Long before there was Silicon Valley and all its technocratic adulation, there were trees and mountains, meadows and blue sky -- places of beauty nature invited us to be in and enjoy.
And long after technocracy fails, the trees and mountains and meadows will remain. Still beautiful. Still inviting us to be in them and enjoy.
@mykhaylo indeed that is true -- technology has the potential to do and be good, as well as the opposite. Technocracy tends to lie in the latter category.
The ability to create is a gift given to us as human beings.With our hands, hearts, minds, and skill we are able to fabricate and bring forth things of beauty and goodness . . . or, things that are not. We do well when we determine to use our creativity for good, and refuse to employ it for evil.
@Deus I am glad. I enjoy creating the Santa works -- finding places where a likable, approachable Santa can be in real, believable setting and then painting him there.
On the bay, they were far enough away from the city to escape the noise and bustle, but close enough to watch its endless activity. It was a good perspective, one that allowed them to observe without being distracted.
The river moves calmly through its landscape, not in any particular hurry to get where it's going because, even if the pace is leisurely, it will still, eventually, reach its destination. A good thing to remember when we're tempted to rush through our day.
Reading, questioning, thinking, researching, experimenting, failing, trying again -- it is through this process that we grow in our skills and intellect.
And pretending, imagining, daydreaming, wondering -- all those things I got in trouble for at school -- those are part of learning, too.
Is there such thing as a Great Awakening? I suspect that if there were, it would be quickly taken over by the authorities of the day and reconfigured to their satisfaction.
Quite fortunately, awakenings happen every day, one by one in individuals, as we see a truth, a light we had not been aware of before.
Rugged peaks form a ring encircling a high, clear, pristine, alpine lake. This is a landscape of intense silence, one where you can sit on a boulder along the banks, look out over the water, and think pleasant, interesting thoughts (why be grumpy in a place like this?).
Many creative projects demand that we give them time and attention. And why not? When we're doing something that interests us, why rush through it? The very act of creating provides as much satisfaction as the finished product.
@SteveHendersonFineArt There are also different sizes to projects that take different amounts of time and other resources to start and finish!
If something is keeping you from trying something out, remember to start small! And friends may help too!
The weather could go either way. It was one of those moments in which the storm hadn't quite decided whether it wanted to unleash itself in a torrent of rain, or slowly dissipate into a cloudy day broken by gleams of sunlight. Either way, the show would be worth seeing.
Not all of us are trained or skilled as dancers on the stage, but in the dance of life, we have opportunity to move with strength, purpose, and meaning.
I love Zion National Park in Utah, USA. Not the crowds, mind you, but if you're willing to explore the "back 40" of the park, the places not listed on brochures, you find all the majesty and splendor of the landscape, without the noise or crowds.
Years ago, it began to grow along the steep hillside overlooking the valley. As a sapling, it weathered the wind that buffeted it, struggled until it reached a size that its roots ran strong and deep.
How it managed to not be decimated by the deer passing through, it wasn't quite sure. But it made it, alone and lone, firm, and strong.
May the artwork take both you and the people to whom you send the cards to a place of welcoming, warmth, and home, and may you feel as if you could run about the yard of this house and play with the joy and freedom of a child.