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It is Friday morning. I need to do a painting today.
Painting brings me great joy. It also brings me great fear.....of exposing myself, of failure (whatever that is), of not having $$$$$ (a recurrent theme these days!). So as I struggle with what to paint for this donation to a fund-raising charity event, I read today's Morning Reflection from Lowell Grisham, a local Episcopal priest (if we must use "labels"!).
"Fear is a terrible motivator. Maybe that is why the phrase "fear not / do not be afraid / be not afraid" occurs 365 times in the scripture, I'm told. One for every day of the week.
Jesus sought to motivate with a loving compassion that inspired hope grounded in a trust of God. His appeal was to our highest nature: Perfect love which casts out fear. The battle between fear and love is both an external and an internal struggle.
I'm reminded of the old Cherokee tale. A Cherokee elder is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil -- he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good -- he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you -- and inside every other person, too.."The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
-- Lowell" [Note: You can find Lowell's writings in"Morning Reflections" under "spiritual" with other links, on the side of my blog.]
.....so I will try to paint more and worry less! Feeding the good wolf!
"C'est Moi"....whimsical self-portrait in acrylic and collage.
* watercolor of cat and iris by Elizabeth Blackadder, one of my favorites!
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A rare film produced by Pierce Brosnan...."The Nephew"
This is a beautiful movie, made by Pierce Brosnan's production company, Irish Dreamtime Inc. Filmed in Ireland. [And yes, Pierce is in it...feast your eyes!]
If you love all things Irish and Celtic music, this is one to seek out. Read more here.
Friday, August 29, 2008
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7 comments:
Dear Lila,
A good friend sent me the "Two Wolves" tale quite some time ago. I copied it over many times and finally put it in a Word document. I value it highly.
Not to push religion down anyone's throat, but this is a Bible version I have held in high regard since I heard it recited by Eric Liddell's character in "Chariots of Fire." It might help you today: "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31
Thanks, Julie!
Ha, I meant Bible verse, not version.
Last weekend my son Gabe came over. He told me the story of the 2wolves...he heard it in rehab. He is trying to feed the good wolf as well! :-)
Lots of synchronicity here.
With the political ads getting into full swing now, we have to analyse which "wolf" each ad is feeding! It will be a high energy fall, I'm thinking.
that is synchronicity with Gabe telling you the same thing!
really great post. i love the Cherokee tale.
xoxo nita
Lila dearest:
follow your bliss: Paint!!! to your heart's contentment and then paint again and again!!!!
hugs!
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