It is very early this morning. Too early to be up but here I am, as awake as a night owl. Probably everybody else on my street is sleeping. And, boy, am I thinking profound thoughts!
What is my view of life? What is your view of life? What is your outlook? Heavy questions this morning. If I compared life to a painting, we, you and I, are the artists. Some artists use dark hues; there is very little light in their paintings. Writers are artists too but writers paint word pictures. Some of those, too, are dark and heavy.
Then, there are other pictures painted with bright, sunny colors, pictures that leave me feeling good. They boost my spirits and put a sparkle in the day.
Paintings evoke a mood. Even though I might stand in awe of the gifted painter who sees life in dark colors, the scene I would want in my living room would be the last one, the one that makes me feel better when I look at it.
As you know, I greatly admire Ireland; I love the history, the scenery, the optimism and determination of its people but I’m reading a book set in Ireland that, believe it or not, I don’t think I’ll finish. It is well-written; descriptions are drawn with a deft hand, but it is a dark book. It is a sad book and I don’t believe I need sad right now.
I realize life has its gloomy moments but that, I guess, is the point. Since life does have its less than happy times, why add to the darkness? That’s just my outlook.
In this picture, I am at the top of the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. It was a long, steep climb to get there but I wanted to see the ocean from that vantage point and the only way to do that was to climb. The day was cloudy, gray, misty, as so many days in Ireland are. Centuries of history surrounded me; a lot of that history was dark indeed. The restless and untamed Atlantic was below me, frothing at its stony limits, but somehow, I didn’t feel sad or depressed; I felt elated. I had reached the top! I was in Ireland for goodness sake, and I loved being there. If I could paint a picture of that moment, it would be a happy one!
This morning, as I write, I think about life and the picture I’m painting. You are an artist; so am I. What sort of brush strokes are you using? And what colors? How do you see life? One of the famous modern day painters was Thomas Kinkade. In his paintings, there’s always light. Lighted windows, a lighthouse. My favorite artist of all time is Rembrandt. He used dark but he also used contrast–light on faces, a glow in the dark hues. And that’s my point. There may be dark times but even then, there’s hope. Maybe just the flicker of a candle but there’s light. That’s what I’d like my writings and my life to reflect. How about you?
And now, as I go for another cup of coffee, I wonder if the book I mentioned or being up too early will tint my day? Maybe I should just go back to bed and try waking up again in a couple of hours! Or maybe profound thoughts only sneak into my mind in the wee, small hours of the morning.
http://pen-l.com/Mystery.html
http://www.amazon.com/Blanche-Day-Manos/e/B0090018EI/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_
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