From the Desk of Murray Lincoln: Facing the Facts of Life – no, no

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Facing the Facts of Life – no, no – not the Bird and Bees!

Mixed with the almost weekly celebrations in my Art World and developing new aspects of creativity is the end of life. What a strange combination of Hope mixed with Hopelessness.

Now I know that this kind of statement could lose more than half my readers today. You clicked on this post to find something uplifting and life stirring I know. Well don’t leave yet – it can be life stirring and starting over again.

Yesterday I sat with two students from a youth employment counseling service in our city. These kids need jobs. They are in high school or just graduating from high school. The one connecting factor is their shyness or lack of people skills with customers or other employees. My task was to relate to them and to possibly get them to connect with customers that come into a store or place of business.

I worked the day with two of the students, one at a time showing them what I do with my art combined with my computer work.

The young man had not drawn anything in his life. In about an hour he had created a fun rabbit. His computer skills are excellent in certain areas but nonexistent in other areas. It is likely because of his entrance to the computer world via games and school work – which is selective and concentrated.

Yesterday he found out how to enter his rudimentary drawing into the digital world and then begin manipulating the drawing. He took it from a kind of clumsy stage with some pretty rough lines to an almost saleable digital piece of art! Remarkable in the short time we had together!!!

The young lady had watched from the sidelines as the two of us worked together. She was not advanced in her studies as the young man was (not the same academic abilities or grade) but she was artistic – and loves art. In a very short time she began to colour in the printed digital art that I have created. With little effort she transformed one of my drawings into something brilliant and attractive. WOW! From a young lady with a mild handicap she did very well.

That is a very short description of my interaction with the vibrancy of today’s youth that are ready to take on a new life and a new world. I felt alive and young again.

Now I clear my throat…

Sitting at the dinner table last evening my Mom’s comment was kind of conciliatory when she said, “I guess it is happening to all of us now as we get older…”

During the day I had received news that one of my uncles was not doing well and is in the hospital now. After suffering two black out sessions and then a final one where he lay on the floor unresponsive he is resting in the hospital where they are testing and monitoring his condition. It was the first that we heard what was happening.

At the Senior’s group where my Mom attends each week the attendance has fallen in the last few months. A number of the clients have had changes in their lives because of illness or further losses – and even death. I know Mom thinks of this often. She not only meets someone and then gets to know them than they disappear. Health issues and death take a toll on her cohort group.

As I climbed into bed last evening the mixture of great things happening during my day combined with more bad news left me wondering – “What about me? How am I doing?”

Personally I am at perhaps the height of my creative world and life. More new ideas are flowing and opportunity coming than ever before… yet the fact that I am getting as old as I am – quickly!

I absolutely must grab the opportunities that I have NOW!!! I cannot wait for next year, next month or tomorrow! My NOW is even more important than ever.

Oops I just checked my to-do list for this summer – and suddenly realized that it is already mid July. Nuts where did the time go?

So today with renewed energy and effort I will tackle two tasks from my list and look at another opportunity to expand what I am doing. That should take care of today! Prompted by some shaky family news and stirred by opportunity I surge forward toward a bright but shorter future.

Oh boy nothing like a little pressure to get going!!!

~ Murray Lincoln ~

www.murraylincoln.com

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