August 2013
As the sunsets on another August , lets pause for a moment, and take it
in – another winter gone – heralding the start of new life in the
wild from here on the rains will fall soon , nature will again regenerate !.
August is my favorite part of the year, as an artist, the light at this
time of the year is indescribably
beautiful – If we look through our eyes and not just “with“ them – you will
find magnificent colors in what
appears to be a grey and dry appearance. Nature comes alive
for me now –there is a haunting beauty to it all and an ambiance that is so
typically Africa ! .
There is a special feeling to it - a powerful energy to this seemingly harsh environment, that
has enticed us and those like us for centuries -we have chosen to be here. In The Zambezi Valley
now the Mopane has changed to that rusty brown color, and there is an aroma, a
distinctive blend that swirls around and through us like an invisible energy – making us feel we are truly home!
As I sit here in my studio – I am fascinated at how similar life is to
a painting
In a painting, we form an end result in our mind, we may even sketch it
– but how we get there with the brushstrokes, the blends of colour, the
textures – the directions of the strokes are what forms our ultimate painting! In fact just a bunch of black lines on
paper aligned in various ways, actually ultimately can turn out to be a
beautiful image.
So to – does everything we do in life, the way behave, what we say, the
way we make people feel - like the
blends of colour, and strokes of different sizes of brush – we become what we are! We are perhaps
the artist of our own lives!
August is a time of many momentous occasions in my life and the lives of
some of those who surround me. Aside from the fact that my daughter’s birth is
in this month, and mine for that matter, as well as my wedding anniversary - it
is also the part of the season that reminds me of a very special person in my
life.
Eight years ago this time,
my brother left us on the next journey that we all take – in the greater
order of things it was the way it was meant to be – although perhaps at the
time we didn’t understand that –
Sim played such an incredible role in so many peoples lives and he
shines through us all still today, but especially through his children. A man of the moment, a man deeply
connected to nature – his time
that he shared with us was adventurous and wild. As most of the actual memories
will fade for some of us, the love for one another that we shared strengthens –
the effect he had on mine and many other lives, makes us glow inside and smile
knowingly, and whilst we may have forgotten some of the things he said, we will
never forget the way he made us feel!
“Sim - your painting is a work of art – and we will
cherish it forever!”
For so much of this gift we have called life, we live in the future, on
an eternal search for something that is not here – lets remind ourselves that
life is here, it is now – and how we conduct ourselves right now is what counts
“All my life I have been knocking on the door, only to find that when
it opened – I was on the inside!”-Rumi
Perhaps if we can learn from all of this we should learn - Money cannot
buy you what’s important in life - that we are here right now, be in this
moment, love with passion, and most of all remember, that we are constantly
painting our picture, so do it with love as love is our wealth – and above all do
it with joy!
,
Love is a promise that is always kept, a fortune
that can never be spent, a seed that can flourish in even the most unlikely of
places. It is this radiance that
never fades a mysterious and magical joy. It is the greatest treasure of all –
one known only by those who love.
Will Maberly August 2013
