Snow-dusted fields near Lourdes-de-Joliette, Quebec. Watercolor, 6" x 9" in sketchbook. Whether we feel like we're gradually sliding, or hurtling, into the new year, I think most of us agree that it is not without trepidation. It's hard to think of 2024 with some sort of glittery, jovial anticipation - not after the year just past, and not with our awareness of how rocky the next months are likely to be. I, for one, feel like I'm hurtling headlong, with very little control over external events. Which makes me feel like it's more important than ever to slow down, look around myself, and do some thinking. Not making resolutions, which I generally find unrealistic, but considering some ways to approach life in these unstable and uncertain times.
I love how you framed that first detail from your watercolor. The shades of snow and sky, the gray, white, and light blue are so evocative.
The inanity of news sites, even the good ones -- naval cleaning following news of bombings and genocides -- reminds me of what these news organizations feel like they have to do now to stay in business. I agree with you about the importance of the long view. My own lifeline in that regard has involved reading lots of indigenous thought and history and works by others who have been influenced by them, such as Matthew Fox (of Eckhart fame) and some works by Wendell Berry. But I know that other voices are encouraging others to act from a long perspective, too.
I love how you framed that first detail from your watercolor. The shades of snow and sky, the gray, white, and light blue are so evocative.
The inanity of news sites, even the good ones -- naval cleaning following news of bombings and genocides -- reminds me of what these news organizations feel like they have to do now to stay in business. I agree with you about the importance of the long view. My own lifeline in that regard has involved reading lots of indigenous thought and history and works by others who have been influenced by them, such as Matthew Fox (of Eckhart fame) and some works by Wendell Berry. But I know that other voices are encouraging others to act from a long perspective, too.