Acceptance

When is fear healthy? Is it healthy? Is a portion of it healthy to keep grounded and humble? Do we put expectations on ourselves that are unattainable in turn create situations for us that are fearful? We create our own walls and challenges. We perceive our growing pains as failures. We worry of the future challenges before they are created and we don’t even know what the challenge is. So the build up of what we perceive is clearly more damaging than that of the actual situation. I struggle today with this theory. We worry of what is to come before it is here. We contemplate all the variables associated with that perception created in our minds. the truth of the matter is that the percentages that a situation will turn out different than what our perception is  of it is very high. So in essence we are wasting time. We are a very unpredictable species in a broader sense. We as humanity can surprise and be amazing against adversity. We can overcome the unthinkable. We are very passionate about our existence. We strive for joy at all costs. We look for stimulative purpose to substitute for the basic decision to be happy. We need external vices and distractions to give us a synthetic sense joy rather than looking internally… for the wisdom of our existence.

As an artist i lament the possibilities in life. I can have whatever it is I want. I can do what is possible and anything in life is possible. I look at the world in a pre-creative state of mind. Always looking for inspiration from people and still objects. I always look for the texture and color of life. I want to copy the beauty and express it in my work. I am a very basic artist in the sense that I do not complicate things. I am not a Picasso or Braque. I am not a Dali or Michelangelo. I am a very normal person with average skills. I love what i am capable of doing and I am not trying to sell or pawn myself as a master. Yet I am a master at creating what I love because it is mine. I create MY masterpieces for my enjoyment. I am very passionate about what my soul expresses. If some else is passionate about my work then that is an extra I can enjoy.

I am not fooled into believing I am going to compete for the attention that the very gifted and talented artists have. I am not trying to capture that audience. I do not even want an audience. I would love to inspire others to think the way I do and have a passion for what they love to do and to share it with others. Share it in a very humble way and pay attention to whom enjoys it. Enjoy your work with them and talk with your audience be it one or two persons.

I reflect on where I have traveled in my life, physically and spiritually. It has been a journey. Yet I have wasted precious time and resources. I have pissed away so to speak opportunities that I cannot return to myself. I myself learned this through those experiences. We live in a very comfortable world. We have before us a spoiled culture. If we fail we have a safety net. Lately we have been seeing that the world is very delicate and everything we are so used to having can be taken away in an instant. In a global light we have seen that nature, as we call it can have no mercy on us. Our earth reminds us that we are very small and to appreciate a reprieve we receive daily where there is calm. To enjoy everything we experience daily. To love everyone and give of each other. I do not care nor does it matter what you believe, if you are reading this then you have the luxury of internet access and the time to find this blog. You have the calmness in your life where you have time. Time to reflect on what you have and want. Time to appreciate and create opportunities to enjoy those gifts you are NOW able to enjoy. One day you’ll be detached from these opportunities and will struggle just to survive. Some life a lifetime of calmness. Some live a lifetime of chaos. Some live a lifetime of silence never knowing.

If there is a point to my madness it is to do not take your days and moments for granted. You only have one moment at a time. You are only guaranteed the moment you are in never the next.

I am so happy to be alive today to see my loved ones and enjoy my life for what ever is left. We can have one day or ten years or more. I am sure we should all live our lives the same. Happy content with ourselves and our choices. i have resorted to accepting certain situations that in the past I would normally have sworn back at. Now I embrace change and the uniqueness of others. I do not have to accept or agree…but I embrace their differences. I can learn from others, Let it go, or let it bother me. I have no control over others. I have control over my perceptions and my expressions. I am a very empathetic person, I am human. I hurt and sometimes hurt others. We all do this unknowingly. Or sometimes we do it to protect ourselves and yet we are sad at the result even if it is for our own good. Let go. Have peace. Love. Laugh and Live.

1. Your default belief is that life is hard.

Happy people know life can be hard and tend to bounce through hard times with an attitude of curiosity versus victim-hood. They take responsibility for how they got themselves into a mess, and focus on getting themselves out of it as soon as possible.
Perseverance towards problem-solving versus complaining over circumstances is a symptom of a happy person. Unhappy people see themselves as victims of life and stay stuck in the “look what happened to me” attitude versus finding a way through and out the other side.
2. You believe most people can’t be trusted.

I won’t argue that healthy discernment is important, but most happy people are trusting of their fellow man. They believe in the good in people, versus assuming everyone is out to get them. Generally open and friendly towards people they meet, happy people foster a sense of community around themselves and meet new people with an open heart.
Unhappy people are distrustful of most people they meet and assume that strangers can’t be trusted. Unfortunately this behavior slowly starts to close the door on any connection outside of an inner-circle and thwarts all chances of meeting new friends.
3. You concentrate on what’s wrong in this world versus what’s right.

There’s plenty wrong with this world, no arguments here, yet unhappy people turn a blind eye to what’s actually right in this world and instead focus on what’s wrong. You can spot them a mile away, they’ll be the ones complaining and responding to any positive attributes of our world with “yeah but”.
Happy people are aware of global issues, but balance their concern with also seeing what’s right. I like to call this keeping both eyes open. Unhappy people tend to close one eye towards anything good in this world in fear they might be distracted from what’s wrong. Happy people keep it in perspective. They know our world has problems and they also keep an eye on what’s right.
4. You compare yourself to others and harbor jealousy.

Unhappy people believe someone else’s good fortune steals from their own. They believe there’s not enough goodness to go around and constantly compare yours against theirs. This leads to jealousy and resentment.
Happy people know that your good luck and circumstance are merely signs of what they too can aspire to achieve. Happy people believe they carry a unique blueprint that can’t be duplicated or stolen from — by anyone on the planet. They believe in unlimited possibilities and don’t get bogged down by thinking one person’s good fortune limits their possible outcome in life.
5. You strive to control your life.

There’s a difference between control and striving to achieve our goals. Happy people take steps daily to achieve their goals, but realize in the end, there’s very little control over what life throws their way.
Unhappy people tend to micromanage in effort to control all outcomes and fall apart in dramatic display when life throws a wrench in their plan. Happy people can be just as focused, yet still have the ability to go with the flow and not melt down when life delivers a curve-ball.
The key here is to be goal-oriented and focused, but allow room for letting sh*t happen without falling apart when the best laid plans go awry- because they will. Going with the flow is what happy people have as plan B.
6. You consider your future with worry and fear.

There’s only so much rent space between your ears. Unhappy people fill their thoughts with what could go wrong versus what might go right.
Happy people take on a healthy dose of delusion and allow themselves to daydream about what they’d like to have life unfold for them. Unhappy people fill that head space with constant worry and fear.
Happy people experience fear and worry, but make an important distinction between feeling it and living it. When fear or worry crosses a happy person’s mind, they’ll ask themselves if there’s an action they can be taken to prevent their fear or worry from happening (there’s responsibility again) and they take it. If not, they realize they’re spinning in fear and they lay it down.
7. You fill your conversations with gossip and complaints.

Unhappy people like to live in the past. What’s happened to them and life’s hardships are their conversation of choice. When they run out of things to say, they’ll turn to other people’s lives and gossip.
Happy people live in the now and dream about the future. You can feel their positive vibe from across the room. They’re excited about something they’re working on, grateful for what they have and dreaming about the possibilities of life.
Obviously none of us are perfect. We’re all going to swim in negative waters once in a while, but what matters is how long we stay there and how quickly we work to get ourselves out. Practicing positive habits daily is what sets happy people apart from unhappy people, not doing everything perfectly.
Walk, fall down, get back up again, repeat. It’s in the getting back up again where all the difference resides.