Another Day in the Country
The power of a word
© Another Day in the Country
As most of you know, I’m lucky enough to teach art to a select group of elementary school children every Friday. I look forward to the one-hour class we have together and have a lot of fun planning what kind of art we’ll be creating next.
As perhaps you can imagine, at the very beginning, when I was asking third graders to draw a leaf without tracing it, there was a lot of whining.
“I can’t do this,” was the cry as they looked up at me with sad pitiful eyes.
“It takes a little while to get the hang of it,” I told them, “but I know you can learn for your hand with the pencil to follow your eye — just like you learn to throw a ball.”
We try again.
“I know what we need,” my sister, Jessica, said. “We need to have a saying, a slogan, something to repeat when we get frozen by fear.”
She came up with the phrase, “I am an artist,” for the kids to repeat when they were worried that they couldn’t really draw.
That phrase has become a mantra. I don’t have to use it at the beginning of class now, but we say it every day at the end of art class as a triumphant slogan.
“What are you?” I ask the children.
“I am an artist,” they answer.
Some days, they are more convinced than others. Some days, they are more enthusiastic. However the class has gone — whether we muddled our way through or created a masterpiece — we remind ourselves of our creativity by saying the same thing, “I am an artist.”
If I forget, the kids remind me.
“You forgot something,” some child will say with a shy smile, even if I’m already walking out the door, and we’ll go thru the ritual.
“What are you?” I ask.
“I am an artist,” they answer.
I hope they never forget.
Everyone needs a mantra, some magic words to say when they are fearful, uncertain, discouraged, or triumphant.
So, every day, I’m reminding myself “I am an artist,” and I can make — out of this drawing, this outfit I’m wearing, this meal I’m cooking, these bulbs I’m planting, or even this room I’m arranging — a piece of art.
I’ve been listening to a book on tape, “Dear Theo,” a compilation of letters written by now famous artist Vincent Van Gogh to his younger brother, attempting to process his less than successful attempts to make a living by selling art he created.
“I am an artist,” he wrote repeatedly in his letters to his brother as he belabored his personal circumstances and struggled to stay positive while improving his craft.
He struggled with many things incessantly.
With the power of hindsight, we now know he was dealing with severe depression, but mental illness was not so well researched a hundred years ago.
It’s tragic that it took so long for the wider world to appreciate Van Gogh’s artistic style. Those paintings he struggled to market are now highly prized, fetching millions of dollars.
We all face difficult hurdles in life, and I’m a believer in the power of words to help us navigate tough times and sharpen our focus in good times.
Last week, my sister and I got together with friends for our annual Valentine lunch, which Jess had been planning for weeks.
Valentine’s Day is her favorite day of the year, and having friends for lunch is her way of celebrating.
As we sat around a table sharing things in our separate lives, as friends do, Michaela said, “I have a mantra that I say every morning and sometimes I repeat it during the day: ‘Today is the best day of my life. I am in control of my mind and my thoughts. I am thankful for what I have.’ ”
My sister said: “I have one, too, I say, ‘I am light, I am strong, I am flexible, I am in harmony with myself and the universe, living joyfully in my magical body, which operates in divine synchronicity.’ ”
I sat at the table, remembering 30 years ago, when I got the bright idea to move back to Ramona and do some writing.
I wanted to live simply in the country, but how on earth could I accomplish this?
I made a vision board with the words “I Can. I Can. I Can,” repeated on it, and I used to go to bed at night repeating those words — with the vision of spending another day in the country on my mind as I went to sleep.
Sometimes winter can seem endless and bleak. It’s so easy to look around at what’s happening in the world and get discouraged. Maybe we all need a reminder of what we want to accomplish today and what joy can be at our fingertips. We just need a few words to remind us that life is good. So, choose yours!