Moments of Gratitude are Everywhere

July 24: It is a gratitude kind of day.

Rolling out of bed this morning I thanked my cat.  He let me sleep until I was ready to get up.

And then I thanked my body for its continued healing of the cyst on my back drained by a doctor last week.  Yesterday it stung so badly I was almost in tears.  This morning I was able to move around and get out of bed with minimal discomfort.

An art journal page that I’ve been working on popped into my head while vacuuming.  Art journal pages usually consist of a subject or focal point on top of a mixed media background.  Putting the whole page together – technique, composition, and color – is a little overwhelming.  I’m still a beginner learning all of this at once.  I just finished a background that I’m particularly proud of, but now I’m stumped.  I don’t know what to do next.  I can’t come up with a subject or focal point to add to my page and I’m afraid to just show up and do something, do anything, for fear of ruining this page that in its current state, I like very much.  A little anxiety is starting to settle in and it’s blocking my ability to move forward.

The thought that popped into my head (while vacuuming) was this – why do you need to finish it now?  What’s wrong with making nothing but background pages for awhile?  When you’re ready ideas will come.  When that time comes you’ll have all these background pages ready to go.  This is what makes art such a great metaphor for life.

For years I’d been thinking about leaving this job I had, only I didn’t because I knew it wouldn’t be an easy and quick extraction.  I knew in good conscious I couldn’t just walk away in two weeks.  This made finding replacement work a challenge and so I did nothing.  Then I had an epiphany.  The two were not related; leaving didn’t have to be contingent on finding a replacement job.  Starting a new art journal page doesn’t have to be contingent on finishing this one.

There is a lot of creativity in my family as well a many naturally gifted artists, but dusting off and giving voice to my artistic gene wasn’t the reason for picking up a paint brush three years ago, it was really about discovering what art could teach me about myself and life.  Today’s message was received loud and clear and with gratitude.

There’s always something in Mother Nature that makes me grateful and today is no exception — three new Monarch chrysalises.  There will soon be butterflies here to remind me of what is beautiful and magical in this world.

And finally, I’m grateful for that wide open calendar that often mocks and challenges me because today it allowed me to be here and to be present for as long as needed for a friend.

The day is still young and moments of gratitude are everywhere.