Saturday, March 17, 2012

Life as an Abstract

I am a painter and often I am asked what I paint. My favorite is abstract and people ask why don't I paint a tree, a house, a portrait or a landscape. When they look at my paintings they sometimes ask what it is supposed to be or what I want to express to them. It is whatever you want it to be I tell them. What we see is who we are. Just as each one of us chooses what we want from our individual lives. It can be anything and everything, but we have to really look at ourselves and study what and who we are.
Life . . . . I used to think that life was specific, black and white, yes or no, more definite. Well, I used to think a lot of things. Funny thing about life, the more you live it, the less it seems to be what you thought it was. I am finding that life is really pretty abstract in many things. Not much is clearly defined and that which is defined is basic and true. Much of our view of our individual life is what we think happened, how we interpret it, rather than what actually happened. When we live through an experience, it is usually a learning experience and we became a better person for it. Our views are changed by people, by happenings, by experiences. Sometimes by things that we have no control over. But very often by the choices we make every single day. And that is the beauty of it. Everyday is about the possibility of more, of better, of hope and change and unlimited joys and opportunity to grow as a person. We can grow in the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Everyday we get to see something new, something different, sometimes with a new perspective and other times with a confirmation of an old one. I like to see myself as having the quality of an abstract, that there is no end to what is possible and still much to explore and discover.