This quote so rings true doesn’t it. When the bad stuff comes we are so quick to ask why. When we are in the moment of good or great stuff we never ask why we just assume that we should be like that all the time without stopping to enjoy the moment and asking “why”.
Image creator Vlado
Originally posted at “Talk Breathe Live“
Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect. – Oren Arnold
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.
Eleanor Roosevelt
It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you a friend of mine and a wonderful artist. Karen Levangie has got talent and she is using her talent and her energy to help benefit a mental health charity during mental health awareness week. Karen find inspiration from her life and her artwork shows her struggles and triumphs.
One piece that struck me as I was looking at her portfolio was a piece called, “Family/Happy Place”. Karen describes it like this:
“Viewed vertically, it represents anger i was feeling towards my family at that given moment. when i turned it horizontally, it reminded me of a happy place, like an underwater scene. I realized that family actually can be both, a source of anger and a place to find happiness.”
Isn’t that so indicative of life isn’t it. Life is quite often all about perception. We find happiness and sadness and a host of other emotions all around us. It’s having the courage to work through all of those feelings and to create such works of beauty at the other end. I admire Karen for sharing her thoughts and feelings with us on canvas and letting the depth and breath of her being come to life and create a world all unto itself; telling a story, capturing a moment, finding peace where there is chaos. Keep creating and expressing yourself through your artwork because it is truly amazing.
Now let’s have Karen tell you a little bit about herself.
An estimated 26.2 percent of the population ages 18 and older – about one in four adults – suffer from a diagnosable mental illness in any given year. However, stigma surrounding mental illness is a major barrier that prevents people from seeking the mental health treatment that they need. Programs during Mental Illness Awareness Week are designed to create community awareness and discussion in an effort to put an end to stigma and advocate for treatment and recovery.
I myself suffer from several different mental illnesses. Depression, Anxiety, Borderline Personality Disorder, Passive/Aggressive Personality Disorder, and I think I am also forgetting a few, LOL. Because of this, I decided that during MIAW, which falls in the second week of my Fall Sale (October 2-8, 2011), I will be donating 10% of total sales to mental health research. I have not yet decided which charity yet, but will post my decision in the next few days, as well as total raised at the end of the week. Please help fight the stigma of mental illness and help support those of us who suffer with them by purchasing one of my paintings.
The First Annual Fall Sale at Dark Shadow Studio
Head on over to Facebook and check out our fan page where you will find the event and the photo album with all the sale prices listed.
Looking for a piece of art for yourself, or maybe shopping for an early Christmas gift for someone special on your list? Check out the Art For Sale Gallery and pick your favourites for 25% OFF regular pricing!
Get your order in early before your favourites are gone!
And just to let everyone know, if you’d like to request a commission during the duration of the sale, you will still qualify for the 25% discount. As well, if you had your eye on one of the paintings that is one of the albums on the website but not for sale, or like one of the ones that has already sold, just let me know, and we can discuss doing a similar variation of that painting. I have already had several commissions for this exact thing. so let me know what you like and let’s get you set up with some art!
Here is the link to the Event
And a link to the Album with the sale prices listed
If you have any questions about any of the pieces or would like to discuss a commissioned piece, you can contact Karen
Phone: 647-800-8435
Website
A little while ago I posted an article about letting go. It explained a moment where I tried to teach Sydney how to “let things go” and move forward. I stumbled upon this today and I thought it was an appropriate addition to that last post. I find it very inspiring and true. Enjoy!
To let go is to open a door, and to clear a path and set yourself free.
”In the end these things matter most:
How well did you love?
How fully did you love?
How deeply did you learn to let go? ” The Buddha.
To let go isn’t to forget, not to think about, or ignore. It doesn’t leave feelings of anger, jealousy, or regret. Letting go isn’t about winning or losing.
It’s not about pride and it’s not about how you appear, and it’s not obsessing or dwelling on the past.
Letting go isn’t blocking memories or thinking sad thoughts, and it doesn’t leave emptiness, hurt, or sadness.
It’s not about giving in or giving up.
Letting go isn’t about loss and it’s not about defeat.
To let go is to cherish the memories, but to overcome and move on.
It is having an open mind and confidence in the future.
Letting go is learning and experiencing and growing.
To let go is to be thankful for the experiences that made you laugh, made you cry, and made you grow.
It’s about all that you have, all that you had, and all that you will soon gain.
Letting go is having the courage to accept change,
and the strength to keep moving.
Letting go is growing up. It is realizing that the heart can sometimes be the most potent remedy.
To let go is to open a door, and to clear a path and set yourself free.
There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want to leave behind. But keep in mind that letting go isn’t the end of the world; it’s the beginning of a new life.
For more please visit Positive Thoughts.
“Never let go of hope. One day you will see that it all has finally come together. What you have always wished for has finally come to be. You will look back and laugh at what has passed and you will ask yourself… ‘How did I get through all of that?”
Well, I have to say that after today I don’t think that there is anyone in the house that is as happy about Friday as I am. The last two days have been teary and weepy and over emotional and that’s just the start of it. We’ve had all in all a very successful start to the school year. For sure there have been bumps in the road but I had a little voice in my head from our Youth & Child worker that said once, “Don’t worry we’ll take little steps back but then giant leaps forward.” Going backwards is only temporary and it won’t last forever as long as you are building a good strong foundation, which in our case I think we are.
It is still extremely difficult to see the silver lining sometimes when you have a child clinging to you for dear life. That was the case today. I didn’t tell you that we rented a violin for Sydney the other day. She had been bugging us and bugging us about playing an instrument and when we went to the store the other day she was transfixed by the violin. So we decided to rent it for the month and see what happens. She spoke to her music teacher about it she suggested that Sydney bring it in so that she can take a look at it and maybe teach Sydney something. So last night the back and forth began, “Should I bring it to school?”, “well, maybe I shouldn’t?”, “but I don’t remember what she told me to do. I don’t remember when I should bring it in.” We encouraged her to bring it in regardless and that we could speak to her teacher at the beginning of the day and figure it all out.
So this morning looking like a bit of a pack mule she grabbed her knapsack, lunch bag and violin case and off we went. I was happy to see that when we reached the portable a number of kids were gathered around and asking what it was and if they could see it. Big smiles abound and not one ounce of shying away from it at all. As fate would have it her first class this morning was music so she was able to ask the teacher right away when they could have a little get together. She ran with the rest of the class into the school and the day seemed to be going fairly well.
The rest of the day would not have such a great ending. She did in fact go to the music room at first break but it was also the first day of, “Rock Band” practice so it was her and a number of other students who were all carrying their instruments. I think what in essence happened was that she got up the courage and enthusiasm to get herself from the portable to school with the violin in tow but when she saw all the rest of the kids with their instruments and saw everyone setting up I think she panicked.
In her mind and head it was to be a one on one and a quiet environment and that was far from reality. It was a little loud and everyone was carrying on and from what she said she had a whole plethora of images and ideas floating in her head.
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You can imagine how that rush of adrenaline just sky rocketed from what was a very calm and happy beginning. It just blew up fast and furious in front of her.
She managed with the help of a teacher and some friends to eventually calm down and the rest of the day was mediocre but at least she remained in the school and continued on.
So at bedtime it was a great opportunity to explain to her and remind her just how good that other end of the panic and worry feels like. Sure at the time it is the epitomy of hell but when you come out the other end that sense of pride and accomplishment is what you need to hold on to because it’s what sets the course for the next time these things come along. I said to her, “I hope that you are as proud of yourself as I am proud of you for today. You were in a very tough place and despite your upset and your fear you got through it. After school you seemed pretty happy? That’s the stuff that you have to remember the next time. You may feel all those feelings and be shaky like you were today but in the end you were stronger than the fear. You taught it a lesson and you remember that next time.” She doesn’t give herself enough credit sometimes because she replied, “Well, I kind of got through it and I kind of didn’t. I got through it but there were times when I couldn’t stop crying and I just kept getting sad. But ya, I made it through the rest of the day.” That’s what we all have to remember, no matter how hard it is in the moment when that moment has passed and chaos turns to calm that’s when we pat ourselves on the back and say, “You did it!” because you did do it and you will do it again.
