Not so Much What I have Done.

The Four Seasons

Before I begin this morningI apologise that these paintings are not in the order of seasons so I will leave you to sort them in your mind. This is a series of abstracts I painted for my sons office. They were an attempt to portray the four seasons without doing it the obvious way of painting a snowscape etc. 

I was greatly helped again by my father. My Sunday walks with him played an important part in  shaping and moulding the way I looked at life. One of his greatest lessons came to me on one such a walk.

Let me digress for a bit. Three times in the last week I have heard people talking about their bucket lists. A great idea to do all the things that you want to do before you die. A great idea but sadly the things I might want to do I can no longer attempt. The good side is that I have reached a point where I am happy doing what I am doing. I hope I am bringing some joy with the art I am producing. 

Now let me share with you the lesson my father shared with the little guy with the crop of bright red hair, me.

I went on to share this with every class of students that sat before me, and some of them I know listened. 

Here is the little lesson I shared.

Each of us are  on this earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment. So we must make the most out of every single day."

 "So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn't have to be something you see - it could be a scent-perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of someone's house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches one autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground.

Please look for these things, and cherish them. For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the "stuff" of life. The little things we have here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for granted. We must make it important to notice them, for at any time... it can all be taken away."

here endeth the lesson.

The other day I was asked why I went walking, was it just to keep fit or was it more than that? It was because I remember that lesson my father gave me on more than one occasion. 

I try to appreciate all of the things we so often take for granted or overlook, especially the people around us who we can so easily take for granted. How easy it is to say thank you to the bus driver as I alight from the bus, but who knows he might be having a bad day. 

Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour today. Go barefoot. Or walk in the forest as the birds come to roost . Stop off and pop into the shop and buy a little packet of those sweets that remind you of school days. I did that two days ago I bought a packet of smarties and savoured each one as I remembered the pals I had shared them with in my youth.

 For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn't do.