Slow is Remembering, Fast is Forgetting

  “Only love interests me,

and I am only in contact

with things I love.”

Marc Chagall

 

 

Any act in life can become an art.  If we love what we are doing, it brings out our creative nature.  Whether it is mowing the lawn, planting a garden, rearranging furniture or painting walls, our action can become a waking meditation.  Eating an apple, slicing veggies, or setting a table can become an act of simple grace. 

 

While visiting New Orleans, I was walking by the St. Louis Cathedral on my way to buy some beignets (delightful form of donuts famous in New Orleans).  Jackson Square is right across from the cathedral bordered by an iron fence.  It is a delightful small park, and numerous artists dedicated to their love of painting gather there.

 

Key West is peppered with artists of all kinds.  Every night at the Sun Set Celebration, musicians, jugglers, artists, and vendors amuse those who gather.  Artists, however, are everywhere one wanders.  Whether you are at the Southern Most Tip, the Harbor, Old Towne, Bahamian Village, or the Ocean Front, you will find people of all ages deeply focused on their love for painting.

 

There is a saying that 'if you love what you are doing, you will never work a day in your life'.  Too often, we do not support the artist within each of us.  We say we do not have the time or we are not good enough which are just excuses.  If you love to do something, you can find the time to do it.  If you are a beginner, then be a beginner.  For many of us, love is the action and not the outcome.  The act in which we choose to create restores us.

 

Life is so fast paced, it is easy to let things that truly matter to us, slide.  We strive to be our best, and in that speed, we misplace things that would assist us in feeling whole and connected.  When we go so fast, we forget what is truly important in the bigger picture.  When our pace is more slow, we begin to remember.