ordinary

Some years ago, during a weekend artist's retreat, I was startled out of a very focused examination of a glass vase placed at the centre of our large, circular dining room table. My friend sitting across the broad expanse of bowls and platters thought I'd had a stroke or other cognitive event as I was in an unsettling trance in the midst of animated conversation. Since then I've noticed that I frequently drift off while eye-balling a potential drawing or painting. In those semi-comatose moments I'm mentally measuring the shapes, playing with the colours, and following the lines. Noticing potential subjects, often very ordinary subjects, for art's sake is one of the perks of being an artist. It allows us to soak up the details of life 'normal' folks may miss.

In the blog, Dying Man's Daily Journal writer Bill Howdle shares his journey of living with a terminal illness. Over half a million readers benefit from his generous personal contribution to the planetary conversation around death and dying and often submit their own experiences. I was recently touched by one reader contribution. In her letter she shared a very tender memory of one of her teacher's who had recently lost her husband suddenly to a heart attack. It went like this..

Class is over, I would like to share with all of you, a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important. Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment. Perhaps this is the power's way of telling us that we must make the most out of every single day."

Illustrations © Barbara J Holzapfel

Her eyes, beginning to water, she went on, "So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn't have to be something you see, it could be a scent, perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of someone's house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catch one autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground.

Please look for these things, and cherish them. For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the 'stuff' of life. The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for granted."






The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and filed out of the room silently. That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than I had that whole semester. Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what an impression she made on all of us, and I try to appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook. 

Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour today. Go barefoot. Or walk on the beach at sunset. Stop off on the way home tonight to get a double dip ice cream cone. For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn't do.

(www.https://hudds53.wordpress.com/2012/10/25/dying-mans-daily-journal-the-little-things-in-life/)