selfies and why I love life

What art offers is space -

a certain breathing room for the spirt.

- John Updike, American writer

29 faces of February!
day 11... Micron pen on paper

day 12 - acrylic on paper

day 13 - sharpie marker on paper

day 14 - sharpie thin marker on paper

and today, day 15 - 
This one looks more like me
than any of the others I think...
although i must admit,
i'm getting really tired of looking at myself
so i can just imagine how you all feel by now.
I really like the little cartoon series
and they're quick to do,
so you may be seeing more of those
in the coming days.

Layers of snow in the patio door this morning...

I thought it was kinda cool...

Being bombarded by another snowstorm.
Not so cool.
50+cm today, and more tomorrow.

This is the view from our front window.

It was pretty 2 months ago.

The only pretty thing about it now

is the possibility of another snow day tomorrow!

(do i hear an amen?)

I wanna say thank you for your comments.

I love them because it reminds me

that there is someone out there - reading.

But after reading a few of the last comments

i want to say this:

I am far from being wise.

Let's just say i'm wise enough to know

that I really know very little.

And Arti, I don't always keep it together.

Sometimes, I lose it.

You just have to look at a few

of those self portraits to know I lose it.

Sometimes I drive to work thinking:

how the hell did I get this far away

from my path in life?

What happened to the dreams I had 

years ago?

Why am I not living them yet?

Why do i not have my shit together already?

Why is the world in such a mess?

I am grateful for what I have

and where I am and who I am,

but like everyone - I have bad days.

Those are usually the days where I need to make art.

Where I need to write.

Where I need to call a friend.

Where I need to believe what's in my own heart,

so that i can feel grounded again

and not so "off the path".

When we're surrounded by greed

and consumerism

and materialism

and McMansions

and shiny new every things...

it's sometimes difficult to stay true to ourselves.

And yes, Sheila, you are absolutely right -

we do need to find a balance

that's right for us

between work & play.

Somewhere in the world,

someone feels rich if they have one pair of shoes,

or if they own a bicycle,

or get one square meal a day.

Some people need $100,000 in the bank

to feel comfortable,

and some need far less.

I need less.

A lot less.

It doesn't mean I'm any better (or worse)

it only means that I won't live my life

towards that goal, because

it's not an important goal to me.

Having a shiny new car

is not important to me.

Having the best of everything

is not important to me.

What IS important to me

is time.

Being grateful for the time I have

right now.

Not the time I'll have when i'm 60 or 65,

or when my bank account is full,

but now.

I'll happily do with less things,

so that I can have more time to myself

to make art and to write and to be with friends.

When I mentioned in my past post

that I was already rich in the heart,

this is what I mean.

I am healthy (and so already, more wealthy than many)

I have time to myself (not as much as i want, but more than most)

I have friends & family who love me.

I know what I like & what I don't like.

I have more than enough food & warm shelter.

I am more comfortable in my own skin than I ever was.

I am comfortable with people not liking me.

(as long as the important ones do - that's all that matters)

I have wonderful memories and stories in my heart to tell.

Money can't buy these things.

xx