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Trust Your Heart...and the Journey!

"Trust Your Heart"









So, it's a New Year, and of course, time for resolutions and "new beginnings".  I have to admit, I struggle this time of year.  I sort of get melancholy and I am not the most optimistic person during this "season".  Everything seems dull and gray and sort of lifeless.  Honestly, I wish I were a bear and could go into hibernation mode until the spring.  

At the beginning of a new year, it seems everyone always has the best intentions and I do too.  But, about mid-January, I have given up on any sort of "resolution" I may have made verbally or in my head.  I convince myself that it was the New Year's Eve champagne talking - not really me.  I didn't mean it...I never would have made that my resolution.  So as you can see, I really, really stink at resolutions and it is a big problem for me.  Keeping this in mind, I decided not to make them anymore.  Instead, last year, I decided to come up with a "word" - one word that would be my mantra for the entire year.  To make it "stick" I decided to come up with an intuitive painting that would guide me through the year.  Last year my word was "Fearless".  Below is a picture of this painting.  A heart rising up out of the abyss upon its own wings.  A flower was growing out of the heart - blooming and becoming and being original.


 Having my own "word" really did help me and I feel like it brought me and my artwork to a new level - almost as if discovering what we could do together.  When I would be so scared to put myself out there, I would look at my little "Fearless" painting.  It's almost like it spoke to me about being brave and being "real".  It told me I could so ahead and step out of my comfort zone.  It whispered that it's OK if people didn't like my work or didn't approve of it or if I didn't play by the rules in creating my work.  It also helped me be somewhat more accountable, if you will.  At the time, I thought this was my own little unique and original idea, but I discovered many other artists commit to this idea as well.  I think it is amazing and wonderful and I wish everyone would do something like this!

So this year, in thinking of my word, I just couldn't come up with anything.  I am taking an online class and one of our first projects included the words, "Trust in the Journey".  I thought, that is so "normal" and I want to be unique and original - you know I AM an artist and so I can be a little weird and different.  That's just how we roll.  My word needs to be profound and sparkle with fairy dust.  It needs to speak to me like no other.  I kept pondering and thinking and making up stuff in my head as to what my word would be.  Then, the funniest thing happened.   I was prompted to say a little prayer, asking for my word.  I had always thought this would be too small of a thing to ask for, there are so many bigger things going on in the universe and how stupid and insignificant of me to ask for a small, little word in a prayer.  But, I did it.  No sooner than I said my little prayer, I got my word for the year.  I didn't want this word, but the answer to my prayer was loud and clear.  I tried to argue...I don't want that word.  Nope, no arguing...that was it, this was my word.  Are you ready??  My word this year is TRUST.  I argued, "but what about my day job and all the turmoil and negativity associated with it and why can't I just do my artwork full-time and how is that ever going to work"??  You know what I heard next (again, loud and clear, by the way)?  "I've got this".  That's all I needed to hear.  My word for the year is "TRUST".  And that is exactly what I am going to do.

So, based on that story, this little painting came to be.  The heart and the words are constructed of pages from a vintage hymnal.  It reads, "Trust Your Heart...It Knows the Way.  I hope you enjoy it and I hope you all have a fabulous and "sparkly, fairy dust" New Year!  

www.donnamartinfineart.com

saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com

https://www.facebook.com/donnamartinfineart

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