“…he not busy being born is busy dying.” – from It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) by Bob Dylan
Every
time I post one of my paintings, I cringe when I think of what my friends who are
talented artists will think of it. And I have quite a number of these talented
friends: an art professor, a former jewelry designer who can whip up a portrait
of my babies without breaking a sweat, and several others who majored in Fine
Arts or Design in college. You get my drift. Of course, they have been nothing
but kind to this amateur. God bless them 😊
But
why do I keep practicing how to paint and learning other new things at this
stage in my life? It’s because I want to keep growing and improving. In today’s
homily, Fr. Dave Concepcion affirmed this mindset. He gave 4 Prime Principles
for Lifetime Growth. The first principle hit the bullseye! (The other 3 I may
talk about in later blogs.)
He
said: “The first principle is ‘Make your future bigger than your past’. Have
the courage to do something new. If I keep doing what I have been doing, then I
will only get what I had been getting. Pag wala ka nang ginagawang bago
hindi ka na umuunlad. You are not growing anymore. Growing old is not a
reason to stop pursuing something better.” And he quoted the above lyrics by
Bob Dylan.
So,
friends, don’t simply grow old, get busy being born.
With that in mind, I’m bravely sharing my latest artwork – Heliconia: Life in Contrast.
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| Watercolor painting of Heliconia: Life in Contrast |
When I was practicing flower photography with my macro lens, I wasn’t happy with the run-of-the-mill shots I was getting until I changed the angle and took a shot from the back of the flower arrangement. I captured this beautiful contrast between the fresh blooms and the wilting leaves.
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| Flower photography - the model |
It’s a depiction of what we go through in life: young and old, happy and sad, fresh and dried up. Always remember that there is still beauty even in the downsides of life. With old age comes wisdom. With sadness comes compassion. And even something dried up can exhibit delicate beauty when you look at it from the right angle.
