Inspiration Day at the Museum

It has become a routine, every four to five months I visit the Museum. I check on the visiting exhibitions which they present in a special hall. It was the perfect day, I had a busy weekend that drained all the energy and inspiration from me. I needed to be outside in beautiful surroundings and contemplate works of art. They come from all over the world; photography, sculptures, paintings, etc. Walking along the elegant corridors that surrounds the interior garden I get transported into another world. It resembles Venice. The tall marble columns that sustain the roof are in diferrent shapes and forms, parts of different buildings which were demolished and the columns along with many other architectural features on this building were rescued by John Ringling. It’s breathtaking, if I would add one more element to the mix I would add classical music as a background.

As soon as I got off my car I had to take out my camera, there was a squirrel on the tree in front of me and he was not afraid. I took a few shots and this was the best.

Then as we waited for our transportation to the museum I was faced with this beautiful lake. I don’t know what is it about this place but every time I come I see more beauty in it.

An older couple, who saw us at the entrance and talked to me about forcing my kids to come with me, observed us as we went around in the gallery. She said she used to do the same with her grandkids and they hated it but now they thank her for it. So I drag them with me every time and every time they learn something new, want it or not. I’ll wait 15-20 years for that thank you.

After we saw the exhibition then I took some shots at the garden and that would serve me for some inspiration while I write. Appreciating the beauty in art stimulates the senses and the imagination, one that is needed in order to later on be able to come to a blank screen or piece of paper and start creating something beautiful with words.

It was raining softly when I took these pictures and I couldn’t walk the gardens like I usually do, but I left satisfied that my senses were delighted one more time as I look at the shapes and colors of the oil paintings on the Landscape From the Age of Impressionism. The exhibition will be here until July 29, so if you get a chance stop by and enjoy it. On Mondays visitors can go to the museum for free. I promise you, you won’t be disappointed.

Challenge’s Fruits

Who needs a challenge? Who wants a challenge?

If I guess right nobody likes a challenge or a bad situation to come up into their life without warning. But is it possible for such a thing to happen or do we choose to ignore or rationalize the warning signs only to be surprised when the problems and challenges finally made themselves evident?

There is only one thing good about challenges and is that it get us out of our comfort zone and helps us to grow mentally and spiritually. Usually we develop a new insight, skill or virtue we lacked before. Life has ways to teach us what we need in order to grow and be fruitful and those uncomfortable moments do just that.

Okay, I admit it, I don’t think that way when I’m having to deal with a difficult situation but a few days later, after all the dust had time to settle I can see more clearly what I need to do in order to move on. I don’t always get the right answers the first time around so until I do I can be sure that the same or worst challenge will come up in my life.

In order to make some progress I also need to get my eyes off me for a while and think of the other person, there has to be a compromise or sacrifice from both sides in order to make it work.

I also need to remember not to think too far out. I panic when I think of the future when in reality I don’t even know if it’s going to be one.

How

How in the world
Do I keep you from danger
If all you want is
Be far away from me

How do I show my love
Even though you won’t believe
When all you want
Is make me cry

How do I help you understand
All I do is for your good
That I believe in your greatness
Way before you do

How should I reach
To touch and move your heart
And feel the love
We once had

How to go on
Knowing you won’t be here
You can’t wait to move away
Leaving my love behind

How do I say I love you
So you feel warm inside
Always here for you
Even if you want me far

How can I be
A better mother
And don’t drive you away
Pray that I find the way

Finding My Voice

I got serious about writing eight years ago, before that writing was just a way to stay alive. I wrote in journals for the most part in order to sort my emotions and ideas. There comes a time in every writer’s life when the need to share their work with world is scary. We worry if the readers will accept or not what we have to share with them. For the longest time I thought who cares about the struggles of young mom and wife as she raises her children. The reality was that many women were going through the same things I was. I met them at the store, at the gym, at church and at work. They all have the same goal in mind; to be a good mom and still do their job inside or outside the home.

Finding my voice has been a journey, I don’t quite know what it is I want to concentrate in. I have so many interests that to choose one is kind of confinding. As my life evolves I find myself with a great need to share the different facets of my personal journey. I’m not in one place for a very long time and I learn and grow with each challenge and trial, I guess this is why they call it growing pains. The categories my writing fall under the most are self-help, inspirational and memoir, but I really don’t feel either one of those describes my niche. If could create a whole new genre it would be Self Awareness, the art of being, I think that describes exactly what I try to do with my writing. It is the wonderings of our mind and as we explore our inner self that we become who we are and ultimately what we are meant to be. Nobody can do it or force it on us, this is a journey where we decide we are ready to begin.

So is this new genre something that can be feasible to me as a writer? I would like to think so because it encapsules everything that I’m going through and will carry me well into the future.

High on Emotions

People are normally attracted to writers in ways that they wouldn’t be to others with a different occupation, perhaps because writers are able to put into words what they are experiencing but can’t express. While reading their words they identify or recognize a little bit of themselves in the words the writer is utilizing in their work. Sometimes their writing can stir emotions that calls the reader to examine what’s within or what they are missing, it is at that moment that the reader invites the writer in to help them navigate life issues.

It’s in the meeting of the minds where a special connection can stir emotions unable to be compared to any other on earth. It’s a sublime seduction in which writer and reader become one in time and space. The thought process is sharpened by the interaction the two manage to exchange even though they may never get to meet in person. Each in it’s own way contributes to the other’s wellbeing. There is a balance of giving and receiving. When the writer manages to connect with it’s audience at that level and knows it, it helps them create more of the same. It’s enthusiasm increases as he is able to touch lives and hearts.

To be free to express with sincerity what lies inside the heart without fear is in essence what a good writer wants to do, it’s only when he is free to do so that that his work comes alive. It’s however a challenge to be able to do so. Without the exchange of these high on emotion moments the creative spirit isn’t stirred within and soon become stagnant. Powerful mind encounters can stimulate a torrent of ideas that would help propel our writing to the next level, it can make the writer’s blood rush in ways unknown or forgotten.

It takes trust and faith to let go of what holds us back while we write and the ideal that the reader will accept what we want to share with them.

What Impacts a Writer

Life has a way to impact the writer’s writing. For good or bad the many occurrences of our daily lives affect that which we create or not according to our circumstances. Today it was a very hard day for me, even though I tried to see the light at the end of the tunnel I found myself in darkness most of the time. I tried to communicate to the best of my ability but my words fell on deaf ears most of the time. I have my fleeting moments of joy that vanishes as quickly as they came.

Being a writer is a wonderful way to grasp whatever moments and translate them onto the pages of a notebook. It’s an excellent outlet to unload the feelings that rush within us sometimes without a notice. I’m thankful to be able to do this, to be able to read and write in two languages and to release some of the tension that lies inside me.

A Canvas

A Canvas

Waiting for her delicate hands to
Embrace me
~
The memories of life
That surrounds her
Staring out onto an empty canvas
~
What do my eyes see?
For others to enjoy
~
From a beautiful mind
To the tip of a brush,
She struggles
To select shades of colors,
Soothing colors,
For our souls to have a good feeling
~
Embraced by the world around you
You select shades of colors that hold you
Like a lover standing beside you,
Looking into your eyes
~
You see the reflection of beauty he sees
Shinning up from the depths of your soul
~
A gentle breeze amongst wild flowers
Not sure which one to paint
To close, unable to see the beauty of others
~
Taking a chance you let go of the one you love
Seeing the whole picture
God shows you what to paint

Written by Art