Steps to good life

On March 21, 2023September 13, 2023 By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn gratitude, green living, happiness, life, mental health12 Comments

Keeping up with necessities

Everything happens at once during the spring: it was white snow and grey view just yesterday, but the sun is out today, and it starts feel like the winter is over. Time flow has such acceleration these days that keeping up with everything is quite impossible. We literally run through days in order to catch the feeling of fulfillment and awareness of our own worthiness. We are looking for proof to justify our existence. Each day is a test – how well did you manage?

Nothing happens on its own

Work is an inevitable part of life. I would add to that – physical work, sometimes tedious physical work, and mental engagement and tiring mental work, nobody cancelled that. We all hope for the good life when everything is passed to us on a tray and we effortlessly enjoy the smooth ride. It’s great, I won’t deny that because when you do not fight for the basics, you can do something meaningful, important and fulfilling. Yet, for most of us, it’s work, work and more work and hardly any weekends. By far, that’s not the worst which can happen.

It’s your decision

It’s not fate or God. We stand behind every decision we ever made consciously or subconsciously. The path we took or avoided has led us whenever we happen to be. It sounds very harsh and, in many cases, it also is. The simple way to be satisfied with the life you have is having understanding that we are responsible for the past, today and the future. We do what we have to do and don’t dive into self-pity. It’s easy to feel sorry for ourselves and we all have done that at some point in life.

Worth pursuing

I do work a lot. I’m not a workaholic, but I am very aware of my responsibilities and duties. Let’s face it – having no physical work to accomplish can be worse than skipping your gym visit. Humans are built to engage in daily physical activities, and they have always done so. We have now numerous devices, gadgets and helping hands to avoid doing anything physical. However, there’s direct, very visible, tangible and enjoyable result with chores and outdoor work. Organized shelves, clean and tidy rooms, happy house plants and neat outdoors – such a pleasure not only for eyes. Physical work is essential for our wellbeing.

The key is to enjoy

I enjoy physical work as much as mental work. Thankfully, I am always busy and I cannot recall any time when I had to complain about boredom. You know what happens to idle minds. I also very much prefer garden work, cleaning and other such necessary tasks to the gym. To be honest, after the life-changing accident 30 years ago, any idea of exercising was out of question. I’m in a good shape, never had any extra weight and feel quite well. Thanks to work.

Work or entertainment?

Is endless work the answer to having a meaningful life? Definitely not since having rest is as important as being busy. However, entertainment isn’t an answer either. Entertainment doesn’t defeat boredom, being upset and unhappy. Variety of tasks, responsibility and self-awareness is much better answer. We do not live only on bread and entertainment. We do live to achieve the best outcome for our current situation. The mental discomfort starts when there’s nothing to do. Aimless analyzing leads to no result. Being busy is good as opposed to wasting time just watching how others live.

Getting things done

So, welcome spring! So much to do. And we should feel grateful for each day which comes with new challenges and new accomplishments. Roll up your sleeves! Eyes can get scared by seeing all the overwhelming amount of work, but hands get it done. No better time than now. Spring starts a brand-new cycle, why not to enjoy the physical tasks and efforts? They might feel tiresome and tedious at first, but every accomplishment brings more satisfaction.

Pictures are not that bright this time, well, it’s quite grey outdoors. They show what’s happening in my park right now.

Thanks for reading and I wish you not too much hard work and lots of nature’s hugs and kisses!

What works for me

On January 30, 2023September 13, 2023 By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn goals and determination, gratitude, healthy choices, healthy habits, life, lifestyle9 Comments

Any day can be a fairly good day

What works for me, might work for you, as well. It just depends on what type of person you are. The global media invents some days when one supposedly has to feel really bad, and then, which days are going to be better. Really? What a nonsense. Lots of people do not like winter, the unpleasant winter – with strong, chilling winds, snow piling up to the window sills, sleet, ice, freezing rain and bitter cold. No, there’s nothing adorable about all of that. I am in Southern Ontario which is sort of across the lake from New York.

Winter snow shoveling

The Ontario Lake is what can cause all kinds of troubles or bring relief. Thankfully, we didn’t have any snow all January. That’s up to the last days. I’ve been shoveling for about 4 hours a day in average this week. And snow keeps coming, and I keep shoveling. One might see that as a disaster. I agree, there are better ways to spend our time. But then again – all the exercise I get and all the fresh air which enriches the blood stream with oxygen? The rejuvenating effect of movement, clean air and great mood?

For mood and soul

That’s what we get from doing something useful not only for ourselves, but everything and everybody else. Plants will thank me in the spring for care I took preventing them from freezing out. Everybody who arrives in the huge backyard, is happy they don’t have to get wet feet walking through high snow drifts. I am happy because of all the great views which, no, I won’t paint.

Immersing oneself in colors

Painting works for me in many different ways. During cold and snowy months, I paint spring, flowers, rivers, creeks and forest where the spring flowers come up. I think I was born as an artist and gardener. Everything else sort of lines up around these two main passions of me. I love green color. I adore blue color, and there’s nothing better than bright pink flowers. I create this uplifting reality in my art.

Reading for pure pleasure

The other things to take mind off, are books. I only read at night something thrilling, absolutely consuming. I do research and learning during the day, therefore, the relaxing reading involves authors which can do that: write something realistic enough, but with feeling of mystery, thrilling and suspenseful. The range of writers is huge; however, I do prefer male writers. Their perception of events and the ways they resolve crime stories and display personalities resonates with me better. I do read female authors, as well, but frequently some books leave me disappointed. I feel like, I was promised so much, but didn’t receive it.

The green air purifiers

Room plants are next in line of life improving things. I do not have enough space, and my potted plants simply cannot do gorgeously without enough light, but they still grow and make me happy. I stuffed some in the basement at two tiny windows, the rest is in the art room. As you know, some plants can live well enough with hardly any light. They purify and moisten air. They also require little attention, just some watering. Green onions are doing nicely in a small cup. Many Canadian houses are like that: no place for doing something and no place for plants. I should know since I’ve been moving so many times and living in so many houses. Small windows, low ceiling, a place to eat, sleep, watch TV and shower. A place for people who prefer doing nothing.

Cooking from scratch

Finally, I’m a very good cook, but I don’t usually make complex meals. I go Latvian style: few ingredients, preparation requires little time and effort. I see sometimes recipes which need like twenty or more ingredients. Definitely not for me. We also do not use ready-made, half-cooked, etc. stuff. It makes more sense to do everything from scratch. We love soups and vegetable salads in all kinds of combinations. Not the common things, but specifically ours, like beet, carrot, leak, bean, etc. We love layered herring salad with potatoes, carrots, onions, beets and egg.

Simple is good

I am Latvian, and I stick to my own recipes. Therefore, we do not have heartburn, stomach issues or digestion problems. We are pension age, but slim and energetic. The fewer and more natural ingredients, the better for digestion. We do not snack. We have 3 meals a day and don’t eat anything in between. I suppose, any adult can do that. I believe that lots of people gain excess weight due to snacking, consuming fancy drinks, adding all kinds of things to tea and coffee. There’s nothing wrong with black and strong coffee. To be honest, our digestive system needs longer breaks, like 12 hours and then 3-4 hours between the 3 meals. And nothing more.

It’s doable

Winter will end. Spring will come with its own chores. I’ve suffered so much from seasonal affective disorder all my life that I decided to just put an end to it. I changed my view at it. I made myself not feel sad and upset. I literally push myself outdoors and once I have the shovel in hands, I won’t stop until everything is clean. I sometimes have to make myself want to paint or teach an art class. However, after the reluctant start it all happens. The resistance is huge, but I am able to overcome it. At the end of the day, I list in my mind all the good things I have done. They can be small things, but I have managed to stay on top of them. Big achievement.

Many years ago, I wrote numerous good articles which make a lot of sense today.

Simplifying life

Green living

Lifesaving gardening

Therapeutic horticulture

Wishing you pleasant winter experience and thanks for reading!

The rainy July, uncertainty and assumptions

On July 25, 2021September 29, 2021 By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn backyard, gratitude, health, life, nature, social media47 Comments

Summer never disappoints, even when there’s more rain than in the fall or more heat than in Mexico. Just knowing, that the days are long, and light stays on longer is so satisfying. Recurring certainty gives a feeling of stability, but we are not yet 100% there in Ontario. We are fairly uncertain also about the length of vaccine efficiency and what happens next and so forth. Questions which will clarify themselves as time passes by.

The last 2 years have been a huge test: they have tested our patience, endurance, tolerance and self-efficiency. I am usually aiming for predictability and certain order of upcoming events, just like in nature: summer comes after spring, and then there’s fall, and winter. Clarity, simple sequence of events. During this period, it’s been knowing nothing about what to expect, misinformation, lies, doubts and promises which often didn’t turn into actions.

Time doesn’t take into account whether we like being in this mess created by virus or not: it just runs away and, in some cases, – out. This time period will stay in our memory for quite a while. Is the pandemic over yet? In some places and countries, it seems we are winning, and then, a new variant occurs, and we start losing. It looks like this is not the end of pandemic yet. I wish it were, though.

Are you also so much used to wearing a mask that it will seem strange leaving house without it? Or disinfecting surfaces and washing hands for hundred times? I’ve heard that people are having more anxiety attacks, more upsetting days, spending more time doubting themselves and the future. I’d say that is normal taking into account the circumstances. We feel very much entitled to many things and we often take them for granted.

Maybe this is a time when we simply allow the flow to take us? I’ve been always against the flow, against the rules, against demands, commands and external control. However, I find that most current requirements make sense and I comply with them. There is a lot of scientific evidence on how we survive. I’m happy that after spending more than a full month on a computer and on the phone, we finally got both vaccine doses. It’s three weeks now. It is a relief. Some feeling of order? I’m not saying that I feel very safe now, but it’s somewhat reassuring that, most likely, nothing bad is going to happen.

We are not back to any normal yet, although, we’re trying to pretend everything is ok. It will never be the same as it was pre-pandemic. Globalization has its plusses and minuses. One of the biggest troubles: any disaster affecting health becomes global in no time. Unfortunately, global trade is fine, global pandemic – not at all because it is handled inefficiently and as bad as only possible. Do two doses of vaccine ensure you’re done with the virus? Probably not. We’ve already heard Pfizer saying they detected the immunity was weaker after 6 months.

Depending on where you are, you might be fine or not at all. We in Ontario are trying to return to life without virus. I hoped people would love to attend the outdoor art classes now, after almost two years of everything online. It doesn’t seem so. Not much response because there’s also no place where to get attention, not even one specific place. Facebook just wants me to spend more money so that they would show to somebody what I publish. Well, Facebook, it’s been two very tough years, so nothing goes to you. I won’t even mention other media sites. If you’re not an influencer, post whatever you want, hardly anybody will see it. The problem is also that everybody is selling something, and buying happens mostly from the huge global outlets, go outcompete those.

I was reading how a marketing expert said she just made a million giving advice. Have you also noticed that teaching somebody to make money always results in high profits? Everybody is attracted to read about “make-money-quick”, or watch it, or listen to it. Unfortunately, it will always depend on your location, digitalization level, type of thing you do, demand for what you do and the basic mindset of your potential customers. However, it will mostly depend on how much you can invest in what you do, how much you can spend on advertising, help and specialists and creation of your product. Do you think I’d had any problem if I could run my ads every hour on numerous TV channels or have them everywhere sneak up on you on the internet?

The presence and visibility are the biggest problem.

When I started writing this blog and created the other blog and art website, I thought it would result in some extra attention. I’ve got blog friends, nice people to talk to online, that’s true. I spend a lot of time posting, returning likes and answering to comments. For art blog, a post usually takes about 2 weeks in making because I usually have to paint what I’d like to show, then take photos (what a hassle!) and then, putting it up is easy, but, altogether – very, very time-consuming. Basically, I’ve spent abnormal hours dealing with both blogs, and return is great when it comes to online following and friendships, but financially, it’s practically nothing to show for. It still makes sense compared to spending many hours on social media and not getting any traction. Well, it is like this: whatever you do, be influencer and famous, and then even dumb things you say or publish will get lots of publicity.

Global pandemic, global competition, global trade, global profits or losses, – but the effects of all that are very personal, very individual, very painful frequently. I do sometimes long for the time when somebody just drops in, they are happy with what I have to offer, they do not run around to 100 other places before making decision, and life is so simple because everything is in balance, everything happens. I am just wondering how could life become so complex? Getting a simple “yes” or “no” is practically impossible. It takes numerous emails, text messages, back and forth, numerous explanations and waste of time, and then you still don’t know whether you achieved what you wanted.

As always, I will post this very delayed article with a few pictures from my garden. Just like summer, garden never disappoints. Even when I don’t have time, plants just do their thing: they bloom, grow and bring fruit. Compared to everything else, it’s such a winning and rewarding effort. I do take great care of my pictures, but I suppose since I’m not emphasizing the photography aspect, they go unnoticed. As you know, I used to post more frequently, but cannot right now: life is too complex. I am re-opening the studio, moving art classes outdoors, preparing materials, and that takes about 10 hours a day or more.

Wishing you to recharge and rest during the summer! Thanks for reading if you did!

At the doorstep of 2021

On December 30, 2020December 30, 2020 By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn gratitude, happiness, healthy habits, life, values40 Comments

The year is white from ends

with flourishing green in the middle

The year

The year is what we have chosen to be our reference point. The year starts and ends in winter in places where I have lived and still live. The end and the start of the year happen to be white very often or about 85% of the time, sometimes with snowdrifts and shiny snow blanket over grasses and frost on trees, sometimes – with only ice patches and mud, sometimes bitterly cold, but always in winter. I am aware it’s not everywhere like that.

The green part of year

I am a fan of the middle: from early spring till the last green grass stem is still growing. I stop painting winter right before Christmas, and in the recent years, I am trying to stick with my decision not to paint any snow. It is easily explained: I cannot wait for the first flowers and plants to come up. I will be digging soil in the backyard when it hasn’t even completely thawed yet. That is my gym and my exercise and always has been.

Sinful idleness versus meaningful doing

The age impacts the flow of time and our perception of time settings to a great extent. The older one gets, the more serious they are about using time wisely, at least I am. I do measure my days by accomplishments, not by hours. If I haven’t managed to get anything meaningful done during the day, I’ll be upset. Therefore, spending time just exercising or walking aimlessly while I can also get done something useful in the garden, is a sin for me. Just like idle sitting around or having small talk.

No small talk for me

I avoid small talk, I certainly do as much as possible. Walking is fantastic, and I add usually a target to it: one store or another, appointment or visit. If I’m in the middle of painting, I simply cannot answer the phone. That frequently involves making small talk. Paint dries quickly, ideas vanish and mood changes. We never paint with the brush and paints only, there are a lot of other factors which go into my art.

Nobody has all answers

It’s good to believe that we know all the answers as our age grows and gets past 60, but it’s not true. The more we know, the more questions arise. I am very thankful for my medical knowledge, pharmaceutical and diagnostic skills and clinical experience. That has really helped and not only me. It keeps making life easier. I’ve also discovered how Canadian doctors are not always up to standards and protocols, and how much their diagnosis can be affected by rush, generalized assumptions and plain misunderstanding or inattention.

Superficiality

Superficiality is very widespread. The justification is that nobody has time. That is the biggest paradox of nowadays: everybody has plenty of time for fruitless scrolling through the internet on any screen that happens to be around, but no time for the good and meaningful things which make life worthwhile. Most people don’t ever read anything that’s under the picture or within the actual text, or the first 3 words at the best. Superficiality leads to sloppiness, disorganized and careless attitude in other areas of life.

Lack of quality

Quality is very quickly disappearing as the result, and lack of quality actually applies to absolutely all areas of our life. For instance, while I know that restaurants are having tough times, the restaurant and takeout food is just not for me and my family. We have gotten takeout meals a few times, and most of this food went to the garbage bin. It had no taste, no flavor, and there was certainly no love applied when cooking. High class workmanship and good skills in whatever walk of life we are looking for, are just not there. It makes no sense trying to get somebody’s help when it’s pretty clear you will have to do it over.

The year 2020

Everybody of us applies our own ratings and our own measuring tape based on experience, age, knowledge and so forth to whatever we are evaluating. Comparatively, I cannot complain about this year. The previous one, the 2019 was much worse since I lost my mom that year. Garden was doing extremely well this year. I put in many jars of preserves for winter. I had no live art classes from March to December, therefore, I was able to paint many more of my own paintings. Some of them are really excellent. Washing hands, disinfecting all items and areas, wearing a mask and staying at home was not a problem for us because we are a tiny 2-person family. Financials could be way better, but, unless one is a billionaire, that’s always an area which could be better.

December: snow and more snow — December: white and pure snow all around

Magnolias — Early spring magnolias, they blossom in my backyard

Spring lettuce — Lettuce comes up and produces early

Summer cucumbers — We were enjoying our own cucumbers in the summer and later pickles in the fall and winter

Tomato preserves — I had tomatoes from June to November, some got used in preserves

Summer flowers — Flowers in full bloom, this is already October

Bell peppers or paprika were doing fine also, late October here

Last nasturtium — The last nasturtium blossoms, direct before the strong November frost

Be patient

The COVID-19 pandemic probably will take quite a while to resolve. As we have seen, this virus mutated very quickly, thus, causing to establish whether the available vaccines still work for the new variants of this virus. It’s uncertain that more new variants won’t appear before everybody has received their immunization dose of vaccine. Only time will show how long we are staying safe and how long the vaccine actually helps keeping one safe: a year, 3 years, more years? Time is what we didn’t have so far. Being patient is very important, hence, everybody contributes to putting the COVID-19 pandemic behind us.

Wishing safe, healthy and good New Year!

Thanks for reading if you did!

The soothing Sunday thoughts: October

On October 12, 2020September 13, 2023 By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn autumn colors, gratitude, happiness, life, past, writing28 Comments

If you walk in your thoughts far away enough, you could end up in a place called your past many years ago. You do not always want to be there, but as the years pile up, the memories swirl around like the falling leaves. The soft whispers have some secrets to reveal and things which you want to be always with you, are also around.

October light is sparklingly bright and untamed as it brakes through the unmoving, dense foliage and takes a spot on the backyard table next to my coffee cup. Things we want to let go and things we desperately would love to keep, yet, cannot. I always loved to paint October, but never enjoyed its arrival too much.

The question sometimes arises: did it happen for real, or did I only imagine that? The far away places of past can be anything, and it is kind of hard to keep the door to the memory gardens closed. Paging through old greeting cards is painful and sweet at the same time. I’d love to believe the ghosts are still here and silently watching over us, but nobody knows this for sure.

Things live so much longer than we do. So, we cannot throw out an old dress hence its ruffles hide some long-ago evaporated scent, and the lace fabric still remembers a touch from 40 years back. We cannot part with old souvenirs, so meaningless to people, who have no idea where they come from. Sometimes, all what remains is a small card and a dried flower or leaf between book pages.

October is like that for me: taking extended walks in the memory garden and trying to catch up with the current moments rushing by too swiftly. I, too, was convinced that I had answers to anything. That was when I didn’t have any life experience.

One more fall, one more calendar ending soon. It’s amazing how fast the years run away, but it feels like everything is still ahead. The best things which didn’t happen so far. The nicest surprises which didn’t want to come our way yet. The most adorable October which started just yesterday. Or a week ago, or maybe 2 weeks ago.

Some October leaves are meant to be kept so that our wishes could be written on them. Enclosed on a bright maple leaf is a small blessing. Simple, touchy, fading too soon. The satisfaction of this moment, the absolute essence of all things going away.

This goes under my “The soothing Sunday thoughts” because it feels like Sunday, yet, it is Thanksgiving Monday in Canada.

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

Patch up life, live nice during pandemic

Patched up with hope: life during pandemic

On May 22, 2020May 22, 2020 By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn confidence, depression, gratitude, happiness, hope, life25 Comments

If we are lucky enough to live in some country like Canada where we have social security, fairly affordable health care and chances to get a job, some job, not always what we wish for, we stop believing in our own mortality. We know we cannot avoid passing away and it will happen sometimes, but that is a far-away event. We first enjoy, savor and are happy. After some very long time or possibly eternity, that might happen. That might happen after a great life which we have filled up with all kinds of achievements. We have fulfilled our dreams and everything is sunny in our peaceful valley of joy and pleasure-rich entertaining space. Slightly utopic, but internet says we all can do that. This doesn’t apply to time of COVID-19 pandemic, unfortunately, with everything being turned upside down and inside out.

The generations before cancer treatments, diabetes cures, artificial joints, artery stenting and transplanted organs, as well as efficient antibiotics, chemotherapy, fast and slow acting insulin, NSAIDs and steroids, blood pressure and cholesterol adjusting medications and antidepressants had to be more down to the Earth. Any health issue could have resulted in bad sequences and premature passing away. Therefore, people relied more on afterlife. If we didn’t have enough time to enjoy this life, we were quite sure that the best possible life awaits in a space which we had been told about depending on religion and personal belief. The shift nowadays is that we all want to experience the best possible life right now and here. We are not going to put up with anything less than paradise. This isn’t possible during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put extra pressure on most people. We hear often they cannot afford to wait; they cannot afford to buy one essential thing or another, they definitely cannot live as they used to. We also find out that virus has destroyed many lives, caused family conflicts, domestic violence and many people have succumbed to it. This might be the first time for somebody to realize that they are not bulletproof, I mean, that they, too, can become infected and have to undergo harsh treatment or even worse. The reality which threatens practically everybody, who slightly slips and stops observing the strict protocols of hygiene and physical distancing, has caused a gigantic wave of mental disorders.

While TV, social media and numerous internet sites remind us that we are not alone, that help is within easy reach, it can quite frequently remain only nice and cheering call without any follow-up action. We have to take into account that person, who is completely depressed (I am talking about clinically severe depression episode, not upset mood for a few days in a row), will take no steps to improve their condition. That is the nature of this condition: a complete ignorance of oneself, surroundings, situation and advice. They cannot do anything because they are unable to and they need some major break to become alive again.

The worst thing in pre-depressive state is analyzing everything: every word one hears, every glance, every message, every move and every reaction to what somebody else does or says. This leads to overwhelmingly negative self-assessment. The second worse thing is scrolling through social media and seeing how well everybody else is which leads to comparing one’s condition, situation and overall wellbeing to somebody else. If you do this for half a day or even longer, it is going to cause some reaction. There are usually only two types of social media messages which rise to the top: extremely attractive, extremely inspiring, extremely positive or plain bad and tragic. People will always look at a disastrous outcome. By numbers of statistics, that will be even more often than at something great and good. Have you seen how all traffic stops when there is a car accident on the road side? That’s exactly the same reason: it’s good to know that’s not our car and not us in it.

The best thing to do in a pre-depressive state is make oneself tired with physical work. Physical work with readily visible results beats physical exercise. Physical work which shows that we have achieved something immediately brings pleasant tiredness. We can look at spotless floor, bright and fresh laundry, planted flower bed, weeded garden, organized and clean room or house, sparklingly shiny windows. It’s good to split wood, dig soil and submerge hands in it. The only problem is to make that happen and start doing, overcome resistance and sometimes simple laziness.

Living in never-ending rush people forget about the energy which everything has, gives or takes. Let’s look at TV, computer, laptop or similar devices. While we believe we have got good energy watching something inspiring, uplifting and calling to activity, the radiation and energetic waves of devices actually deplete energy. The contemporary English version of ancient religious text says: “We are made from earth, and we return to earth.” I do interpret it so that also during our presence on the Earth we can draw all energy we need from the Earth. That is literary making our hands dirty with soil, walking barefoot on the grass and along the garden path, hugging tree which speaks to us and planting seeds in order to enjoy the harvest.

Hug a tree, kiss a flower

The tiredness which comes from working at computer is completely different from tiredness which originates in working outdoors or indoors. More than ever, we need to clean our mind, decrease pollution in our head and let our brain enjoy fresh air. That decreases chance of shifting from upset mood days into severe and clinically treatable depression. Acting on it early, might help a lot, tremendously, in fact. Instead of scrolling through daily data and death reports, instead of spending hours reviewing progress of medical treatments and vaccines (it is a slow process anyway), one has to turn their mind to completely unrelated things.

While we might not be living the best life, we deserve, we cannot start feeling like a victim of circumstances, global or local events, pandemic and virus. Victim’s mind uses destructive energy and suffering since they believe it is inevitable and unavoidable. The reverse chain sets in, and we literally start causing what we would prefer to never happen to us. Whatever path we apply to our current situation, it will help, although, not permanently. That is fine, too.

We do have a choice: to work or refuse to work with all sequences that this decision causes, stay alone or go out, use caution or show off how brave we are, take unnecessary risks or avoid being childish. It is good to be recognized as a hero, and some people will embrace it. Most of us for different reasons will not because we are not willing to pay the price. One choice is not worse than the other. The outcome is different, and we might or might not like it. Choice always stays with us. We can call it whatever we want but it’s in our hands to manage our only life.

This is a path which takes to better times

Stay well, be firm in your decisions and do not follow any doubtful trends which threaten your safety or safety of people around you!

The lesson we are not ready to take

On May 10, 2020May 12, 2020 By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn family, gratitude, health, life, lifestyle, social media29 Comments

What drives today’s society

We all hope for some miracle to happen, although, not all of us even believe in miracles. We hope, there is some better life awaiting just around the corner, and when it’s all over: the silly crisis, the terrible virus struggles and suffering, the real life will restart. People, who can only feel comfortable with all the happiness components present, are definitely not well off. Hence, the protests, premature reopening of businesses and economy and extreme dissatisfaction resulting in depression, anxiety and loss of interest in personal life. It’s by far not about economy only, it’s a lot about human psychology and fears of unrests due to harsh living conditions, loss of income and tight restrictions.

Social show-offs

Our society lives in social media and thrives on showing off what they have, where they have been, how they look and how gorgeous they are. It’s like never ending competition of greatness which you, too, can achieve, if you just buy one thing or another, get one job or another or simply change your attitude. According to principles of full, meaningful, rich and happy life, we have to wake up every morning looking forward to our tasks and duties with a happy smile on our lips and be ready to tackle anything which is thrown at us. At the end of the day, we review it and fall asleep knowing that we did something great, useful, meaningful and important. This pandemic and crisis time puts it all to test.

Can you stand the test?

Do what you love and love what you do, right? Get rid of anything which makes you unhappy and dissatisfied. The problem with this attitude is situation like COVID-19 crisis. It is a time when you have to do what is necessary and required as opposed to what you prefer or like. Our attitude is such that we must have everything which is deemed necessary for a great life: comfort, help, support, hired hands to perform things we hate doing, lots of choices and plenty of money to cover it all. This situation tests a person on individual level and society as a whole. Can you honestly say you are fine with the results of this test?

Acceptance issues

Whether we want to admit or not, we live better than anybody before us ever had. We do not have that many time-and effort-consuming household chores, we can choose very many aspects of our life, including where to live, where to work, who to love, what to eat and what to wear and so on. While it is absolutely necessary to be in complete charge of our life, the emphasis on life’s sunny side only has created a distorted perception of life. According to happiness philosophy, there are no bad issues, and you choose only the best options for you. The current life situation doesn’t support that. The huge numbers of depressed, upset, annoyed and frustrated people show that they cannot accept the life as it is at this moment. Moreover, there is no coping mechanism in place.

It’s still the same and only life

The real life involves situations when we need to cope with accidents, disasters, losses, difficulties and struggles, as well as our readiness to accept a bad outcome, too. The global crisis shows that not only individual people, but also governments and entire countries cannot accept the reality and are short of coping mechanisms. The worst part of this is it’s not ending as soon as most of us would like it to. It’s a long-lasting disaster with many people losing their relatives, friends, grandparents and parents. This takes a lot of strength and a lot of willpower. While most of us were ready to accept the short-term inconveniences, the extended period of problems takes a huge toll. However, it is still our only life, we have to live through it. We can get back many things, but never time.

Although, nothing is as usual, we still honor and celebrate our mothers. Happy Mother’s Day!

Restricted Mother’s Day

This day is usually such a fantastic moment when we honor the people, who gave us life. While we have our mother, we are protected, guided and guarded from life’s most terrible issues. When the entire world turns against us, the mother is there with her support, smile and heart. She doesn’t care what everybody else says, she is your mother, she is always there for you. Mine at least was. I lost her last year, and it might be better for her not to go through these times of pandemic and our inability to cure old age people. You should feel very privileged if you still have your mother.

Long-lasting inconvenience

This will be a long-lasting inconvenience at the best and prolonged struggle with tragic issues in other cases. It is kind of sad that we need special laws and rules to make people see this situation for as serious as it is. While almost every site and ad say now to wear a mask, there are many problems with that. Simple fabric mask is like really nothing much. Masks should be single use only and disposable. In addition to mask, gloves and glasses are necessary, as well as a personal protocol for putting them on and taking off.

Have a good Sunday and enjoy Mother’s Day even if it’s over the phone or laptop, and don’t be short of kind words.

P.S. I just was outdoors and said to myself: it’s at least not snowing today. It’s May with winter weather this year.

How to get ahead with your life: encouraging and warning signs

On October 18, 2019September 13, 2023 By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn faith, gratitude, happiness, life, lifestyle, values17 Comments

Can you change events which happen in your life?

Yes, you can if you are observant and if you pay attention to directions and hints universe sends us and makes us aware of.

You could prevent a situation which potentially could cause you stress and trouble.

As I mentioned before, what happens with us and our life is the result of our belief, emotions and things we are confident with. That also includes everything we are strongly convinced about. We come from different internal states: from anger or joy, from hate or love, from grief or satisfaction, from envy or feeling well. The dominant emotions and believes will quite frequently dictate your way of action.

The surrounding world reflects us

The surrounding world is our world which we have created together with other people, nature, other constituents of universe and God. The world in our direct vicinity reflects us as we are, what we think and what we believe in. This also refers to things we do not believe in, we do not assume as worthy or true and we do not think about.

Not knowing that something exists doesn’t make it non-existent. Therefore, if you are not aware of the importance your subconscious mind has, it doesn’t mean, the subconscious mind loses its role in decision-making and preferences.

Universe wishes us well

The world, God and universe wish us well. The only person, who can punish us, is we ourselves. It’s not fate; it’s not God and definitely not the universal mind and the universe itself. Help is always within a reach. Whether we get it or refuse to take it, depends on us. That also depends on the part we have assigned to us: do we choose to be a victim of circumstances, bad luck and other people or do we choose to step in and start doing something to change the flow?

Signs we receive

We receive encouragement and warnings on a daily and even hourly basis. Do we pay attention to them? Do we even know what to pay attention to? It’s most likely we do not. When somebody is addicted to scrolling through numerous stories and pictures, they lose the understanding of what matters and what doesn’t. Rushing from one place to another and one task to another doesn’t allow taking distance from events. It becomes a flow of events and situations that can be so overwhelming that we lose ourselves in this flow. We basically get where we are taken, and that isn’t always the place we intended to be.

Encouraging signs

What are the signs that notify us about events in our life? There are many and all kinds of them. They could be categorized from very distant and approximate to very close and direct.

When somebody close to us or somebody at our workplace is doing well or getting promotion, we should be happy about it because that means good things are in the way for us also.

How do you react when your colleague gets promoted, but you do not yet? Is your pleasure genuine or you rather bite your teeth and hardly congratulate? Is there a shadow of envy in your eyes or are you proud about him or her? The reaction might change the flow of future events. Universe might get that you are not happy with that, and that means it is either not important for you or you do not want that.

When somebody around you is doing great, that means you are also on the right path, and being happy about their success will attract luck and good outcome for you also.

Destructive emotions

If you are envious and feel frustrated that your success did not happen, you just push it farther away. Grudge and envy, especially, if they are present frequently, destroy a person from inside. Internet facilitates feeling that we are not doing fine by putting in our face all the achievements the humanity has managed to accomplish while you just slept for the last 7 or 8 hours. We cannot go down that path. Our way is what we have chosen and we have to stick with our personal plan.

Warning signs

There are also numerous warning signs. They come in all shapes and through all kinds of means. Many people see dreams and these dreams sometimes are very bright and impossible to forget. Nightmares do not fit in this category because they are caused by some interactions in the brain of rather chemical or mental origin.

There are warnings delivered by situations and people we meet. Every person we have met has been placed there for a reason: to make us understand something, to make us change our mind and similarly.

Trusting our guts or subconscious mind

When we are facing some bad issues and terrible outcomes, it is often that we knew this is going to happen. We just silence the internal warning system or shut it off completely by alcohol, strong medications or drugs. It is so that you know clearly something is on its way, but you do not dare to believe or admit that. We sometimes get a chance to change the chain of these events, but sometimes it is too late.

Do we have to break the wall with our forehead?

No, we shouldn’t because there is a door not far away. We might not notice it yet, but sooner or later we will. If we have a problem, that means we have to take some steps and change our behavior, the way we assume others and our tasks, or we might need a whole new strategy and approach. Things which are not happening right indicate that something is wrong not with us, but with our goals, intentions and the methods we have decided to use for pursuing them.

Post Scriptum

I had taken a longer break from blogging because I had to straighten out house after moving, plus, all art classes started and that is a big undertaking with sorting out hundreds of packs of materials and almost 1,700 of my own paintings, small and big. There was a need to rearrange and find new desks and other furniture, set up classrooms and showing rooms, deal with garden and plants which have to come indoors and other daily chores. I hope I will be posting more regularly as the weather gets cooler and I will have more time.

Lilac, poem, and giving my blog a new direction

On June 3, 2018September 13, 2023 By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn blogging, gratitude, health, life, mental health, nature, writing25 Comments

Lilac

Lilac blossoms blending with twilight:

Purple passionate scent of eternal,

Feeling of everything fading away.

Being beautiful without a purpose.

Lilac scent melts in the night air,

Twilight calm will fall down very soon

To end this moment with a period mark.

The day is so tired, too, time to rest.

The night sky uses blush, a lot of it

And the purple scent becomes a shadow.

It is always twilight in some places.

It is so complete with the lilac scent.

Morning finds birds sipping the morning dew

From tiny cups filled with sunlight pearls.

I paste this moment in my good memories folder.

Scents will evaporate, just like us.

My personal recovery experience

People, who read my posts, know that my health issues have been resolved completely thanks to my new skills and change of dominance in my mind..

I have learned a lot from my past experiences, and I intend to move on very healthy, with good reasons, not allowing anything to offend or disrupt my intentions.

I am doing much better because I rely on myself and I have learned that by becoming a much better person I am helping not only myself, but also people around me.

I will explore a wide variety of topics that relate to staying young, fit, healthy, stress-free, active and satisfied with my new life.

I am 60 this summer. Apart from the bad accident in 1992 and chronic pain because of that, I have been very fine so far. I took the previous experience as an important lesson. I realize that something in my behaviour, thoughts and intentions was causing it. I will use my experience as a stepping stone in order to bring more light in this life.

I have learned that being kind, nice and good to others and oneself is the most important thing in our life as we attract the same attitude, the same type of people and the same type of response.

I pay special attention to these 5 most important aspects:

healthy weight and ability to be active and pain-free;
effective metabolism and well-performing digestive system;
daily and hourly stress relief and efficient coping mechanism;
natural, simple and rich nutrition that takes minimum time;
excellent memory and powerful cognitive function.

How nature is always our best advisor and supporter

Whenever something goes wrong, the easiest way to fix this problem is turning to the nature.

I have written already about that and I will be writing even more.

Gardening is a huge part of it. People sometimes say, they do not have enough space, yet, all the backyard and front yard consists only of grass and a few flower pots. Every vegetable and herb one grows in their own garden is about 100 times better than we can buy at a grocery store. Even with organic produce, we get vegetables, fruit and herbs which have been sitting on a shelf for a while. You will always know what your vegetable is consuming if you grow it. Tiny and small gardening does not require any weed killers and pesticides. We can live extremely well using just some natural things to get rid of bugs. However, they rarely happen in a small garden because you can prevent bad things from happening quite easily.

Nature is always on standby for our mental comfort and stress relief

No gym can ever compare to gardening and walking in fresh air. Many people take exercising way too far and cause premature wear and tear of their joints, tendons, muscles and ligaments. Our heart is also a very specific muscle that takes loads with its own attitude.

Upset mood and over-excited brain can be always fixed with breathing in fresh air and simply walking amidst the beautiful natural surroundings. Your brain loves bird songs instead of loud music; your thoughts get organized and are easy to sort out when the brain has enough oxygen.

How we look and how we dress

Aging does not mean one gives up the good looks they had when they were younger. Daily facial and body routine is a must. I am naturally blonde, so I have been using make-up from its early days, for about 45 years now. I do use some make-up even if I am alone at home. I do that to keep myself satisfied with the way I look.

Make-up helps to prevent skin diseases nowadays. There are wide choices and huge selection out there.

I learned sewing when I was 12. I did so because I always wanted to wear clothes that suit me, fit me and make me stand out. There have been periods when I have been sewing a new outfit every day, and there have been times when I have sewn something just a few times a year.

I am returning to more sewing and dressmaking again because the things one can buy at a store do not satisfy my demands and they are generally very low quality. It is also much more practical. We can recycle everything, but fast and cheap fashion is one of the biggest polluters on the Earth.

Artistic living for brain health and pleasurable life

If you read and follow my art website, you know that I have been a passionate art instructor for about 40 years, and I am as passionate about my own creativity. I started drawing at a very young age, and gradually added to that watercolor, acrylic and pastels. I became sensitive to oils, so, I had to forget about painting with oils. Drawing is a part of my excellent memory maintenance process. Having very well-performing visual memory definitely makes life easier. It always has: studying was easy, learning was easy and starting any new thing was easy.

Art, writing, journaling, outdoor drawing and painting: that is a daily feast for our soul. One can always find a suitable artistic way of self-expression. Art gives one the time for self-care. We forget about any problems while drawing and painting. We immerse ourselves into eternal and limitless.

My Angel’s Day was a few days ago. The Angel my mom gave me is always watching over me.

The short spring brought us intense blossoming, the beauty was almost touchable.

I will definitely miss this old apple tree after we move to another place, it always greets spring with clouds of wonderful blossoms.

These are the themes I will be mainly focusing on. Please follow me on Facebook

I will start a new artistic community page soon. This page will be primarily devoted to keeping our brain young and flexible with daily artistic challenges.

Please also check out my art website: http://inesepogagallery.com/ It offers my own art and also numerous articles about how to start and keep drawing and painting.

I will miss the old lilac tree, as well, it has been my inspiration numerous times!

My plans are huge. I hope everything goes according to plan, especially because we have to move soon to another place and that involves reorganizing life to be happy with the new beginning.

Think pink: how to return to life after a long treatment

On July 12, 2017July 10, 2022 By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn gratitude, happiness, health, hope, life, lifestyle, nature photography22 Comments

A few suggestions which work for me

If you just took the last pill, are still struggling with the treatment medications, are just getting in or out of a long treatment, I know where you are coming from.

The treatment of my current health issues lasted for 1349 days so far. It hasn’t ended yet, but I am getting back to life and back to normal everything. 1349 is just a number. It is just a number that has resulted from many months, weeks, days, hours and minutes spent trying to feel better. Did you know that every minute in pain lasts longer than an hour doing pleasant things?

I have tried everything. I am not saying that my personal experience is going to work for everybody, but some parts might.

The inevitable side effects

Many people go through very long treatments and use medications that also destroy them along with a cure. Side effects manifest on our body and on our mind in many very different ways. The cure of bad issues and severe conditions always comes with undesirable effects. Always, that is the nature of chemicals which can be extremely harsh at times.

I just downloaded some beautiful pictures of flowers and could not resist sharing them. I attached them below text.

Looking at, thinking of and seeing beauty in nature helps me relax and makes me forget pain and bad feelings. Does the beauty have the same effect on you?

If it does, you should put yourself together as much as you can and get out there and look at flowers, trees, listen to bird songs and watch wild animals like squirrels or rabbits, chipmunks or similar creatures. Watching undisturbed flow of a very simple life supports the weak, recovering body and certainly gives more strength.

The first suggestion is: do not put pressure on yourself. Just don’t do that. Treatments are always accompanied by strict schedules, doctor’s appointments, nurse visits, meal times and sleep hours. Everything is scheduled. When we start feeling better and when it seems we are strong enough to do absolutely anything and embrace the globe, we should take things easy. Especially at this moment. We should move step by step, not rushing, not exhausting ourselves even more.

With recovery and as the undesirable effects wear off, we are experiencing unusual additional energy. Small bit of willingness to open our eyes. A desire to breathe very deeply. An intention to walk without concerns about getting dizzy and shaky. Wow! That is success!

That is the hugest success we can only imagine. We never think it is such a pleasure to simply walk without pain. Well, it is. I know how it feels to suddenly wake up after long months of being in a subdued mood, blundering around half-asleep, having no willpower to even want something. Recovery after a long treatment is similar to being reborn.

Colors regain brightness. Sounds become clear. Light is blinding. Sun is so intense. Yes, we probably have to wear sunglasses.

The other suggestion is as follows. Many medications require specific approach: staying out of sunlight, not consuming some particular foods or drinks and so on. We cannot forget about these warnings after the last dose of medication because its activity may continue way beyond this point. Being cautious is a good habit when starting or discontinuing medications. Alcohol does not work with any medication: it either inhibits the positive side or enhances it. I believe staying away from alcoholic drinks is a basic when recovering or while using meds.

The most often observed side effect must be nausea and feeling sick. It is unfortunately that our body wants to alert us, and we know we are wrong and the body is right, but we have to continue with meds. I had extreme episodes of nausea. To the point when I could not even think clearly. Nausea did not allow sleeping or resting either. I somehow found aloe vera juice. The stuff that worked for me was with pomegranate flavour. I am extremely sensitive to any substance, and regular anti-nausea pills never did what they were expected to, but with aloe vera juice I achieved a state when I was feeling practically normal. I took it after quite a lot of water on empty stomach and then as prescribed: 4 full large spoons.

The third suggestion is moderation. Moderation in everything. No extreme foods or entertainments, no extreme physical loads or exercises. Living around the neutral zero isn’t that bad at all. Overdoing with physical exercises can through you back, so can eating out too much or having too many drinks.

It’s a heavy work for the body to return to normal daily routine without strong pills, injections, i/v pumps or i/v lines. While it is such a relief to get off meds, there is an in-between period. It is better to get back to life slowly than destroy everything that was achieved through so much suffering.

Meanwhile, the last suggestion is think pink! Soft and dreamy colors in the environment work their magic. Pictures drawings and paintings of beautiful things in calm colors do the same: relax the tension, make our mind happy and that’s when we are really back on track.