Tattoos on this town

My senior year in collage I was apart of an art show - every senior interior design student did a display of a concept we learned during our four years in the program. I used shadow boxes in part of my display and finally got the out of storage from Utah (5 years later). Ever since July I've been trying to think of something to do in them. I finally settled on this for one of them:

Some of you know I LOVE tattoos and graffiti (not that I'd ever get one or actually take a can of spray paint and paint a wall around town) but I love seeing it. On my train ride from Albany, NY to Baltimore, MD I saw lots of awesome street art and took tons of pictures so I decided to own up to my secret and display some promenently in my art room.

I have another idea for my other shadow box ... it's going to be amazing, but you'll just have to wait to find out what it is.

Demigods

Demigods – the mortal offspring of the Grecian gods. Born with the powers of their divine parents and the frailty of mortality. There's something something fantastic about the thought that pulls at each of us. How awesome would it be to have the wisdom of Athena or the green thumb of Dionysus? The right to claim divine heritage and meet with the gods?


But what if it really isn't a myth? What if we all really are the offspring of deity? Every last one of us. What if instead of being half-gods we were full blooded legitimate children of a god – the God – Our Heavenly Father. Endowed with divine gifts to nurture and improve. What if instead of being destined to become mere “heros” we are destined to becomes gods. What if we were gods in trainging, learning the necessary skills and attributes so the someday we can stand as kings and queens, gods and godesses under the Most High God?

That is not a myth. That is reality.

PS Can you tell I just finished reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians?

Never Fly as Cargo

Kermit the Frog once said, “I really do believe that all of you are at the beginning of a wonderful journey. As you start traveling down that road of life, remember this: There are never enough comfort stops. The places you're going to are never on the map. And once you get that map, out you won't be able to refold it no matter how smart you are.

So forget the map, roll down the windows, and whenever you can, pull over and have a picnic with a pig. And if you can help it, never fly as cargo.”

Sound advice – take time to look at the world around you as you travel through life and don't plan too far in advance because the unexpected detours is what make life interesting. And don't ride through life in a windowless cargo hold. Live!

To Grandma

Every year around August I ask my Grandma what she wants for Christmas (why ask so early? you'll see) Every year she says the same thing: "A painting" This year I asked her to be more specific and she said a self portrait. I laughed. I don't paint people - I'm a perfectionist (kind of) and I have a really hard time with people. So I got a little creative because she insisted. So when she opened her gift from me this is what she found:

A nice family tree of her oldest son. Can you guess which one's me? If she asks for another self portrait next Christmas I've got another idea so I won't have to actually draw myself. Or maybe I'll continue the family trees and do her next child's family.

Together

One of the songs I love by the 10 Tenors is “Together”. The chorus of this songs says:

“We'll grow together, if we rise up together. We'll be stronger together, for much longer together, and we'll make it together we'll go on forever.”

This is a beautiful message that I think in our competitive nature we tend to forget. We all need each other. To quote High School Musical “We're all in this together”.

Why is this?

I'm a very independent person – I like to do things on my own, it's sometimes easier that way. However, I have learned in my work that bouncing ideas of my coworkers always leads to new and better ideas. We need each other to broaden our horizons.

I am also a loner, on most occasions. I am perfectly happy by myself, for a while. But I know that if I become a hermit for to long I will very easily spiral into depression. Heavenly Father made us social creatures for a reason. So we can build and uplift each other. So we can draw each other closer to Him. So the human race can live on. (Can you imagine if we all were hermits? Humankind would have died out with Adam and Eve.)

Another song by the 10 Tenors states: “We stand together, yet we stand alone” Ultimately how our lives play out is up to us. I have control of me - just me- I make my own decisions. But I need others to help me make the best decisions and to use their strengths to cover my weaknesses.