©Laurie Pace Graphics One Design 2022
Night Snow
“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” Lewis Carroll Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/ Through the Looking Glass
The Painting
Again looking back in January of 2013, Night Snow was patterned off a prior piece years before of horses and snow. This came together with the dark of night and the white of snow and the movement of clouds and the movement of horses. If you observe it a moment you might catch the V form on its side on the left side of the painting opening in a V with the explosion of horses from the pinch in the V's. Color parts and sky parts for the horses emerging from the point running to the right. Division with layout brings a predictable peace with the accountable.
Thoughts Our Social Patterns in Life
Do you have a predictable amount of peace in your life? Are there predictable parts to your day? Reading up on this has led me to realize the true power of predictability. It can bring a comfort and peace to your life. There are definitely times in life where adventure is good and it strengthens you and brings you into life with spontaneous energy.
I know yesterday I wrote about hesitation with a decision to do something. This is different. What makes up your schedule at home? A break now and then is good for you but long term, those habits set your life up for predictability each day with a comfort. We need enough latitude to be successful and not suffocating or boring.
In our everyday life we need that flexibility in our habit patterns while at the same time we need just enough structure to stay balanced in our mind. For me trying to keep a schedule is a laugh! Schedules keep all of us tied down without flexibility and the pressures it brings if you begin to fall behind is not healthy for us or our mindset. If you can keep a stable routine of doing certain 'activities' during the week but not tying them down to specific days, you have flexibility.
Exercise is something we all need for our mental health and our physical health. I like to walk on the treadmill 3 miles at 4.2 mph five days a week and a month ago I decided to add 30 min of yoga to my morning. This is flexible. Some weeks might only have four days of working out and some will have five. In making this decision I have to get up at 5:30 a.m. and be ready to start yoga at 5:45, and hit the treadmill by 6:15 and be done by 7 am. Then it is breakfast and my youngest Granddaughter arrives for homeschooling. On house cleaning days I adjust and walk a shorter distance because I put in the time, stretching and cleaning and moving. It works out well because I keep the victory of working out and maintain the flexibility to avoid the guilt of not making the schedule daily set in stone.
What else do you have in your daily routine that is a meaningful ritual that you do not miss? I do make my bed as soon as I get out of it! Then I brush my teeth and get dressed. ... Seriously, my husband and I share scriptures at the breakfast table. We pray at every meal and we pray together at night before we fall asleep. We pray for friends, family and our nation. We actually pray over every member of our crazy family. Through out this two year stretch of Covid, we have laid our lives before our Lord and we abide with Him. It is a core to our existence... what is yours?
Meaningful rituals provide a personal connection and ground us. It could be as simple as walking your dog (My husband walks ours three times a day. He enjoys the time walking around and thinking and taking in the changing seasons.) What ever you might chose, it will feed you mentally in a positive healthy way. If your activities are at the same approximate times... it becomes a ritual.
What do you do at night? Night rituals make a difference on your sleep patterns which affect your day time existence. For us, we shower early and watch some TV or listen to music each night. Then prayers and sleep. We all have a different approach to bedtime. We keep the TV off in the bedroom... it is for sleeping!
Routines definitely have a profound positive influences on all of us. Our Social Patterns truly reflect who we are in life.
“Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." Colossians 3:14
Laurie Pace - A Texas Artist
Laurie Pace is an international artist with her paintings collected in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, DuBai, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, St Thomas, Romania, Greece, Croatia, and Ecuador.
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© Graphics One Design 2021
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