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Don't give your consent, friends. You're not required to. #100daysofgatheredtruths #100dayproject
Perelandra is, in my opinion, one of C.S. Lewis' best works, and is all-too-often overlooked. Much more than a space adventure, it's a brilliant reminder of the absolute wonder of creation, the depths of darkness in the Fall, and the incredible Otherness, Love and Power of our God. Setting this story of a brand new world on a different planet is a stroke of genius--it gives you more mental space to understand the creation, Fall, and redemption of our own world in a new perspective. Death, darkness, and all that come with it, are real. We live in their wake every single day. It's been a year today since my Mom died. I had never before experienced death firsthand, right in front of me. People say it's natural, but natural is the last thing it feels like. And it's not. We were never meant to die. The implications of the Fall have never been so real to me as they were that day, and the utter darkness of it follows me around sometimes. All the kind words in the world don't change it, and the raw, naked knowledge of it can feel almost lonely against a backdrop of nice, well-meaning phrases. But the knowledge itself is good. I love how real Lewis is about death. About the horror of it. When death first comes to Perelandra--this perfect, colorful, alien world-- it is sickening and heartbreaking and repulsive. Our world is no different. It once was something brighter, something whole. This world is broken. The loss is real. And yet. In the book, the main character, Ransom, is sent to the newborn planet Perelandra to help stop its own Fall. There are a million setbacks, doubts, fears, and confusion. But a Voice--the way God shows up in this world--tells him, "It is not for nothing you are named Ransom. My name also is Ransom." Ransom knows that "if he now failed, this world also would hereafter be redeemed. If he were not the ransom, Another would be." Today, I'm focusing on the constancy and strength of our Hero--the ultimate Artist, the powerful King, the One who has been to the depths of Death and came back, whose Story is bigger than anything we could imagine. Whose name, too, is Ransom, and who will stop at nothing to redeem His creation.
God shows up in a lot of ways, everywhere. I love this moment in The Secret Garden, when Colin asks Dickon's mother if she believes in Magic. "That I do, lad," she answered. "I never knowed it by that name but what does th' name matter? I warrant they call it a different name i' France an' a different one i' Germany. Th' same thing as set th' seeds swellin' an' th' sun shinin' made thee a well lad an' it's th' Good Thing." #the100dayproject #100daysofgatheredtruths
This happy little guy hurt himself last week--he's healing up now, but his usually adorable lack of coordination made him fall pretty far inside his cage and he hit something hard enough to get a big bruise and a laceration. Since our vet visit he's been pretty skittish and nervous around us, but I think he's starting to recover. He was chattering away like crazy when I snapped this picture, and kept coming right up to sing to me even though he didn't want to be handled. I hope he continues to improve and get more comfortable again quickly, but either way, I'm so glad to have little Slightly around!
Somehow this quote from The Phantom Tollbooth always helps when things feel dark or confusing. Norton Juster, always to the rescue! #the100dayproject #100daysofgatheredtruths
Trying to be brave today.
Sure, this little nugget of wisdom came from a drunk therapist on a really bizarre (and incidentally phenomenal) TV show. But to be completely honest here, some of the most valuable, immediately applicable things I've learned this past year came from this particular drunk TV show therapist. The almost-always-sloshed Andrea from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt may have been totally drunk when she said this (and many other extremely helpful things that I'll share later), she spouts more wisdom drunk than most people do stone cold sober. Her unflinching ability to say it like it is is incredibly refreshing. Let me say it again: happy people value their needs as much as others. (Add the extra "es" for the full tipsy effect.) This statement *doesn’t* mean being selfish and ignoring other people—that would be valuing your needs *more* than other people. There’s a difference. Value your needs *as much as* others. Yes, absolutely help others. Do what you can. But don't make others *more* important than yourself or you'll end up not seeing your own value--which actually makes you less able to truly help others in the ways that you, specifically, can. Always putting everyone else before you will make you feel like you've disappeared between the cracks of this world, and not even sure who you are. And/or resent the people you put your needs aside for. Don't be a pushover. Don't be a martyr. Own your needs. Value your needs as much as otherses. Listen to the drunk therapist, people. She knows what she's talking about. #the100dayproject #100daysofgatheredtruths
Whether it's your style as an artist or just how you do you. We're always becoming, always changing a bit, but whatever you learn, whatever you try, be you. Stop looking at other people and telling yourself you need to be more like them. You're you. And that's important. #the100dayproject #100daysofgatheredtruths
Sometimes this thought is terrifying. There are things we want so badly to hold on to in life, that we don't ever want to lose. Lately, this thought has been really freeing to me. If you look at it from a slightly different perspective, knowing that nothing lasts takes away the pressure to strive, to get things just right. It takes away the assumption that if you just achieved X, or if you only had Y, then your life would be...what? Perfect? Safe? Stable? At any given moment we have no idea what's coming around the next corner, and no amount of striving will make it exactly what we want. That doesn't mean we don't work for our dreams, or for safety, or for love, but it does mean we can hold them more loosely, knowing that it's not really up to us when things might change. A particular relationship, or a time of peace,or fill-in-the-blank-here might not last forever. But neither will a time of trial, or danger, or pain. Everything being temporary means that so much is possible, and more importantly that we can let go of our unconscious belief that once we've achieved X, life will be perfect and will stay that way forever. That's one lie we don't need to carry anymore. #100daysofgatheredtruths #the100dayproject
A little experiment on my new toned tan sketchbook! I love trying new things! I wasn't planning on using any gouache for this one--it's not really the paper for it, but it took it pretty well. I need to limit myself to graphite and colored pencils next time, I think, but I thoroughly enjoyed testing it out!