Good Morning, my Angel,
I am at home, just returning from Lake Balboa with Pearl and The Kobester. Pearl was supposed to have a big Reseda Women's Club meeting this morn, but when we got there at 9:30 it had been cancelled, so we went to the lake instead. And now I am back.
I saw your posts when I dropped Pearl off. I was glad to hear from you, just because things seemed a little quiet there for a few days. Those are beautiful pictures by the two photographers, and the one by Veronika T. reminds me of a Dave Small type of shot. You remember, he is my late friend who was also a painter but he took photos, too, and some of his best shots were blurred or deliberately out of focus. This pic reminds me of that, it is impressionistic and what I will call "pure photography" for want of a more thought-out term. "Pure" because it's all about capturing the moment, without regards to technical aspects, and you know I love that kind of stuff because then what is captured is just the intent of the photographer. No set-up or planning, just a moment of "oh, I've gotta capture that". So, pure photography.
I love all kinds of photos, including the more technically perfect, but I also love what might be considered imperfect, because there are so many different ways an image can move you. I never would have thought about out-of-focus photography before I saw Dave do it......
The photos by Olivia Bidleman are beautiful, too. There is one line in her comment, and it may just be coincidental to your liking of her post and pictures, but just in case you meant it to be noticed, I will mention it. It is the line about her doubting herself. You probably remember, way back in our early days, that we talked about that subject when you were thinking about recording music for Neige to hear. I just remind you, like I did back then, never to compare yourself to others, or to hold your work up to anyone else's, be it in music or photography or anything else. That is the only thing I can think of that would make a person doubt themselves or their talent. And again, that comment by her may be only coincidental and have nothing to do with why you liked her post.
But never compare, because it's always all about You. That's what makes your talent. If you judge it by how "good" you think someone else is, then you are making your work all about them , and that takes away from the spirit in your work.
The spirit in your work is your talent. Forget any technical aspects for the moment, because while they are important, anyone can learn them. Just like anyone can learn to shred if they practice hard enough, but to make beautiful music, well........that requires spirit, introspection, listening to your muse, all those inward qualities that you can only reach by focusing all your artistic attention on You.
Bring out the You in your work.
I know it's not always as easy as it sounds, but also remember that feelings of doubt come and go, and you always know what the real feeling is, because that's when you feel on top of the world and you are taking pictures or making music, or even cooking or anything you love to do, and everything feels perfect .
In those moments and on those days, you are not doubting and thinking about comparisons; no, on those days you are totally immersed in what You are doing. And you know it just feels so right. "This is me, this is what I do, I can feel it in my soul, it is good, it is what I am meant to do, to think about, and I am meant to feel this way".
That's when it's all about You, artistically speaking.
Also keep in mind that any feelings of melancholia can always be physically related, too. That's why I used to remind you to always try and keep your blood sugar level, and to get enough sleep, or if something is bothering you or worrying you, to talk about it. All those things will help keep you feeling good physically, which is directly related to feeling good emotionally. Maybe they don't correlate totally, but good physical energy definitely influences the emotions in a positive way.
And, I know you know all that stuff. I'm just reminding you anyway, like I used to do, just for the heck of it.
I take it that you may be working this Summer. Remember I had asked about that a few weeks ago? I wasn't sure, but in the pic of your arm w/ German flag, it looks like you are in an office or workplace. If you are working, you are probably wishing you could get out and do more stuff.
And you are going to! For now, just let the work hours pass and focus on your real self. Keep your intent strong, and hold onto it quietly, at all times. Feel God with you always, and know that God wants for you what you want for you. God, the way you believe in God. Think good things for yourself and for the world, it creates energy that harmonises with God's energy.
But during the hours of the day, think about You the Artist. Think your thoughts and keep your good things close to heart and create your world. You can do your work on automatic pilot (at least sort of), but you can immerse yourself in your world, your thoughts, with intent, and in that way you will create your own life......
.....and remember what I have said in the past : that you are already in the process of creating that life . You are already living it, living your life as an Artist. Even on days when you can't take a picture, because of work or some other obligation, you are still living that life because you are thinking it .
It's where your Intent is.
I am with you all the way, of course, and as you go along you are going to see more and more things fall into line the way you want them to. Just keep doing it, keep thinking it, keep your Intent. Keep God with you because God wants You to be You, and You know when You are being You because you can feel it.
Like for me, when I am out on the trails. I only just discovered that last year, because I was never in my life a trail person before. But something drew me there : God, or God Energy, or whatever you want to call it. Something drew me there, and I paid attention to it, and now, when I go out there, it is another way that I feel like The Real Me.
So my point is that you know when you are feeling that way, and you know it connects you to your spirit, and your spirit connects you to God (which always means your God, the way you feel God).
Anyhow, that's all my rambling for this morning. However, I will be back to ramble some more, after I get home this evening, oh boy! :)
That is a beautiful song you posted also, by Eluveitie. We are gonna walk some trails together, my Darling, you and I. Up into the rocks and mountains, just to see what we can see.....
I Love You, Elizabeth. Everyday, all the time. Have an awesome afternoon!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
5:55pm : Hi, my Baby. I'm still at Pearl's, but I wanted to let you know that I am gonna be meeting Grimsley for a quick walk through Aliso Canyon when I get off work. Aliso is the one that's closest to my apartment, and an easy hike (more of a walk, really). So, I will be home no later than 9pm, and maybe a little earlier. I hope you are enjoying your evening and I will see you when I get back.
I Love You, Elizabeth! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
10:15pm : Good Evening, my Darling. I am writing a little earlier, just because I wanted to say I Love You. I am a kookoo bird today because I did two hikes. I went back to Stagecoach Trail at Andora St. (only 15 minutes from my place, so no big deal getting there) at 2pm, even though it was hot again, just because it is awesome out there, and when you go you rarely see another person, and so it's just you and the landscape, and the landscape really gets inside you. I love it out there, and also I am still trying to find the Devil's Slide crossing site. So, I was out there from 2:30 to 3:30, then I came back and went to Pearl's, and then this eve I met Grim up at Aliso Canyon, which is more of a walk than a hike, but still nice.
So I'm all trailed out for the moment. We saw quite a few wild bunny rabbits at Aliso this eve. They are small, brownish creatures who don't seem too scared of humans. They go hopping across the trail and then sit there a few feet away, looking at you. Maybe people feed them.
I am really sorry to see the eagle that's been shot. I don't understand human cruelty, nor this country's love of guns and shooting things. Again, because I do eat meat I always have to make a disclaimer because even salmon or tuna has been pulled from the water so I can consume it. But in the case of the eagle, I think it's safe to say that no one was going to eat it, nor did they need it for food, so to shoot it was just pure cruelty.
Not only that, but it's either an endangered species or close to it. They don't allow eagle hunting, I don't imagine. So there's no excuse whatsoever for shooting it. The thing is, also - and this can be especially maddening - is that it isn't always malicious cruelty that causes a person to want to do this. It can simply be mindless cruelty, or what my sister would call a lower consciousness. A person of lower intelligence and consciousness has a gun - because "everybody has one" and/or it's part of his surrounding culture, something he never questions - and because he "has one", he just wants to go out and shoot something with it. Doesn't matter what it is, more or less.
That's mindless cruelty, almost as bad in it's own way as malicious cruelty because the end result is the same.
Well, I am sorry to see it and I hope they catch the person who did it.
On a lighter note, I am rooting for you to win that gorgeous PRS! I am glad you are still playing guitar, though it's kind of a dumb thought on my part, because why would you not? :)
I am playing a lot myself, and learning to compensate for this ridiculous finger I now have. It's bent pretty bad now, but so far it has not impeded me too badly.
I am gonna eat something real quick, so I will post now and then come back in about a half hour or so, at my usual late night time.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
(back in a bit)
11:35pm : Listening to Alfred Cortot, one of my very favorite pianists and a great Chopinist, I think. I also think it was a good day. You are on a roll, whether you see the day-to-day aspect of it or not. You have already established yourself as an Artist. Believe me, girl - from the day you posted your "Autre Temps" video, you had established yourself because you aren't and weren't just someone posting on Youtube - you were and are a unique personality.
This is everything I am talking about. So, even with work and all the everydayness of life, just keep holding and focusing on that thing within you that prompted you to record that song, and that has continued to prompt you to take photographs, in which you have already begun to delineate your own style.
The bottom line with being an Artist (and that term is meant to be held inside, quietly, and nurtured) is that in the long run, it wouldn't matter if you never took another picture, never played another note, never wrote another stanza, etc., as long as you lived it in your spirit and in your thoughts, every day for the rest of your life.
That's the absolute bottom line, and once you establish that bottom line - and you already did, two and a half years ago - all you have to do is keep living it. Your art is ultimately for an audience, of one or a million, but before that - it is for You.
So, just keep your physical self in balance (eat right, blood sugar in check, etc), and don't worry when a couple days downtime occur. That happens. Remember that you have already established yourself, you are locked in as an Artist first and foremost because of the way you think and feel, and it is a connection that can never be broken, because it is between You and God.
That's all I know for tonight, my Darling. I Love You and will see you in the morning!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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