When you find the way others will find you.
Passing by on the road they will be drawn to your door.
The way that cannot be heard will be echoed in your voice.
The way that cannot be seen will be reflected in your eyes.

~ Lao Tzu

Behind your image, below your words, above your thoughts, the silence of another world waits.

~John O’Donohue

An artist, under pain of oblivion, must have confidence in himself, and listen only to his real master: Nature.

–Renoir

Being one with the earth, observe your Self.

Everything is a reflection of your own Self. Do  Divine World Breathing.

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.

–Epictetus

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.

–Lao Tzu

This is a good reminder that it’s not so much finding the perfect location to do an artwork; what’s more important is the attitude that you bring to your work.

Stick to reality. Pay attention to the obvious, and the subtle will reveal itself.

Yesterday morning I was in east Anchorage early in the morning. I was happy to be able to view the mountains from a closer vantage point than I can from home. There were misty clouds clinging to the mountains, but the ridge line was distinct. I traced the ridge line with my eyes, like an artist preparing to paint. As I did so, I became aware of the mountains behind the ridges that ring Anchorage. These mountains were ALMOST hidden in the mist. I would have missed them if I hadn’t been looking at the obvious.

Most of the time I don’t see the inner range, and I am always thrilled when they become obvious. I feel the way I feel when I dream that I have discovered that there are more rooms in my house than I thought there were. There is a delicious feeling of discovery when the sense of limitations dissolves.

This is important advice for assignment 3. I must continue really looking at what is in front of me and allow myself, through that route, to perceive the more subtle. This is my insurance that I am not just “imagining things.”