I know that if I do not somehow remind myself of epiphanies that I have had, I have a tendency to slip. To be honest, my paintings are frequently how I record my epiphanies. Moments that teach me something, remind me of something, or force me to stop and get into the moment deserve to be recorded. If I don’t capture these in paint, I forget. Then I backslide and find myself searching for something I have already previously found: the joy in the moment.
I urge you to record your epiphanies, too, in whatever form suits you best. They will be a most wonderful reminder and gift for you down the road. They will be a wonderful way to help wipe away the fog that so frequently forms when we get busy and forget to stop.
These words above, sprung forward after reading an email from Dawn, a loyal and valued collector. Her email was a gift to me – because it urged me to write these words down for myself. I haven’t always realized that creating a painting was a way for me to make positive steps forward, so I thank Dawn, who through her kind words below, helped me to make sense of why I do what I do.
Dawn’s Lovely Words:
“Your gentle reminder to see has me realizing that there is a path that can cut through darkness. I just have to stop in the moment and look at my daughter, look at her face, look in her eyes. Is she happy? I see JOY, Katie. I see joy in my daughter. That is amazing to me. I’m crying as I’m sharing this with you because I would have missed this if not for your reminder to see. Joy that has always been so fleeting, like a ray of sunshine that just barely got a chance to warm before it is gone behind the clouds again. I had accepted with resignation that joy is like a butterfly that you should never try to catch.
I’ve always recognized that I struggle with being in the moment, being present now. Thank you for giving me that gift, a key. All I have to do to connect with love and joy is to simply refocus and ‘see’ that it is right there with me. Thank You, Katie. I can’t thank you enough for how your paintings have touched my life.”
Dawn, mother to one daughter, in California ~ talking about Taking Time To See
A question for the Mamas: How do you record your thoughts, your realizations and your a-has? Do you write them on the wall or in a journal? Do you make sketches or do you speak them aloud into recorders? Do you write stories or books, or create a blog post? Please comment below and share your valuable perspective.
Love & Sincerely, Katie
Above Image:
Taking Time To See, #25 of 85 8x8s, ©2009. KmBerggren ~ Message from the Artist: The days get busy and I find myself pulled in a million directions (happen to relate?) – one task leads to another ~ it is easy to forget what is really important. Looking back through my journal recently, I found something I wrote a couple years ago about taking time throughout the day to remember to look into the faces of each of my babies – to ensure that they are happy, safe, comfortable, satisfied and healthy – if so, then we can comfortably move forward with whatever we are doing. I was left feeling blessed that I had found that entry – that at one point in a moment of clarity I had written that message ~ that now feels like it was a gift to my current self.
choose archival prints of Taking Time To See here