{Sand Valentine - Cape Town}
Just living is not enough, one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.
H.C. Andersen
I tried to write something deep and profound to accompany this image, but words failed. I'm spending the majority of each day hunched over my studio table, and when I finally emerge at the end of a long day I feel like a dazed mole seeing the sun for the first time. My mind is a whirlwind of colours, inks, and paintbrushes; it is thinking purely in images and not words.
Sometimes life seems to be more stressful than it ought to be. I think we all have an internal gauge, each one calibrated differently, as to how much stress we can handle. What do we do when the needle rises dangerously high?
Right now, because I'm so tired after each long day's work, all I can do is sit in the evenings and breathe.
Oh, I'm so grateful I don't have to think about breathing.
I take deep breaths and say to myself, "that's one less thing to worry about." I make lists of everything that feels abundant: the love of my family, the food on the table, books to read...
So, no matter what any of you are experiencing right now (I'm sure some of you are serene, and some of you are stressed), I am sending blessings over the land and across the seas.
Take a deep breath.
We can do this!