Moving beyond our experiences

I was prompted to post this entry as a counterweight to an article which I read today that I found pretty sad to say the least.

In an interview with a local artist, the artist explains that her work is motivated by negative influences from her childhood and that holding onto these negative experiences and influences is what drives her to produce her bizarre work.

This artists prides herself on holding onto her prejudice and her negative emotions and actually feeds off of this poison in order to produce her work. She describes negative male influences, mostly her father which have created this grotesque!

A lesson in gratitude

A Grecian Summer

I met a good friend today whom I had not seen for at least 5 years. Through hard work and a healthy inheritance, my friend is comfortable and some would say wealthy. We started by exchanging our family news and what our kids were up to. My friend went first and updated me on himself, each of his children and his brothers and their families whom I knew well. The first thing he told me was that he was now a diabetic and that he suffered from hypertension. He takes medication for his hypertension and his diabetes and part of the side effects especially of the anti-hypertensive medication is that it makes him tired and he cannot over exert himself so for exercise he has to content himself with walking a couple of miles every day. He then told me that his eldest son, aged 40 had recently suffered a stroke at work and has now got left sided weakness as well other problems associated with his stroke. He told me that his youngest son was diagnosed with depression at the age of 15 or 16 and despite treatment he has become socially withdrawn and spends most of his time playing computer games in his room. He told me that his sister had passed away from a very aggressive cancer but this was only after she had lost her two sons whom were in their 30's. Apparently they died in their sleep and the cause of this remained unknown to this day. By this point I was experiencing a great deal of inner turmoil as I was thinking; my God how much more tragedy can come this man's way? He then told me that his younger brother, aged 56 had also suffered a stroke and now slurred his speech and had left sided weakness. His brothers' daughter aged 15 or 16 was severely mentally unwell and was a frequent visitor to the local mental health hospital. His brother had also become an alcoholic and shows no signs of beginning to take responsibility for his health or his family's welfare.

At last he then asked me for my news. I told him that all my family members were well. I enjoy good health and I actively take responsibility for my continued good health by taking care of my nutrition and through regular exercise. I had travelled widely and experienced a great many things, including living in New Zealand for a number of years. In the process of my travels, I also spent a great deal and do not currently own my own house nor do I have any savings. I have a wife that means the world to me and children that are healthy although not financially sound.

I came away from my meeting with my friend and as I arrived home and before entering the house, I raised both hands to God in gratitude for everything that I have and for the health and well being of my family. There are truly things that money cannot buy and I have them all in abundance.