Tag Archives: turtle

Mellow Fellow

See this oil painting of a sea turtle come alive in 30 seconds (time lapse)

This is Matthew, an animal rescue sea turtle that has since been released back into the ocean at Tybee Island, Georgia. When I met Matthew I fell in love with his big personality and had to paint him. Sharing this one again today because I feel that a lot of us are on edge and could use a mellow vibe from Matthew the sea turtle.

I’ve had to cut my thoughts or words off many times today. I’m easily fired up, riled up, and spouting off. I’m not argumentative with anyone personally, just chiming in with my own pile-on angry comments- in which nearly everyone in the chain of comments is in agreement. But we’re all agreeing with rage. That’s not a good energy to sustain. No matter how righteous the anger, anger takes a toll on us. So, it’s good to step back and be like Matthew.

I unplugged from the public sphere conversation and jumped onto a gardening site instead. I ordered the “Razzmatazz” grape vine I’ve had my eye on all winter. Our ship date for zone 8 is next week! Well, a bit longer than a week. Valentine’s day. So more like two weeks, but I want it to come sooner so I’ll round down to “next week”. To qualify for free shipping I added a jasmine plant. I was not displeased to have an excuse to tack something else on to my order. 🙂

I greatly look forward to spring planting! I always feel more hopeful when new life is growing. I can hardly wait for the flowers to bloom! Stay strong everyone, winter won’t last forever.

Do you have the heart to Celebrate?

Watch me paint this sea turtle in less than 1 minute (time lapse)

The sea turtle in my oil painting is Matthew, a rescue animal at the marine center on Tybee Island. When I saw him he was fully recovered and swimming peacefully in his tank. Shortly after my visit he was released back to his ocean home.

Imagine if we could see Matthew now. What might he be doing, in the post-2020 dystopian world that mankind has created? Well, I imagine he’s still in a state of relaxation, swimming to his own rhythm regardless of worldly chaos, darkness, fear, malice, death, and oppression on the shore.

I saw a lot of debate about whether or not it’s OK to celebrate holidays such as Independence Day when we are hardly free at this point in time. But it is when we are enslaved the most when we must celebrate what it means to be free! When the chips are down, if we leave the table it means that we have accepted the loss. Accepting a loss of freedom is to submit to slavery.

Who desires us to stop celebrating? It’s sad that our own “side” (fellow humans who claim to wish to be free, sovereign over their bodies, choices, and homes) should align with the oppressive regimes and their mouthpieces! Shaming each other or being a voice of discouragement and despair is exactly the kind of drive toward hopelessness that abusing regimes desire. For when we are without hope, we will comply and submit. We will give up that which makes us independent and free. We will enslave ourselves.

I do not comply.

I do not submit.

I celebrate my God given rights,

and I hope that you do too.

If you missed my spectacular 4th of July variety show, in which I laid my heart on the table; and my family also committed their time and talents to the project… please watch. It may inspire you to celebrate, even when it seems as if there is nothing to rejoice over. In my show I also share my personal American story, a story that should be relatable in general, no matter which country you call home.

No ruler, king, or evil empire of technocracy can create laws or commit illegal actions over our spirit. If we are spiritually like Matthew the sea turtle, we can live by our own rhythm no matter how grim the state of the world is. There is no compliance officer who can force our hearts to be hopeless. Choosing peace, joy, and love is always our right. I celebrate this freedom.