Perspective of Emotion: Seeing

If you want to know who I am, listen carefully to what I say about others. There will always be a bit of truth about me in what I say or think about you or others. Everything I perceive is seen through my own eyes and experiences. My beliefs about the world and myself are one and the same.
  No person who speaks of others is a mystery. I see what I am.
  Guard your thoughts and words. Be especially careful of any negative words. Instead of "stupid" or "idiot" try "struggling" or " still learning." In either case, you'll be announcing to the world who you are, not the other person. Seek to see beauty and find things to be grateful for. Talk about these things and often! You are becoming them. When invited to complain or gossip, give of love instead. See the beauty in those who might hide behind talk of others. They speak of their own fears. Love them away, and never condemn. To do so is to condemn yourself. To love them, to lift them, is to rise with them in dignity.
    You cannot improve yourself without improving the world. We are one. When you see fault in another apply love to correct it in yourself. Again, we see what we are. I am part of you, and you are part of me. To take care of me, to heal me,  love yourself. Likewise, when you see beauty in the world, guess who you're seeing? smiles. You.
   Bring smiles where you can, point out the perfection of dandelions, the dance of life, and see that all is well, and all answers are known. If I see anger, it is with my own angry eyes. If I see incompetence, it is with my own insecurity. Therefore, see the abundance of forgiveness and the wisdom of the simple. This is not to claim the nonexistence of pain, but to claim your place in Love.  The problem with what I see is never what I see, but a problem with my own eyes. I have to shift my focus and look in the direction of Love. Then I find the beauty I see reflected in me.
  It is in you too. I see it all of the time. smiles.
tina jones


"Patience"
(Self Portrait)
36x48"
Acrylic on Canvas



One third of the people

I've heard that one third of the people are going to love you no matter what you do.
One third of them are going to dislike you no matter what you do,
And one third of them aren't going to care one way or the other...no matter what you do.
 
  It leads me to believe that it's best for us to be ourselves. Trying to please isn't going to change the statistics..."no matter what you do."

  I've come to believe this to be true of art too. People like what they like. I think people are simply built for different likes, dislikes and apathy. I, for instance do not like sweet potatoes. No matter what you do to them, I'm not going to like them. It isn't personal, even if I were someone to whine at a sweet potatoe for not acting or tasting like I think it should, and even if I were to try to make the poor spud feel guilty about it. It's still going to be a sweet potatoe, and I still won't like it. I simply can't, because I'm in that one third (I'm not sure of the numbers in sweet potatoes) who is not going to like sweet potatoes.
   Rice cakes. I don't really care one way or the other. They're ok, but I don't have it in me to love or dislike them. In my world they simply exist, because I'm in that (theoretical) one third that doesn't have any passionate feeling about rice cakes.
   Strawberries, I love! I love them fresh, frozen even canned. I love them in pies, jam, dipped in cream, or plucked from the patch! I don't think I've met the strawberry I wasn't smitten with, and there is not a thing strawberries can do about that. I'm in the (imaginary) one third that loves strawberries with every fiber of my being. It's just the way I am, and has no bearing on strawberries whatsoever.
  All of this to say, it doesn't pay much to worry about who doesn't like you or doesn't notice. Chances are it's nothing to do with you and more about that person's hardwiring. I think time is best spent with those who like, love and care about us.
    I spent too much of my time thinking about those who didn't like me as a kid, and I neglected those who tried in every way possible to show me how much they cared. Those who loved me anyway were my precious one third who was going to love me no matter what I did. These are the ones I think of and devote my time to now. I am their strawberries, and they are mine.
   Those who are perpetually disappointed in you have their own things to deal with. Let them go with your loving blessing. Those who don't care one way or the other, keep your arms open that they may come or go, and those who love you no matter what, give of your time, thoughts and care. Let them know you appreciate them. If your busy with all of that love, you won't have time for worry about people that you don't really matter to. Surround yourself with love, and give it freely. Be strawberries! hehe.

Closeup Painted Chair Seat
Acrylic on Wood
Approx. 8x10"



Are You Prepared For The...BEST?

So many are living in fear of a dreaded tomorrow, a time post apocalyptic, the invasion of zombies, an infestation of alien elbow fleas, or what have you. I hear talk of shelters, food and water gathering, protection. Many are returning to gardening and hunting in preparation for a nightmare.
 It could happen.
  I tend to find what I'm looking for. What I think about most is what I see. When my focus is on negativity, I find reasons to be negative.

 One question:
Have you prepared for the best?
It's as likely to come as anything. What if it should happen, your greatest dream? Are you ready? Say it's love or you've finally been recognized for your work. Are you prepared? Have you opened your heart? Have you done enough paintings for the show they may ask you to do?
  I've no particular connection to any belief system, and find little of use as far as biblical things, but there is one sentence I find most intriguing. "I go and prepare a place for thee." It speaks of love, and I in my heart prepare room for a beloved. I clear out old baggage of fears. I practice by loving myself and friends for the time when a beloved comes. I prepare paintings for a show I have not yet been asked to do. I prepare for my greatest dreams.
   When they come, will you be prepared?
tina jones