I took a yoga class on January 2nd with a new teacher. Soraya teaches Kundalini yoga, using a gong and card decks to add dimension to the class. She mentioned that 2018, in numerology, is a year of Mastery.

Mastery sounds extremely important on the surface.

Mastery is fluid. It’s not easily pinned down, nor is it an endpoint.

Still, a year of mastery sounds exciting and I quickly thought, "This could be MY Year”! Whatever that means.

As Soraya guided us in a meditation, I felt blue butterflies encircling my head. Could this be a sign of Mastery? After all, butterflies have transformed from caterpillars into an entirely new state of being.

Did you know that while in the cocoon, caterpillars turn into a messy goo that resembles neither a caterpillar nor a butterfly? If the process is interrupted, the butterfly never forms.

Similarly, if the cocoon or chrysalis is tampered with while the butterfly is emerging, the wings are deprived of nutrients and never fully form. The struggle to emerge is essential to the proper growth of strong wings.

All this is a preamble to my latest Tree Diva: Mastery and Mystery. She was first imagined in that January yoga class.

I began painting her January 10th, a day that was filled with frustration. I knew I wanted to begin this painting and I was afraid to start — how could I possibly live up to her potential?

I felt frustrated and frenzied. My time was tugged in different directions by tasks that “had to be done” that day.

I finally shoved paperwork out of my way and just began to draw her — with my eyes closed (that’s a first). I started with her left arm; I wanted her energy to enliven the painting right from the start.

Of course, I erased and redrew parts of her before I was ready to paint, but for the most part, she came together smoothly.

I was excited to see her healthy root structure! This is the first time a tree diva’s roots are showing.

Having a strong foundation is essential for life.

I recently started to work with a personal trainer at the gym. I’ve been experiencing some problems with my right hip and decided this is the next step in my healing process.

My first goal at the gym is to strengthen my legs (my roots). I’ll continue to take yoga classes as well to maintain and enhance my flexibility. Both are necessary for continued vitality.

Reaching a goal once is not Mastery!

Replicating our achievements more than once, and then moving our target out just a little further, keeps us moving toward mastery.

I’m not ready to claim mastery, and will continue to work with the mysteries of life.

I love the magic!

I paint because I feel better when I paint.

Painting is my form of meditation.

Mediation clears the mind so we can hear our heart.

We live in a world seemingly growing and shrinking at the same time. It’s the “Big Bang” ad infinitum as our knowledge base grows and our time space continuum seems to shrink.

We feel disconnected by distance as our families grow and move (migrate) from one job or state to another.

We feel marginally connected when we see family, friends, and acquaintances on Facebook, Instagram, Snap Chat, and “flavor-of-the-month” social media platform.

Painting, the simple act of putting brush marks on paper brings our world back into focus. Even just 15 minutes a day helps!

Time spent feeling truly, deeply connected to our selves (e.g. painting, meditation, yoga), is calming and healing. It moves us out of our heads and into our hearts.

We’ve had a long love affair with our head (brain). I’m not sure when it began, perhaps at the dawn of the industrial age?

I don’t know about you, but when I listen exclusively to my head,
I get in trouble.

Don’t get me wrong, our brains are great, they just don't tell the whole story. Our brains (and our computers) operate on logic.

Logic is only one leg upon which we stand. We do best when using our head, our heart, and our “gut” (intuition).

I go to yoga class once a week to remind myself of how good it feels to take care of my body in this way — and to be flexible.

Once upon a time I did yoga daily — on my own!

I don’t do that any more. Maybe my world (my head) is too full of other things that “must be done” first.

I go to a yoga class because I feel better when I go, I feel better when I’m there, and I feel better for days afterwards.

Sometimes life feels hard. Anything that can ease our angst and doesn’t cause harm to others is valuable.

Painting, like yoga and meditation, quiets the mind, opens the heart, and provides us with the opportunity to hear our intuition.

The head, the heart, and our intuition are the three legs upon which to stand and from which to choose how we live our lives.

We must be able to “hear” from each of these legs if we want a stable base upon which to stand.

One leg alone or two legs won’t do.
It takes three to provide stability.

Paint to come alive, to relax, to clear your mind, to open your eyes, to see more of the world around you, to unwind, to enjoy more of life, to refresh your spirit, to give you a stable footing in the world, to round out your life, to have FUN.

Simply Paint.