Remnants of Living

I've been thinking lately about how I view life. I, like many, fall into the trap of thinking about life as a noun. It's easy to think of life as this thing, something we are aspiring to. Sometimes, I remember the truth. The truth is life is a verb, something we do. Life is a process called living. You can't have life without living because it is the essence of life. When I catch myself chasing the meaning of life I have to remind myself that it's nothing more than to live. Do the things I love. Create happiness in each moment. We are just surrounded by remnants of living. As an artist, I see my artwork as a remnants leftover from experiences I have had. My music is the same way. Perhaps it is a remnant of a feeling that was passing through at a particular time in my life. My dirty dishes are remnants of great meals. My messy bed is a remnant of a good night's sleep. Even my own death will be a remnant of my life. Remnants remain, but the living goes on forever. Eventually, even the remnants will leave their own remnants; such as when my body decays and turns back into earth. But the living remains ever evolving. We create every moment. We have the opportunity to be present for every experience. Happiness is not something to be found, but it is a part of the process we call living. But so is sadness and all the other emotions. Nothing is exempt. Heaven is not a place, but a state of being. Hell is our own creation. We are very creative beings. Perfection can never be attained, but exists as the unity of all existence! Stop searching. Start living!!!Let the remnants fall where they may.

The Buddha Image

Many non-Buddhists have a misunderstanding of the Buddha image. I thought it would be a good idea to write a post explaining the significance of the image from a Buddhist's perspective. First of all, Buddha is not considered God. He isn't really worshiped as such. The Buddha (meaning "enlightened one") was a human being that physically lived on earth many years ago. He was a great and wise teacher, much like Jesus. His teachings are what are important to Buddhists. For those, he is very respected. Buddhists pay these respects in differing ways. A statue of the Buddha is full of symbolism for the Buddhist, all of which remind he/she of the things Buddha discovered and taught. So to say one worships Buddha statues is not an accurate description of what is actually occurring. The physical presence of a Buddha figure merely reminds us to practice each moment and remain mindful of our true nature.

New Art Products

Take a look at some of the products I just added in my Zazzle store (on slide show at the bottom of this blog). They're all based on my own artworks. I've been creating some new products, but sometimes it takes about 24 hours for them to show up in the store. Lately I've been trying to branch out my artwork into different areas besides just fine art. I hope you find something you like. A lot of my work tends to have a spiritual leaning, but some is just for fun. If you're interest in spiritual art you might want to try drawing as meditation sometime.

Quit collecting things and begin collecting experiences! They take up less space and last forever. Recently I've reconsidered getting my graduate degree. I have been contemplating getting my graduate degree in either Painting & Drawing or Art History. Then I thought about how I'm still paying student loans from my first degree. The cost is outrageous. One textbook alone can easily be over $100! All things considered, I could take all of that money and actually travel anywhere in the world and go see that art in person, or paint on location. Sure, I won't have the degree in the end, but I'll have something much more meaningful! Why spend all that time and effort waiting for "someday" to come? We're not even guaranteed those days. Someday turns into never too often. Carpe Diem!

New Year's Wish

Don't forget that whatever you want to do in this world, the universe is on your side. It may not seem like it at times, but don't give in to pessimism! Everyone owes it to themselves to find happiness. You can't bring happiness to others unless you, yourself know it well. This is my New Year wish to everyone: May you find the source of your happiness and go after it with all your heart! Cheers.

Resolutions

I'd just like to wish everyone a happy new year. 2011 is an opportunity for a fresh start. Actually, every day is an opportunity but more people are willing to act on New Years because a lot of people set resolutions. I'm pretty good about keeping most of mine, but I always have a few that get thrown out after the first week or two.
I think there are a couple of reasons why that happens. First, setting too many resolutions increases the likelihood that some will be forgotten. This year I have 7. Second, resolutions set without first considering what you really value are bound to be forgotten because they don't come from your heart. And lastly, once you set them you need a plan to keep them. Yes, an actual written action plan! Nothing elaborate, but by writing down specific times for action helps develop the words into reality.
This year I've set one actionable resolution for each of my 6 major values (remember THE FAM from my first post?) plus, one additional general resolution that applies to all 6. Next, I've redesigned my schedule so that I'm acting daily, weekly, or Monthly on each one.
If you have major changes I suggest not starting everything at once. Stagger the dates you plan to implement each goal so that you're not overwhelmed. Write those dates in your calendar! A few minutes of reflection and planning will turn dreams into reality and make keeping resolutions a simple affair. Cheers!

Good Food

As I continue to create more of a minimal lifestyle for myself I have been getting my eating habits back to basics. In the same way that I've been clearing clutter from my home I've also been clearing the clutter from my meals. Things that are not contributing to my health in a positive way get the boot. The difference can be felt in just a few days. I'm eating wholesome, natural foods either raw or prepared in very simple ways. The only exception is one day a week I eat whatever I want. I've followed this routine in the past very successfully for long periods of time (years).
It may seem counter-intuitive to eat whatever you want and stay healthy, but it works. Face it, do you really think you'll never eat cheesecake again? That's not only unlikely, but it's impractical . Go ahead and reward yourself one day a week for being so focused the rest of the week. You'll be able to stick to any restrictions much easier and the one day is not going to have any negative effects towards your overall health. If anything you'll actually stop craving the junk once your body gets used to feeling so good! Cheers.

Simple Values

Recently I have rediscovered a truth I've known for many years, but have lost somehow over the last few: Simplicity is a direct path to happiness. When I look back on those times in my life when I was most content it was actually when I had much less than I do now. It's very easy to let your life get out of control and end up with a bunch of stuff cluttering up your clarity. Every once in a while you just have to take a step back and evaluate your values, then eliminate everything that doesn't support those things.
I gave it a lot of thought and determined that everything I value can be put into one of the following areas: Travel, Health, Education, Family/Friends, Art, & Music. I thought about adding Spirituality, but I decided that it's already included in all of my other categories so for the sake of simplicity I just left it at the six, which I can easily remember using the acronym THE FAM. Now when I'm faced with a decision I just ask myself, "Will this support the things I value or just divert my attention away from them?". Simple.
I would recommend this exercise for everyone. The new year is a good time to do it too since many people make resolutions this time of year. Let your values guide your resolutions, and increase your focus for successfully keeping them by clearing away physical and mental clutter. You'll thank yourself when you return to simplicity