Life may be a journey but we decide what kind of journey it is.....................

Life is a journey, some say. 

How we make sense of and experience that journey

is a prerogative that belongs to each of us..

What is not our prerogative is that regardless of how

 we are experiencing our lives, one day, whether we like it or not,

it will end.

The fact the none of us are getting out of this(life) alive

is something that it seems most of us don't really 

want to think about.

(Me included)

The reason I am writing about this controversial subject now

 is that I watched a program called ''Plastic surgery disasters''

a few days ago.

I mean, man, what the heck????

Image after image of people who have paid fortunes

in the hope of preserving their beauty, youthfulness,

their..? Geez, I don't really know. What?

Are they hoping that with the help of plastic surgery

they will somehow be able to by-pass aging,

beat off wrinkles, sagging flesh, age spots and nasty fat

that somehow manages to attach itself to all the places 

on the body where it is really hard to get rid of it?

Yes. Apparently.

Even if it means being sliced and diced, sucked and tucked,

suffering for hours/days/weeks in pain while in recovery.

Not only that, while they are having the procedures done, 

they are undergoing potentially life-threatening 

anesthesia's over and over and over again.

But here is the ''kicker'', ..... it's not always successful.

After watching ''Plastic surgery disasters'' I felt sad,

confused and bewildered.

Maybe it is possible to push back the outward signs

of aging for some time but what about the ''inside'' signs

of aging?

Even if it is possible to look as if one is 45 when one

is 65 years old the fact remains that the rest of the body 

is still aging with all that aging entails.

And this will take place even when we are eating right,

 exercising and living a healthy lifestyle because as far

as I can ascertain, none of us are

getting out of this alive.

As long as we draw breath, there is life and living to be done.

Every moment of life that we are gifted with is an

opportunity for us to love, learn, share, give, listen,

discover, explore, feel, and so much more, and it

is in my view not incumbent upon our ''looks''.

It is incumbent upon us to understand that the ''shell'' 

we live in is just one of the many aspects of who we are.

We are also the thoughts we think, the words we speak,

the hopes we have, the dreams we dream,

the actions we take and the decisions we make.

It can be easy at times to fall down the trap of ''if only'':

If only I was better looking

more people would love me.

If only I was fitter,

more people would love me.

If only I was slimmer,

more people would love me.

If only I was richer

more people would love me

and I'd have more friends.

If only I was famous

more people would love me.

If only I (insert here your own...)

more people would love me.

If life is a journey,

then my observation is that:

 For some of us, it just flows.

For some of us it comes with

a lot of twists and turns.

For some of us it's about

following determined patterns,

and For some of us it's

a mess from the start to the end.

 ''Every day we've got the

chance to make our journey

more beautiful than the day before.''

(Nitin Namdeo)

about the image: ink on cardboard, some editing in Elements

The purpose of life is ageless.......................

My father was a complicated man.

 Expressing emotions did not come easy to him,

neither did verbalizing the many thoughts that

he often pondered deeply.

His last few years were fraught with anxiety, pain,

and questioning if there had been a purpose to

his life.

In an attempt to try and soothe his anxieties, 

I wrote a poem for him.

(Having noticed that sometimes the written word

can be far more effective in reaching someone's

heart than the spoken word.)

Life in every breath

Reality of finality

A stark reminder

of humanity and 

its vulnerability.

Time once a friend

now less to spend.

The past, the then,

such a curious blend.

The mind an easy prey

when eerie thoughts linger

in the dark of the night

or during the day.

Can a whole life fit in the palm of a hand

or a life lived in full, in a grain of sand?

Do the stars come out at night

just to stir the imagination?

Do the birds sing just to

evoke joy and fascination?

Do we really need to know

why atoms stick together

to appreciate our lives

and love each other better?

Watching our children

 as they mature before our eyes,

do we see that in their very beings

we live forever through a love that binds?

Perhaps the fear of nothingness

can be expelled by the hope of something-ness?

Perhaps a little faith in love and tenderness

can mollify persisting thoughts of emptiness?

Maybe every moment of life we are given

are not ours to claim nor that we've earned them.

Moments are fragile, delicate like bubbles.

Fleeting, floating, yet ever so fabulous.

As long as we take one breath and then another,

there is living, loving and so much life to discover.

All we need to do is open our eyes and truly see

 that the purpose, the reason for life ...... is to BE.

''The purpose of life is to live it,

taste it, to experience it to the utmost,

to reach out eagerly for newer and

richer experiences.''

(Eleanor Roosevelt)

about the image: graphite on large cardboard

Having a hard time having fun these days?

-So what do you do just for fun? she asked.

Fun? Might seem like an easy question to answer

but when I was asked the question I discovered that I

I really had no definitive answer.

What do I do just for fun?

If one defines fun as something one does for pure enjoyment,

excitement and amusement, then it seems as if what

one experiences as fun changes as time ticks along.

At one time in my life ''fun'' meant climbing the highest tree

I could find, jumping puddles of water, making snow angels,

and playing with my siblings.

As time went on fun meant playing basketball, listening

to new music, hanging with friends and swooning over

some love interest.

Then my brother died and nothing seemed fun anymore.

Grief, I discovered, had the ability to make fun seem indulgent,

frivolous and laden with feelings of guilt.

How could it be okay for me to have fun when my

brother was dead?

I put fun on the shelf and instead went in search of

meaningful, soul fulfilling and all-absorbing.

The hole in my heart created when my brother died

was so overwhelming that I needed to do something

to try and hold it together somehow.

 I chose music, although I now realize that music

had already chosen me long before my brother died.

My concept of fun from before my brother's passing changed.

Fun now became anything to do with music.

I threw down the gauntlet and dedicated myself to

learning how to play as many instruments as I could,

how to compose, how to write sheet music, how to

analyze music, how to transcribe music, how to write

lyrics to songs, in short, how to saturate my soul with all

that music had to offer.

And so many years passed.

Eventually I got married and produced an offspring.

My concept of fun now had to go through another transformation.

Music was still fun, but so was being with my son.

For years I balanced being a dedicated musician and a

 devoted parent until my son left home and became an artist

as well.

His life (like many artists life) was turbulent with many ups and

 downs and for me, filled with many sleepless nights.

But once again, music helped me through it.

Was I still experiencing music as fun? Sometimes.

I began to search for something new that felt like fun.

I decided to try painting.

Much to my amazement I discovered that I seemed to have

a knack for it, but more importantly, it was fun.

I turned my living room into a studio of sorts and

with music blaring, day after day I painted canvas after canvas

of whatever my imagination could dream up.

I discovered that not only was it fun, when I painted

I entered a state of flux(the zone) in which time and place just

seemed to vanish. 

When I was painting I would often have my front door

open and as I live in a town house complex, anyone 

passing by my place would be able not only to hear 

the music I was listening to, but also see me painting.

Now and then people started to come to my front door and ask 

if they could come in and see what I was painting.

One such day there was a gentle voice asking 

through my screen door: -Hello? Hello?

I put down my brush and walked to the screen door.

-Yes?

I opened the door and standing in front of me was a 

sweet looking elderly woman.

-I can see that you're painting, she said and

then continued:-Can I have a look?

-Sure, come on in, I answered.

Standing on the easel was the (above)Mickey painting.

-My son would love this painting, is it for sale? she asked.

-Well, yes, I guess, although I'm not sure if I've finished it yet.

I mean, it's still wet.

-How much will it cost? I mean, it's quite large isn't it.

My son is a painter too, you see, but I know he would

really enjoy your painting.

I decided to give her the painting.

-You know what, you can have it, I said.

-Are you sure?

-Yep, I am.

-My son is coming for a visit tomorrow so can I pick it up

tomorrow morning?

-Sure, it will probably be dry by then.

The next morning she came by and picked up

the painting and handed me a lovely packet

of wholesome biscuits as thanks.

When I painted the Mickey painting I was having a lot of

fun but I think giving it away, was even more fun.

Two weeks later the elderly lady came by again

and told me that her son loved the painting.

What do I consider as fun these days when due to

osteoarthritis in most parts of my body I can no longer

paint large canvases or play the piano or any other instrument?

I decided that in order to have more fun I had to broaden my

definition of the term.

So now ''fun'' incorporates anything that I see, hear, touch, taste,

 and or experience that makes me smile on the ''inside''

 as well as on the ''outside''

of my being. 

If you too would like to experience more fun in your life,

perhaps broadening the way you define the term

may work for you as well?

 about the painting: ''Mickey'' acrylic on large canvas

The background was made by me splashing colours

randomly on the canvas until an idea would pop up.

While watching the paint drip I suddenly saw

 Mickey's face on it.

I had a lot of fun doing this particular painting.