What I've learned about
resolutions is that as soon as you write them down, it's
almost guaranteed that you are going to ditch them. I
say "you" in that generic way which denies responsibility
but what I really mean is me: I am the one who usually
and predictably ditches resolutions.
Eleven days have passed since I said I was going to take
up the autobiography...maybe even every day! Ha ha ha
and ha. So now you know that you shouldn't take any
notice whenever I say I am going to do something. Hot
air is what it is.
And hot air is one of the
reasons I am lying prone in the nation of Procrasti. It's just
too damn hot. Wherever you are right now it's probably too hot
unless it's winter where you are. And if you are able to do anything
creative and/or constructive under the blanket of a heat wave then I would salute you
if I could manage the energy to raise my arm or my eyebrows
in a salute.
So instead of the promised
autobio episode which I'm delaying, here is something
which may be useful for those of us whose spirit
is willing but whose flesh is easily immobilised by outrageous
heat and other natural and unnatural obstacles. I
first saw it quite a while ago on the studio wall of
a friend, a French artisan-printer, and asked him to
photocopy it for me. I don't know where it comes from
or who wrote it but I've translated it from the French
and it's a prayer. But if you prefer a secular version,
just remove "Lord" and
substitute any source of encouragement you prefer.
The
Artisan's Prayer
Teach
me, Lord, to make good use of the time
you give me for my work, to use it well
without wasting it. Teach me to learn
from past mistakes without sinking into
recrimination. Teach me to plan ahead
without tormenting myself, and to imagine
the work without despairing if it turns
out differently. Teach me to combine
speed with slowness, serenity with fervor,
zeal with peace. Help me at the beginning
of a work, there where I am weakest.
Help me when I'm in the heart of a work
to hold tight the thread of attention.
And most of all, fill the gaps in my
work with your own inspiration.
Lord,
in each work made by my hands let there
be a virtue of yours so that it will
speak to others and a fault of mine so
that it will speak to me. Keep in me
the hope of perfection without which
I would lose heart. Keep me in the impossibility
of perfection so that I don't get lost
in pride. Purify my perception: what
I do badly is not necessarily bad, and
what I do well is not necessarily good.
Let
me never forget that all knowledge is
vain unless there is work, and all work
is empty unless there is love. And that
all love is hollow unless it links me
to myself, to others and to you.
MORE
14 comments:
Trimmed a little, this makes for an excellent plea to the inner self. However, you are to be forgiven, Natalie, for placing it to one side for the time being: it is indeed 'too darn hot'!
Too hot for me here too, though I know some who love it. Thanks so much for this Artisan's Prayer, Natalie - just what I need! Must print it and keep it nearby for 'those' days.
Hope it cools down soon and we may may be able to get back to our work!
Dick, I'm still getting work done on The Main Project (TransSib) but everything else is melting, little puddles everywhere.
Marja-Leena, seems like the heat wave is spreading farther and wider than ever - we're told the whole of July will be like this! But I guess we'll have to learn to adapt to a warmer (and colder) world, somehow or other.
It's cooled down here. Only 103 today!
Bruce, our heat wave seems very insignificant indeed compared to the fiery temperatures you have to deal with much of the time.Air conditioning is not something used much over here and I confess I don't like it - but I'd adapt to it pretty fast if I lived in your part of the planet!
It can't be that bad, reclining on your chaise longue sipping iced drinks and partaking of nibbles, supplied by an adoring staff, obviously not the one gently waving a large fan over you. And you want it to end? :)
Tom: chaise longue? Adoring servants feeding me and waving fan?
Has the heat got to your imagination?
It is tough, all right. I do have a window air conditioner, but I only use it during the hottest part of the day and just for my office.
I hope the heat wave subsides soon, but global warming is raising temperatures.
Hattie, I'd love to be in Hawai now - at least there would be a sea breeze. But today it's cooler here so I'll stop complaining. The weather is the weather.
This heat is bearable if elbows held under cold water, they say.
Ellena, thanks for the tip. Now let's see if I can attach cups of water to my elbows while I'm drawing or printing?
Sometimes when uncomfortable or in pain, Natalie, I have taken myself to a quiet place and laid back then let my mind slip so it feels things of the body from outside. I learned this practice when trying to manage discomfort and pain, for reasons lost in the mists of time!
I do know what oppressive heat is like. And heat and such are more difficult to thole (good Scots word there) - tolerate - as we advance in years. Think cooling thoughts for you ...
Adam, it isn't really so bad, not like proper suffering, but thanks for the good words. We're getting some cooler breezes and rain so, no excuses! Will get back to blogging ASAP.
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