The Meaning of Home

The first home I painted this month was so nestled in its environment. As though the trees and gardens held the home in a safe embrace, much like the walls of the home hug the familiy within.

Home no 1 - Nestled (Pen and Wash, on paper, 6"x 8")

That’s what home is to me.

Layers of comfort and security.

Safety and belonging. A place where all is familiar and you have what you need.

Home no 2 - Belong (Pen and Wash, on paper 6 x 8 inches)

Cozy places to curl up with a book. The smell of a chicken roasting in the oven. The chatter and laughter of children over the soft purr of the ever churning washing machine.  

Home no 10 - Sheltered (Pen and wash, on paper 6 x 8 inches)

Home is where you find your way easily even in the dark, you know every part of it like the back of your hand.

Home no 6 Hilltop (Pen and Wash on paper 6 x 8 inches)

Your hand drops the keys in the bowl by the door, of its own accord, never missing despite your lack of attention to the task, so well do you know the space and your place in it.

Home no 3 Snug (Pen and Wash on paper, 6"x 8")

Skipping the stair that squeaks is such second nature you don't even realise you are doing it.

Home no 4 Welcome (Pen and Wash, on paper 6"x8")

Because of this comfortable familiarity with the physical building and its contents, it's easy to start thinking that it is the house itself that is the home.

Home no 8 - Safe (Pen and wash, on paper 6 x 8 inches)

But I have moved around so much I have learned that it is not the physical space that makes the home. 

Home no 5 Sanctuary (Pen and Wash, on Paper, 6"x 8")

Surprising, really how quickly we can start applying the label home to an unfamiliar space. 

Home no 9 Retreat (Pend and Wash, on Paper, 6"x 8")

The sanctuary of home is an idea - a feeling that is made in our hearts and minds. It is when we bring that feeling to the bricks and mortar that accommodate us and let it breathe life into the space that the shell can become the embodiment of our home. 

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Stand out to fit in

A little while ago I painted a series of tiny little birds and they got me thinking about the sort of big showy birds that usually get a lot of attention.

I thought they would be fun to paint with big splashes of bold colour - I was right - so much fun!

Dramatic Birds no 2 - Peacock (Watercolour on paper, 9"x12")

Spend some time observing these dramatic birds and before long you realise you are watching self confidence in action. 

These birds seem to be like poster kids for self belief. 

"Be your bold, dramatic self," they seem to say. "Stand out and show your plumage."

Dramatic Birds no 9 Helio Swan (Watercolour on paper, 9"x12")

We do spend a lot of time doing our best to fit in, to conform, at various times in our life. It can seem easier to try to just be the same as everyone else. Hide your differences to be left in peace to go about your business, rather than the pressure of  standing out and being seen. 

Dramatic Birds no 6 Peacock Tail (Watercolour on Paper, 9"x12")

But these glorious birds are a colourful reminder that there is value in being bold, standing in your power, letting your freak flag fly!

Just like the peacock with his magnificent tail, or the flamingo with its crazy colour.

Dramatic Birds no 8 On My Way! (Watercolour on Paper, 9"x12")

And then I started painting these birds together. A pair of flamingos... then a whole flock of them.

Dramatic Birds no 7 Flamingo Love (Watercolour on Paper, 9"x12")

That's when I realised that as much as we might think we are unique special snowflakes and perhaps try to hide that to fit in, it is inevitable that with so many people in the world there will be others just like you - no matter how different you feel. 

Dramatic Birds no 5 Swan (Watercolour on Paper, 9"x12")

It is only when you are brave enough to show the parts of you that seem outrageous to you that you will find them.

Far better to be you and find your own flock than hide your true self to fit in to the one you happen to find yourself in.

Dramatic Birds no 10 Flamingo Party (Watercolour on Paper, 9"x12")

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”

— Dolly Parton

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Do you have a secret unlived life?

Do you love an intriguing pathway?

Me too.

I love a garden path with little delights hidden round each bend.  That's what I have been painting recently.

Garden Path no 3 - Lavender walk (Watercolour on paper, 9"x12")

We are all naturally curious, aren't we?

Sometimes it's a light on the horizon that draws us in. 

Garden Path no 8 Sunlit Bend (Watercolour on paper, 9"x12")

Or the invitation of an open gate.

Actually, even a closed gate has a certain allure. Surely, whatever is locked behind a gate must be worthy of further investigation.

Garden Path no 4 Lavender Gate (Watercolour on Paper, 9"x12")

I have been painting these garden paths all month and I cant help thinking about the paths that lie before all of us.

We have so many choices, so many paths to take. Best to let our curiosity be our guide.  Listen to the whispers of our hearts and choose to bravely take the paths that beckon.

Garden Path no 9 Tulip Path (ACEO Watercolour on Paper, 2.5"x3.5")

For beckon they do.

The wishes and dreams that we don't pursue don’t leave us. We may stop talking about them and we get on with the business of adult things. While fears and doubts may also do their bit to dampen the call, the little voice is always there, tempting you down the path. 

Garden Path no 7 Shaded Bench (Watercolour on Paper, 9"x12")

Stop awhile on your current path and make sure that what you see before you still fills you with joy.

Or is there something you put on your 'Someday' list that just might be better? 

What are your secret dreams of things you still want  to do, be, learn or explore?

Start today. It's the things we don’t do that we regret.

“The only thing worse than starting something and failing... is not starting something.”

— Seth Godin

Garden Path no 2 Flowering Sentinels (Watercolour on Paper 9"x12")

Follow your curiosity down the path that beckons.

For to carry around your secret unlived life is a heavy burden indeed.

Garden Path no 1 Bouganvillea Steps (Watercolour on Paper 9"x12")

“I will not die an unlived life
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible,
to loosen my heart 
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit.
”

— Dawna Markova

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Find your resting places

There is something so enticing about a quiet bench in a beautiful spot. It is an invitation to stop even just for a moment, to take a breath and slow down.

No charging port or wifi necessary. Bet we all need to do a bit more of that. If we have become so busy that we feel we do not have the time to sit still for a moment, is that really progress?

Do we see time spent sitting in quiet contemplation or even staring into space, thinking about nothing in particular as a waste these days?

That would be a sad thing. Our 24 7 world of instant gratification and permanent connectedness is a world of constant activity. Perhaps it is encouraging us to forget  our  respect for the natural ebb and flow of daily life.

Like day and night, like the rise and fall of the tide, we need the still parts of our day just as much as we need all that motion. One feeds the other, they are equally important. 

Take that nap.

Or sit in the garden with a cup of tea.

Stop at that bench on your walk and just be for a bit. You deserve that. In fact, you need that. Finding resting spaces in your day is just as important as finding time for your work. 

And while you are there in your favourite resting place, soak in every part of it with all of your senses. Build it into your memory. Then the next time you are stuck in that queue at the checkout you can close your eyes and return for a restful minute to your favourite resting place.

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Is it time to shake things up?

This month I took a slightly different approach. Usually I decide on not only a subject and a medium but also a particular approach or style to follow for each painting in the series. However this month I felt feeling a little wilful. I wanted to explore a few different ways of painting tulips. (Want to paint tulips with me?… keep reading!)

This got me thinking about routines and habits. I enjoyed giving myself a little more freedom. How often do we contain ourselves a little too much?

Routine is all well and good but sometimes it is good to change things up. We are always being encouraged to establish good habits, begin each day with a 'power hour' morning routine.

We have a seemingly infinite supply of  books and blogs and podcasts that advise on how to do this and things you must do for that. With so much research at our fingertips it seems like we ought to find out exactly what to do before we begin. In moderation of course this is all well and good, but what about the joy of exploration and discovery? 

And do too many instructive resources leave you feeling a bit paralysed?

Scared to begin in case you do it ‘wrong’? 

There comes a point when you have to stop researching and just do.

By the way, if you want to have a go at painting a vase of tulips in a loose and liberating fashion, you might want to have a look at this.

Of course we can learn from each other but we should not undervalue our own creative possibilities.

Just because someone else does something a particular way doesn't mean that you have to or that your way won't work.

Because someone else did a b and c before d doesn't mean you cant get to d earlier in the piece.

Or later.

Your own path is valid too.

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Build your resilience with self care

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Do you remember that wonderful line in Wind in the Willows, when Ratty talks about how worthwhile it is to  spend some time simply messing about in boats?

How right he is. It is becoming increasingly clear to me just how important it is to make some time away from the busyness of all those things we have to do in our beautiful but full, modern lives. 

We have to make the time to do those things that replenish us in order to maintain the capacity to keep doing all those things that fill our schedules. And the fuller those schedules get, the harder it is to find the time to do the things that are important but not urgent.

It is that lack of urgency that Ratty alludes to when he is explaining his view to Mole. (Do you remember it? you can read it here if you like!) He talks about how it doesn't really matter if you get somewhere or you don't, he seems to thinks 'messing about with boats' always gives you something to do without requiring much of you.

And how rare that is. Think of all the tasks on your to do list. So many demands are made of us, consequences of not performing them well abound. We owe it to ourselves to find the things that we like to do, that can engage us gently enough to transport us from the everyday but without overburdening us. It is these self care practices that build our resilience.

For each of us this is something different. 

A long walk.

Perhaps a quiet cup of coffee in a cosy cafe where you can watch the world go by.

Gardening, baking or sketching (yes art making... definitely try that!)

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A glass of wine in an indulgent bubble bath or spending time with a loved one.

What replenishes you?

The more of these boats that I painted, the more I came to see them as symbolising our personal space and resilience. As we move through the physical space of our world we should not ignore the mental and emotional space that we occupy. We can't control what happens in our environment but we have utter dominion over our mental and emotional space.

Investing the time into replenishing ourselves is as wise as the captain keeping his boat in good repair. We have to tend to the vessel that holds and carries us through the water of our lives.  We don't know what is ahead of us. It may be choppy waters, it may be still as glass. For sure, it will be full of colour and texture, fun and excitement, but also challenging and testing at times. From the comfort of your well maintained little boat you can take it all.

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Cultivate your butterflies

Brightly coloured flowers are irresistible ... not just to painters.

Did you know that the blooms are particular colours in order to attract what they need? Most flowers need the help of pollinators to reproduce. Bees are attracted to blue and violet flowers, while butterflies prefer bright pinks and reds, or yellows and orange shades.

Just as it is with us, the way the flower presents itself to the world attracts its tribe. The energy we put out influences what we receive.

Painting blooms and their bugs got me thinking about relationships. Blooms and their pollinating bugs need each other. These are the best kind of symbiotic relationships. Biologists call this mutualism - each party benefits from the relationship - just like the best friendships.

Every gardener delights at the sight of a ladybird in the garden.  The little ladybird in her quiet unassuming way does a great deal for the plants. She can munch her way through many an aphid and her bright orange and black markings are actually a natural deterrent to some birds that may harm the flowers.

There are other relationships in nature known as commensualism where only one party gains from the relationship. A tree orchid for example, gains support and partial shade from the tree without causing it any harm. It made me wonder if it is possible to have a human relationship like that.

Can we have an exchange with another person that does not affect us in any way... or is it true that there is no such thing as a truly unselfish act?

One  thing I do know is that not all our relationships will be beneficial. Just like in the garden - not all the bugs will be ladybirds. The odd pest is inevitable.

Most of us can identify the relationships we have that deplete us. At best we can remove ourselves from them completely. Unfortunately this is not always possible. But every garden can cope with a pest or two - so can you.

As long as we have enough of the positive, supportive relationships around us we have greater resilience to cope with the challengers. Like a butterfly in the garden, a good friend will brighten your day. Her warmth can lighten your heart and nurture your soul.

Sure, your best friend might not chomp the head off your foe - ladybird style, but she will buoy you up to handle what comes your way. Her support and understanding is enough to give you courage and strength when you need it.

So have a look around your garden today.

Identify the relationships that do not serve you well so that you can eliminate or minimise them.

And always cultivate your butterflies....

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Seeking tranquility? Surrender control

I was rather uncharacteristically brave this month and leapt out of my comfort zone.  Doing something a little different - even a little scary, is a way to shake things up and breath new life into old habits. 

We stretch and grow at the edges of our comfort zones.

This is the first series I have ever done that does not begin with a pencil sketch. I began with paint and water and let the first washes dictate the way the painting would be.  As it turned out this month, I had things both on and off the easel over which I have little or no control - don’t we all?

As always, art seems to mimic life. Or perhaps it is the other way around...

I have been feeling rather proud of myself for undertaking a whole month of direct painting. It is a great exercise. It forces you to see a subject in a painterly way - as a collection of coloured shapes. To pay attention to how those shapes relate to one another to judge their relative proportion and position, to build one on top of another until an image appears.

The first brush stroke is the hardest. But like starting anything new, it is best to just begin. Be bold. Let it unfold. With a pencil sketch you have the opportunity to erase and a line and make it right. With direct painting, for the most part, once the mark is made it is made.

That's not just the case in painting. Most of what we do in the world we can't undo. We have to continue to move forward because there is no going back. This is not a bad thing. Second guessing past decisions and wanting to undo them is pointless. No need to waste energy on the past, use it where it counts - in the present moment.

Each day is a new day. It begins with a clean slate. We cannot change what already is but we can build upon what is already there.

This month has also been a lesson in patience. Once the first washes are down you have to wait. You can't paint over the top of watercolour until it is dry. I really enjoyed coming to the studio in the morning to see what had happened to yesterday's washes and to see if today's eyes saw anything different in the painting compared to yesterday’s eyes. Since there is no going back or undoing much in this style of painting, it is better to take your time thinking about what mark will best bring out the subject you are starting to see on the paper.

It certainly requires a great degree of surrender and faith in the paint, the water and your ability to make something of what is there. It's rather like finding things in the clouds. There is a great freedom to splashing on those first few washes. So exciting to watch the paint and water work its magic. And a terrific lesson - the more you interfere the more you spoil the magic effects. It is better to trust the medium to do what it does best and blend and merge and flow in the best way possible. Now that's a life lesson too, I'm sure.

Much like life, you might start out with a plan - you take some sort of action. In the studio, it is choosing the paint colour, the brush stroke, or dropping on the water. In life, we make choices like stepping outside the front door, starting a new job, striking up a conversation with a stranger. But once we have taken that first action we have little or no control. It is time to see what happens next, to trust in ourselves that we will respond appropriately, handle what comes next and make the best of whatever may be.

Whether it is painting or life there is a balance to be sought between effort and surrender. Effort is required to begin anything.  Thereafter we can find far greater ease and tranquility in our lives by accepting what we cannot control. Allow what will be to be - trust that the universe is unfolding as it should.

Let go.

Let it flow.

“Try something different. Surrender.”

— Rumi

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It came as something of a surprise to me that I chose to paint bicycles this month. I am not a cyclist myself - not by any stretch of the imagination. Even so the idea of doing a whole bicycle series  has bubbling around in the back of my mind for ages. I thought it was because the bicycle presents a good challenge from a sketching point of view. All those spokes and angles and lovely round wheels.

But of course there is always more to it. As  I drew and painted bikes I kept finding myself describing it as a ‘romantic notion’. And it is. The bicycle represents freedom. An independent way to propel yourself to a location of your choosing and not miss a thing along the way.

Fresh air and bright skies. Grassy fields or beachside tracks. The world can be your oyster. 

To be totally honest, the idea of this alone is enough for me. I am happy to pedal through  the world vicariously, by paintbrush. Freedom and escape are a state of mind. If you can’t or won't venture out you can still take a little mental vacation.

On the subject of romantic notions, I can't go passed the blossoms that are just as important to me this month as the bicycles. Flowers have always been one of my favourite painting subjects.

Actually, they are just one of my favourite things. To me they are a symbol of joy. A radiant, fragrant expression of delight. Their energy and colour testify to the simple beauty of everyday things.

Natural,  extraordinary but fleeting things to be appreciated before they fade. So if I were to ride around on a bicycle, one of the best things I could think of doing would be to gather blossoms wherever I saw them. In the words of Robert Herrick,

“Gather ye rosebuds, while ye may”.

I love the idea of riding around with a bunch of blossoms embellishing the bottom of my view, framing whatever appears before me.

The basket on the front of the bicycle feels like a childhood delight. I picture streamers on the handlebars and the basket filled with childhood treasures. Teddy bears, bits of string and interesting seedpods, perhaps?

While my adult mind has retained the basket I choose to mentally fill it with blooms. An abundance of blossoms that remind me to gather the small joys in each moment before they fly by. 

May you pedal through life with your heart a full basket of joy.

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Learning to be present takes less than a minute

The first animal I wanted to paint this month was a happy little squirrel. I love their busy energy. I love the way the scamper so playfully about their business. Like all little animals they live so completely in the present.

They are fully focussed on what they are doing right now. They scamper up their trees, they bravely fetch a tasty morsel left on a park bench.

And all that they do is done in the spirit of play. 

They don’t waste time or energy worrying whether their tree is as large and fancy as their neighbours. They don’t compare today’s weather with yesterday's. They don’t procrastinate, they just do. 

There is a good reason why we are drawn to tiny little critters. We ‘aww’ when we see them in the park, we choose to keep them as pets.Part of it is the cute factor - everyone knows anything small is cute. But it is more than that. Watching a tiny little creature is a lesson in being present. 

Look at this bunny. I can just imagine him on a dewy morning, enjoying the gentle breeze on his soft still fur. Sunlight glints off the tip of his nose and every blade of grass around him. The scent of a sweet daisy was irresistible and now he chews on the juicy stem savouring its taste and texture. His life is joyfully simple. So is ours, if we let it be so. 

There is such wisdom in that. For if you surrender completely to the present moment you are liberated from guilt, shame and regret. These things are born of the past. Of course, reflecting on the past is not always a bad thing. Reviewing things that happened in the past and reflecting on how we responded to them is an opportunity to learn and grow. But it needs to be a temporary visit to the past. Whatever happened, happened. It is gone. What you have right now is really all there is.

If you are anxious, worried or afraid, you are focused on the future. What you feel is a message from your inner wise self. It is a reminder to consider if there is something you can do to prepare, some way that you can maximise an opportunity or event that is ahead of you. Consider it, acknowledge your inner wisdom for bringing it to your attention and then return to the present moment.

Trust yourself to deal with what will come when it comes. Take the action that you can right now and no more. Everything has its time.

Each day we have the chance to be just as busy, happy, playful and present as these little critters. All it takes is a little awareness. Try this.

Take a breath and use each of your senses in turn. 
What do you see? 
What do you smell? 
What do you hear? 
What do you feel? 
What can you taste? 

Perhaps you are at work. What about the flowers that are on your desk - have you really looked at those velvety petals today? Can you detect their subtle fragrance mingling with the aroma of the tasty coffee you are sipping? Can you hear the clatter of your colleagues keyboards, the background hum of the air conditioner. Notice how soft your  favourite cardigan feels against your skin.

All of this is takes just a moment but is worth so much to your well being.

Get in the habit of running through these five senses as often as you can. Set an alarm on your phone at random times during the day. Or whenever you feel yourself starting to worry or complain use that as a trigger to stop and be here, now.

Surrender to the current moment and you might just find that your shoulders lower, your breath slows and you have a peaceful smile. At the end of the day you will know that you have really lived the day. Just as it is.

Are you in the car with the kids?

What about that gorgeous tree on the corner that you drive past every day - did you see how lovely it looks today?

Feel the grooves in the moulding of the steering wheel under your fingers and the way the seat presses against your back. Inhale and catch a whiff of that salty, buttery popcorn that the kids are eating in the back of the car. Listen to their sweet, young voices laughing and singing together.

Ok. They are probably fighting. But before you yell at them to stop arguing and dropping popcorn on the floor calmly resolve their issues, take a moment to pause and savour the now.

Yes, even this. Noisy, healthy, argumentative children. It’s all part of today’s experience. Tomorrow it will be gone. So experience it to the full.

We live in a world of overstimulation. We have notifications beeping at us, technology puts just about everything we could wish for at our fingertips all at once.

Remembering what it is like to do only the task at hand with your full attention will bring a sense of relief.

Experiencing every aspect of the present moment will offer you the chance to gather the small joys of every single day before they disappear into yesterday. That is where real happiness lies.

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Embrace imperfection - like a rambling rose

Roses can be one of the most challenging flowers to paint - intimidating!

But they are so beautiful, how could I not give it a try?  

If you can approach it with a glad heart and a brave brush, painting offers an opportunity to embrace imperfection.  And I am learning that the subject often chooses the artist, as it usually carries a message - a lesson not only in painting, but also in life.

I would be lying if I said I didn't worry that my loose watercolour style would not do all those immaculate layers of petals justice. A careful and accurate botanical drawing was my first instinct. However … careful and accurate… not exactly my way!

But one of my beliefs is that even a loose approach to painting should be able to capture  the essence of a thing.

In fact, to me, that is rather the point.

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So if it is true in painting that you don’t need to be perfectly precise to achieve an outcome, is this true in life?

I very much hope so. It means that if you fumble over your words when you are trying to console a friend, the chances are she understands what you mean anyway. You gave her some comfort even if you didn’t find the perfect words, or get them in exactly the right order.

Some of our parenting moments are prouder than others... it's not just me... is it? 

A child does not need absolute perfection in their parents to grow up happy and healthy and know that they are loved. 

Sometimes I think we fool ourselves into believing that you have to do something brilliantly in order to do it at all. That level of perfectionism stops us from trying anything new and limits our avenues for joy.

Where would we be if if we didn’t allow ourselves to write a bad poem or bake a cake that sinks in the middle. The joy is in the activity, the process not the final product. It is still fun to play with words and ideas, and I bet that cake was still tasty, sinkhole notwithstanding.

In the process we capture the essence of the experience - that is what we are really after anyway. Like the haphazard tangle of rambling roses, they are joyful expression, and truly beautiful.

Do you delight in the wildness of the rambling rose?

I do.  Its long-stemmed cousin might be the florist's choice, and it has an elegant beauty too, of course. But there is such joy and abandon in the informal branches, leaves and blooms.

It might be an imperfect jumble and even have a thorn or two but it is always growing. Always striving. Ever reaching for the light. A chaotic thorny tangle does not preclude an exquisite bloom or two. In fact, it probably makes them seem even more lovely.

True for roses, true in life. Even when our lives get to be especially busy, messy or difficult there will still be at least one tiny bloom of joy somewhere. 

The persistent rambling rose will continue to reach up any structure it can. Such a symbol of hope and perseverance.

I love to see a wild rose climbing a man made structure. The contrast of cold, strong steel and gentle blooms and petals seems to carry a message.

Find your strong support.

Let it hold you.

Be flexible enough to embrace imperfection in order to grow.

Follow the light and keep reaching (and painting 😉).

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What have you achieved so far?

If you are feeling in need of a little calming, reflective time then drawing mandalas is just the thing. One of my new rituals is to spend a month with mandalas at the close of every year.  There is so much about the mandala that feels apt at this time of the year.

The circle is the perfect symbol for a time of reflection. Its gentle  even curve will hold whatever you choose to put inside - a safe container. 

It brings me no end of delight to be able to start with a little seed of a shape in the centre of the circle and then watch it grow into something bigger and more complex.

I love that just by surrendering to consistent repetition of a simple shape something significant appears. Just like all those tiny, seemingly meaningless repetitive tasks that we do everyday. Considered on their own they seem so banal, perhaps even tedious. Beds need to be made repeatedly. Counters wiped down. Again. Mothers repeat their endless refrains: 

Pick up your towel.

I love you to the moon and back.

Feet off the sofa. 

But each of these tiny things plays its role in making up the complex pattern of our lives. There is reliability in the repetition. They form the structure within which our children (as well as ourselves) find a sense of security. Certain things in an uncertain world. These things provide some stability - a backbone to support the fluid organic expansion of their little lives, the framework on which to pin all the colour and interest that life has to offer.

Once a soothing trip all the way around the circle with one shape has been completed there is a sense of closure. To close up one round of shapes brings fulfilment. There is a feeling of achievement in reaching the end. However one of the joys of a circle is that every end is also a beginning. The end of one day is the beginning of another.

My process for drawing mandalas is circular in so many ways. Aside from the obvious shape of their overall design and the repetition of the shapes within, there is a cyclical nature to the process itself. I begin in pencil and complete each concentric circle of shapes, usually beginning in the centre. Having repeated that process to fill the whole mandala I begin again going over the pencil lines in pen.

And then a final return to each concentric circle to add the colour. As is so often the case, the process of creating art mirrors life. The first time we try something new we may be a little shaky, uncertain - the pencil version. As we repeat this action we are more confident, we probably refine our previous work - the pen stage. And now that we are more confident with this new thing that we have learned we find even more joy and execute the task with flair - the colour stage. 

At each stage, we have the chance to improve or amend our previous decisions. The more we persist, the more our new project begins to collaborate with us in its creation. We can choose to take feedback from what we have done so far, to work with what is working and let go of what is not.

In mandalas, as in life there is comfort in the repetition, and the opportunity for growth. If we persist to completion there is the chance to experience each new thing in all its glory. Every so often we need to pause, stand back and see how our small repeated daily actions contribute to the glorious mandala of our lives. 

Take a moment to observe what you have achieved so far. Acknowledge your efforts and contributions. Be proud of how much you have learned and grown.

And then begin another round.

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An easy lesson in mindfulness

Have you ever spent some time watching little birds go about their business?

This could just be about the easiest lesson in mindfulness.

Everything the little bird does it does with all of its being. They are so earnest in everything that they do. All of their energy and attention is focused on the task at hand, and only that. That single point of focus makes them efficient and effective. It comes so effortlessly in the natural kingdom.

Creatures like birds know no other way to be. Any yet, we humans, apparently more evolved have lost this ease in life for the most part.

This I believe is the mindfulness lesson we can learn from out feathered friends.

It is not that they are not busy. Just like us they have multiple tasks, demands and needs. Watch a few little birds hopping about over the cafe pavement collecting crumbs. They so remind me of busy mums, bustling about the shopping mall. 

They need a good chat. Domestic budgies require 'socialising' to remain in good health. Like their wild relatives nattering in the trees they need to talk to someone - just like us.

They need alone time too. Is there a more peaceful sight than a little bird sitting alone, surveying the world? There is such calm in their stillness. We can find that too, if we are prepared to just sit still for a moment.

When a bird goes to work, it shows us how it can be if you know your purpose and fulfil it with conviction. Take the kingfisher, for example. A bird like the kingfisher is a remarkably talented huntsman. Swift, yet quiet. Ruthless, yet graceful.  He knows who he is and every fibre of his being carries out that purpose. 

And of course, everyone needs a bit of love. We all need a hug at some point.

So just like us, our feathered friends lead busy lives with many roles. It is not that you need to be less busy to find peace and calm. It is not being busy that is the problem. It is not even having multiple roles that is an issue.

Stress does not come from having too many things to do in our lives. It comes from trying to do them all at once.

We can be friends, parents, partners, homemakers, high achieving career people, and zen-like loners.

We can be all these things we want to be.

We can complete the multiple tasks we assign to ourselves.

Just not at the same time.

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