Thursday, December 31, 2009

Positive Outcomes are Always Possible

As 2009 comes to an end, and we all prepare for 2010 there is so much to share. The world around us and our sense of self within it is in such a major transition.

I am a half filled glass type of person. I believe in the creativity of the human spirit and integrity based heart felt balance. I also see hardship and discord and suffering. How to do we reconcile living in the rightness of the universe as it is without hiding our heads in the sand?

It comes down to a few basic ideas I think, at least it does for me on this snowy new years eve morning.
The first is integrity.  To do the right thing. If with every action I take, I put integrity first and try to get out of my ego's need to .. the need to be right, the need to be first, the need to be best, the need to be better than you, the need to be separate from you and on and on and on..

The second is to be calm and peaceful within. Centered and at home with the realization that I am more than my personality, that I am here on planet earth to be conscious and universal and live the truth of my being as it unfolds.

The third is to be kind. In kindness we are true to our generous heart and fair. It does not mean be soft, it does not mean be blind. It means live in the realization that the inherent reality of our lives can be rooted in a kind ground that is strong, flexible, and fair. In kindness lies a poignant beauty.

And last, make art - live art that is beautiful. Live beauty, make beauty, honor beauty.  A good conversation is beauty, an open heart with a sad friend is beauty.  Not surface beauty, nip and tuck botox got to be thin beauty, but the beauty that moves you to tears. A dance, a symphony, a painting, a story. True Beauty. It is one of the values of the human spirit, the resonance with beauty that connects us and makes the world evolve in an everlasting essential sigh.

I hope to live in 2010 with a deep breathe, integrity, inner peace and calm, kindness, and create the beauty that inspires the spirit to new heights. I wish you the same.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Thankful for life

Holiday times are funny - presents and family. I love the spiritedness though of folks around me.  I am so very thankful for my life, for the light that runs through my being - all of my existence seems to simply imply a steadfastness of being. If I can simply continue to be an open hearted soul, sharing my vision, my energy, my love of being with those I come in contact with - then there is meaning in my life.

I don't really care if I can buy anything, or sell anything. I am my art , I am my spirit, I am the love that I aspire to transcend and realize.

Life is good.  I wish all a bountiful inner awareness that all is as it should be, as it is - and we are enough.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Seeing things Knowing things



Seeing things, knowing things  10" x 15" (c) Rhonda Schaller  oil on unstretched canvas Collection of the artist

It is so important to let go of unwanted ideas, past assumptions and what we think we know. I told a class I taught last week, that I hoped I died having unlearned all the things I think I know.  The seeds we plant in ourselves blossom and burst forth. I love my changing consciousness. I feel as if I grow simpler over time.

I change the titles of my paintings often, especially the ones I still own. It seems quite fitting to me that the one above should shift its perception of reality as I have.  A new awareness rising from my heart reflected back from the canvas.

Have been reflecting a lot on the conversations I have with the students and alumni I mentor at SVA. I am so fortunate to be able to give to them the truth of me. I get so much back in return. A beautiful soul, a masters program student told me in a session that my inspiration to others has become my artwork, a living breathng work in progress. Such a beautiful sentiment, a great gift to me. I have much to be thankful for as I unlearn my life.