“My dark days made me strong. Or maybe I already was
strong, and they made me prove it.” ― When We Collided
Who said faces have to look like faces we know? Who says you cannot use any color your Muse
decides to use to create a face? No one
I know.
Sometimes, you simply draw a face and then make a
palette with colors you do not usually use, from lightest to darkest
colors. Then you simply begin with the
mid-range colors for shading, the darkest for darkest places, and the
lightest/brightest for light.
I began the page with mixtures of mid-range to
lightest range, swathing the blank page with color. , even over the drawing of
the portrait. I then go in, mindful of
lights and darks, with colors from my palette.
This is a fun project to do because your brain/ego
says that this is what it has to work with and it allows for experimentation
more easily.
Here, in the Okanogan, we get a lot of gray rainy
days. It can get cold, a dry cold, or
lake effect wet cold, but sun is random.
Many, who suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) can cause for
gloomy thoughts, gloomy attitude, and just gloom and doom, at different
levels. It is not the howling wind and
snow curling into nooks and crannies Southern Alberta type winter days. It is not the snowdrifts up to the eaves kind
of winter. And, believe it or not, I
miss that. But, here I am, and here is
winter.
It is not the dark days that have us feel depressed
in our dark seasons. It is from
within. We are great 'copers', good
'copers', or not good 'copers'. We are
complainers or we are seekers of positive ways to deal with Mother Nature's
hard season. Seasons do not orchestrate
our mood. Mood orchestrates our season.
How often do we think the next season will make us
happy? We are simply dooming ourselves
to feel and be miserable with this. This
is the time to work on the inner Self.
It is the time our ancestors put away their outside work as much as
possible and stayed in to keep warm and comfortable around the fire. Yes, there
were times they HAD to venture outside, but, we, like them, do have times we
MUST go out. This is the time for us to
do the same. This is the time to really
spend some time with ourselves and to figure out how to come out of our winter
den a better person.
While it can be dangerous to go hiking or walking
outside during winter, try to get out your door for a few minutes a few times a
day. Yes, this is me. Suddenly I am afraid of falling..we break
easily at this age. I have been told to
'stroll', not walk, around the block once a day, so I am doing it in ways to
make this happen even if it is walking around the outside of my house a dozen
times. I take my phone with me and I
have the health heart on the screen and it keeps track of steps I take in a
day. You would be surprised what the
smell of someone heating their home with wood does to your soul. We do not have snow on the ground yet, so it
will be a while before I truly get into this.
I will be careful about shoveling the first days but, I figure I can get
me a track made. It is good not to
breathe your same old, same old, stale air so that, alone does not affect you.
Sugar can affect your moods, I have found...as in
dieting...as in diabetic dieting. Just
the thought makes me grumpy, so I have to change that up. I have figured that the more sugar that I
eat, the more hyped up I get, and then the let down when I refuse to have
sugar. I am grateful that the substitute
sugar I am using has been proven to not be unhealthy. Diabetics everywhere are grateful. The squares I am making, the Christmas
baking, I use chocolate, because I do not like chocolate so I am not
tempted. I have a huge tray of squares
to make for a highschool trip charity day, so they will get lots of chocolate
homemade treats for that day next week. I do not need any downers and sugar is
one of mine. As is not eating. When the food you like is prohibited, I tend
to not eat. This, too, is not good for
ones feeling of enough. And, good thing I am not a drinker. I would be drunk by ten am. Alcohol is a downer as well.
I am trying to stay positive about staying in Canada
for the winter. I have to find ways to
make sure that winter (which I detest, by the way) is enjoyed, not merely
endured.
We had a couple of days of snow that followed the
beautiful foggy hoarfrost whose beauty
cannot be described. There was this beautiful bluegray haze and I took photos
and was awed by that beauty no matter that it was not bitterly cold like those
winters of my youth. It, alone, made me
grateful to be able to experience such, especially when a friend, who is from
NFL had never seen it before and was over the moon at the beauty. I have always said that I like the first snow
because it covered up the sins of the season before. I do not, and I am grateful for it, that I do
not have SAD, for some truly do and there is a huge difference between being
moody and being affected. For them, they
know what it takes to get through.
I wish you happy.
I wish you find ways to beat the winter blues. Share ways you have of beating these
doldrums.
©Carol Desjarlais 12.2.19
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