Blog

Hello Everyone!

It's summertime now and usually when I meet someone and we spend some time talking and catching up one of the questions asked is if I am traveling anywhere this summer. The answer is always no which seems to shut down that line of inquiry but it maybe it shouldn't.

John O'Donohue once wrote about the most wonderous thing about travel is that there is always that initial moment when you see something new with fresh eyes and complete attention. You are fully aware in all your senses. It is unlike any other return visit, because there is only one first time.

Then I recall Thich Nhat Hanh's essay on washing dishes. He explained that any small act, done with attention and purpose, can be a meditative journey to self-awareness of the gift of any moment. Or as Ram Dass used to say so succinctly: Be here now.

So that is how I am trying to attend to my daily life...where every day is a vacation to a new place in time. I painted When It's a Good Time to See the Big Picture at the family farm over the course of several weeks. To be able to do one of the things I love best in one of the places I love best is such a joy.

I hope you are finding joy in your days too whether it is either near or far from home.

Promotion alert: I am in a lovely group showing of small works paintings at the Lebanon Picture Frame and Art Gallery. The show lasts until the end of September! Click on the link for more information.

Take care,

Jill