The paintbox of life

July 27, 2021

I love the idea of having a blank canvas of life and a colourful paintbox. Get painting! Get messy! Splash the colours on! Blend and mix them together. Don't follow a paint by numbers. Just see where the mood takes you!

Just make sure you use the whole set of paints! Create your own rainbows and enjoy them. We are going to have greyer and bluer days but we are also going to have bright, colourful and illuminating days too! We take the rough with the smooth, as they say.

I love the idea of each new day, new month of new year being blank for us to fill in how we choose. And the fact that if a day was more grey than you hoped, you have another new day in front of you to fill in a brighter colour! It reminds me of one of my fave quotes from Anne of Green Gables. This quote has helped me so much along the years.

I love that being creative is personal to everyone. Everyone has their own blank canvas. So what if a few mistakes are made? We do learn from them! This next quote reminds me of when I sang in this lovely, little choir. I would sing with such gusto, which was great until I sang a wrong note!

When we are young children, we throw the paint on, mix it in with the others, colour outside the lines and let our imaginations run away with us. We aren't overthinking, just enjoying. We make mistakes and paint over them, learning along the way. I think, as adults, we all need to go and have a few Art sessions like that. I used to get carried away with my pastelling when I was teaching. The children loved my spontaneous creations! This next quote tickled me! We all need to let our inner child out to play once in a while!

This quote sums up what I am saying very well. We can hope for the best, try our hardest, get up when we have fallen, work together to fathom out our strengths and what makes us happy. Like a drawing might be rubbed out ten times before it is a masterpiece or a book be edited three times before it is published, we are the same as humans. We would not expect an author to write a book in a day, so why should we pressure ourselves? Step back and see just how far you have come on your journey, warts and all!

Embrace those edits, just as much as you celebrate the successes. Without the error and down times, there would be no highs and celebrations. And what is fab for one person, might not be for another. I really love this next quote. Get exclaiming about what makes you tick and what feeds your soul. Stop explaining yourself and your passions. Get excited about them and blooming well enjoy them! I am passionate about many things: family, friends, pets, writing my blog, reading, where I work, singing, collecting pottery, watching detective programmes, eating Marmite on toast and drinking chilled Chardonnay. My list suits me and only me!

The wonderful Coco Channel knew so much about style. We all have our own, unique style and creativity. Mine might be odd socks but my odd socks make me happy!

I am loving interacting on facebook and instagram with my blog. There are such colourful, cheery posts with nature. Flowers do lift the spirit. As do my teacups! Here are a few montages I have recently shared that have made me smile. Oh, and I do like to sniff books!

I love my growing collection of pots, especially my Cornishware. I was overjoyed when my sis in law got me a Not so grim mug!

I love visiting little, local villages, like Holmfirth and browsing the little gift shops, then calling for a coffee in their cafes and tearooms. This montage shows the fab Bloc cafe.

Reading books has been a passion since childhood and I love getting lost in a good story, becoming at one with the world that comes alive within the pages. This montage is of recent reads that I have loved.

So, whether it is knitting, baking, playing ping po

ng ball, writing poetry or collecting postcards, it doesn't matter as long as it makes you happy. You! No one else. If it ignites a spark in you, do it. It might relax you? Good! And, you get to meet like minded folk with similar passions. Fantastic!

Remember to grab all those pencils and get drawing. Use every colour and every shade. Don't hide your talents.

Live your life to the fullest. No one else can do that for you. And do it without apologising. Enjoy those little day to day moments, share those special times with loved ones and cherish it all. All of it.

I need to end with this wonderful quote,which makes me think of Crackerjack and that saying, 'Ooh, I could crush a grape!'

I remember saying I was in my 4th decade, when a very helpful friend corrected me that I was in my 5th actually! I never was any good at Maths! I am really happy with what I have done in my life, who I have in my life and the possibilities that are still in front of me. Time does fly though. Too fast. Grab every moment and experience. Get squeezing!