“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain.
Summertime arrives, and many of us travel near and far, and that’s great. As our world gets smaller and smaller, and seemingly crazier, an escape, an adventure, a mind opening experience, a new path, all seem appropriate.
Find a new table in a new spot
“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” – Martin Buber
The journey might be five minutes away or 5,000 miles-both count and both matter.
Spread your wings, fly, walk, run, ride (whatever is your pleasure) and discover your destination.
(Note-background is from the series of illustration backgrounds that I am creating for Book #2 – Working Title of Garden Bud – stay tuned!)
If you don’t use your imagination, does it mean you don’t dream of what’s to be? Do you have passion for your dreams? Passion drives the energy and focus for us to keep on trucking forward. Without that drive (passion) then what’s really up, i.e., what happens? If imagination is the act of thinking/dreaming stuff up then is creativity is the act of putting it in place? Is ‘in-place’ an action, a plan, a drawing, a poem, a song, a whatever? I have been pondering for this a while now. What do YOU think the difference is of imagination and creativity? Please leave your thoughts on this in comments!
Apparently, Albert Einstein said –“Imagination is everything. It is the preview for life’s coming attractions.” That’s excellent. In my mind, that translates into dream it up, work on it (probably with all the strength you can muster) and make it happen. Much easier said than done but that’s ok too. Which of course brings up the ever present famous Gandhi quote:
“Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
My Version of this is below. I don’t know about you, but that seems like a pretty darn good mantra to live by.
SO…
What are you thinking about? What are your dreams? What’s in your imagination?
YES! Colors are the secret ingredient to Spring time! We are coming out of our winter shells and happy for the promises Spring can bring. If you think about it as a larger frame, all the pieces fit perfectly.
The meaning of the color indigo reflects great devotion, wisdom, and justice along with fairness and impartiality. It is a defender of people’s rights to the end. (Blue Berries and Blue flowers are popping out)
The meaning of the color pink is unconditional love and nurturing. In color psychology, pink is a sign of hope. It is a positive color inspiring warm and comforting feelings, a sense that everything will be okay. (Pink Blooms ALL around, especially in this location with the beautiful Cherry Trees, RedBuds, and dogwoods!)
The color white is the color at its most complete and pure, the color of perfection. The psychological meaning of white is purity, innocence, wholeness and completion. (White flowers abound: Lily of the Valley, Snowdrops, my front yard has beautiful white camellia blooms- just to name a few.)
The color green relates to balance and harmony. From a color psychology perspective, it is the great balancer of the heart and the emotions, creating equilibrium between the head and the heart. (ALL the shades of green, especially that new lush green as leaves begin to unfold-it’s hard to beat that!)
The color red is a warm and positive color associated with our most physical needs and our will to survive. It exudes a strong and powerful masculine energy. (Flowers of azaleas, poppies, and tulips are what come to my mind!)
Even though I don’t have a pix – how could we possibly not mention YELLOW! The color yellow relates to acquired knowledge. It is the color which resonates with the left or logic side of the brain stimulating our mental faculties and creating mental agility and perception. (Blooms of the Daffs and the forsythias! )
Put it all together, and you have wisdom, fairness, unconditional love, hope, perfection, wholeness, balance, harmony, mental agility topped of with our will to survive! It’s little wonder Spring busting out all around feels so good!
Times they are a changing… The weather, the earth, the world….it’s enough to make my head spin!
Come gather ’round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone If your time to you Is worth savin’ Then you better start swimmin’ Or you’ll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin
Dylan famously goes on to write the next verse about writers and critics, followed by politicians, with the last stance about mothers and fathers. So timely!
The times certainly are ‘a-changing’, Bob Dylan is now the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for literature—first time for lyrics, as opposed to a novel. It was said that it is “perhaps the most radical choice in a (Noble Peace Prize) history stretching back to 1901.” (reason #1)
Spring brings Easter, Passover and I am sure there are other holidays of spring renewals that I don’t even know. Spring is busting out with colors- greens, yellows, pinks and red splashes all around! (reason #2) I’ve been thinking a lot about changing, or ‘reinventions’ as I am now trying to call, and view, all the changes. As a child the world is always changing, we are continually learning, and trying all different hats, paths, and ways all the time. That’s a good thing. As an adult constant learning and forward motion is still a good thing. That said-constant change is not easy. However, I hope I never stop learning and exploring. Curiosity didn’t kill the cat. Curiosity does keep the soul, mind, and body alive! (reason #3)
For myself, all these ‘reinventions’ are global as well as very personal. It feels like a spinning top at a dizzying speed. How about you?
…and speaking of changes… A new kind of Botanical Beauties has come to town! I’m having fun with flowers in new ways (reason #4.) Stay tuned as we see together what and how this develops.
There’s a new bird in town! Click on the image to see it larger.
