Walking Without Excuses

Today was a struggle to get out of bed. But I wanted to keep to my commitment and sluggishly drag myself out, put on some clothes and walking shoes. The morning air greeted me again this time with a sunnier smile. The sun shines so bright these days. When the clouds don't get in the way it can be bitingly hot. I'm glad that it doesn't bite so much in the morning. I saw the rays peeking orange through the tree leaves and smiled.

I really love mornings.

So I popped in my morning podcast and went for the walk. I listened to two podcasts today. The first one was about Living Without Excuses. Some points I took down in my mind:

• Don't give yourself excuses to quit believing and pursuing your dream
• Your disadvantages are advantages that God's waiting to turn around
• God can turn around your liabilities into Assets

Joel Osteen moved on giving examples of people who had handicaps but still lived a fulfilling life. Some of these people I saw in Positive Split's blog yesterday. The stories of Sarah Reinertsen and Julie Moss were what got to me. Not only because they were women but I suppose they echoed two sides of me. Reinerstein's spunky tough chic personality and Moss' dramatic memorable finish.

I've never really quite experienced what it's like to have a physical handicap or never got far into physical activity to know what it's like for your body to be stretched to the limits. But I suppose I can relate to how it feels when it comes to the inner side of life. The emotional stretching and the spiritual battle. The challenges or hurdles manifested from different directions. Inside - Outside. But then are overcome just the same way.

The second podcast I listened to was pretty much related to the first. Joel Osteen talked about Choosing Which Battles to Fight. Points I pondered:

• You don't have to straighten everybody up
• Not everybody will always like you
• If you stay in God's direction, he will surround you with people who will celebrate who you are

I suppose it hit me right on the spot because I am a person who is easily offended. Layers of wounds lie beneath the exteriors I put up to face life. Efforts that go unnoticed. Ideas that are brushed aside. All those incidents tarnish the drive to keep me encouraged. Living a lifetime of negativity can get to you. But wanting to turn it around is a different story.

I want to turn it around and write a different story.

By the time the two podcasts ended, I've completed my 4th round the 4 blocks worth of road I've chosen for my morning route. It was time to walk up the steep pavement going home. I wasn't as breathless as I expected but my calves were starting to hurt. Yet, the southern banter of Joel's twang was too happy that I kept walking, trying to keep my chin parallel to the ground.

The Flight of Leaves

This morning I had a chance to witness an artpiece in the making. Adi Mari finished her piece on birds and finally showed it to me all the way from London.

Art has always been something captivating for me because it allows me to be drawn inside and outside of myself. The focus of art becomes holistic instead of capturing just one aspect about life. Art makes life three dimensional because it forces you to look at reason (the purpose of pursuing the craft) and passion (the desire to pursue the craft). Art becomes the fruit of a journey's essence manifested in tactile form.

This is why I associate art so much with the journey of faith because it takes a lot of faith to keep up with an artistic journey and it takes a lot of artistic appreciation for life to keep up with the challenges of faith.

I have only started to really establish my journey on looking at how parallel faith and art can be. And today this journey is seen in the artpiece that my friend Adi Mari has made.

I'd call this piece The Flight of Leaves. She has used a variety of media to execute the concept of this artwork. It was quite a painstaking process of gluing in real leaves together to cover cardboard patterns of shapes forming a clutter of leaves at the base. I can imagine the gentle gesture of tracing a curve shaped stencil to draw the birds and capture the wings in flight.

She was talking to me about her fascination for birds ever since she moved to London and I surmise that it is because of how her life has always been. Filled with periods of traveling moving from one country to the next to settle into new homes and leave old ones. It's a melancholy journey of one who's barely anchored to maturity. But it is also quite a courageous journey for someone as young as her because it brings her closer to live a life reliant on faith.

I am caught by the flight of the birds which seems to be moving towards me. I can feel the wind from underneath sweeping the leaves up to the air as the wings swoop down to dip and soar up again. I am enchanted by the colored leaves and Adi Mari's hands that fashioned them intricately. The lines of the work are all moving. Much like Adi Mari's spirit. Moving to find the peacefulness of home in changing skies and the shifting of clouds.

It is true. That art is indeed a self-portrait and this piece can perhaps be her signature work because it literally expresses the story in her soul. One of hope despite the constancy of change and the hurried pace towards acceptance. One of faith despite the hurdles that needs to be crossed amidst the change hues and tones the color her life. One of authenticity despite the realities that challenge the meaning of her truth.

the Flight of Leaves