Yes, it could have been a terrible incident that has happened to me in the past: I think I’ve hit the record button, but I’ve really hit the stop button from a session that was still running. Then, I paint while the camera is OFF, and then when I go to shut if off, my stomach sinks as I realize that it was never on! However, it was possible that the camera recorded the whole thing, but the clip was somehow missing from the video file. In which case, the footage was there. I just needed to find the clip. That could have happened easily.
And that’s what DID happen! Whew! I found the missing clip. All is well! Whatever your day was like today, I hope that you too were “puffin cool” even if there were some highly stressful moments. Most things are really not worth getting anxious over, especially if there’s a chance that it will all work out in the end.
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I last shared this puffin painting in a blog post called “Are you Worried?” Today, I’d like this funny little bird to wish you a happy Friday. I’m enjoying my evening and I hope you are too! A bit of an update: I am working on the longer project I mentioned earlier and the smell of heavy oil paint was getting to me, so it’s a good thing I’ve had a forced break this week due to weather. You might recall that I’ve said that artificial light is not as good as natural sunlight for seeing and filming my paintings. It’s been dreary and dark here in Georgia.
So, I’ve been working on Christmas sewing projects and other home related things. The art will be done in due time. In this way, I shall be like this puffin, a positive and quirky bird with many talents. He can swim, fly, and nest high on cliffs, but obviously he can do only one of those things at a time. He’s a social creature and above all, likes to be with his fellow birds. May we be like a puffin, embracing all of the amazing things we can do, but fine with not being able to do all things at all times, and enjoying the people we love to spend time with.
