Pictured above is today’s office a.k.a. the studio of fellow artist, friend and mentor, Mary Neville! We’re taking a workshop together and I promise to share more about that later.
For now, let me say a thing about Mary.
Mary is awesome. Her art is wonderful and is what first drew me to her. As I get to know her, I’m discovering the heart behind the art. She’s a trove of wisdom. And her joy is her compass.
Mary reminds me that my joy is a thing to protect.
Some days, the negativity comes out of nowhere and gets the best of me. Other days, I seek it out. I feel compelled to help, to lighten a load or change a point of view.
But that’s not my job.
Not really anyway.
My job is to find my joy and protect it. To be the light and all that jazz - not hide it under a bushel or let someone else trample it out — no!
Pema says our wealth is our warmth and our brilliance. Let that sink in. She says, THIS is who we are.
WARM. BRILLIANT.
On the days the negativity gets in, may we remember our true wealth and reach for it.
May we exude warmth.
May we ooze brilliance.
May we be the fucking joy!
“We already have everything we need. There is no need for self-improvement. All these trips that we lay on ourselves—the heavy-duty fearing that we’re bad and hoping that we’re good, the identities that we so dearly cling to, the rage, the jealousy and the addictions of all kinds—never touch our basic wealth. They are like clouds that temporarily block the sun. But all the time our warmth and brilliance are right here. This is who we really are.”