I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition. – Martha Washington
We all have a certain amount of situational awareness or (SA). I can predict some things with certainty. The cat will sit on top of the the dryer every night starting at about 8pm waiting for his evening meal, Doug will not put the salt & pepper shaker back in the cabinet but place them on the counter below, and if my Dad is in a waiting area in an airport with time before a flight – he WILL call me. I find it to be a crazy concept that we can predict much of anything in life but the concept of SA is “knowing what is going on around you so that you can decide what to do” is a given – having a concept for this makes me laugh. You can predict certain behaviors but you cannot possibly know everything that is going on – that is counter intuitive if you ask me. All we can do is decide what to do based on what we do know and are paying attention to. For all you scientists or philosophers or anyone who has an opinion on this please – tell me where I’m going wrong. And, Doug – explain it to us in terms of baseball… (check comments – he’s dying to explain to all of us SA in terms of baseball.)
Things that we feel are predictable help make life less chaotic. But, times come when we need to mix it up a bit. Change sides of the bed you sleep on, try a new hairstyle, or… purchase art supplies that you’ve always wanted to try but didn’t want to risk not liking. What I did today was unpredictable even to myself – I’m going to try it more often!
I went downtown this morning to meet my friend Nate and his new friend Justin for brunch and afterwards I was right around the corner from the art super store. I could have bought the same old, same old but I saw that they had some new watercolors. A brand that I’ve considered purchasing before but hadn’t because I would have had to order them online and I am very set in my watercolor ways. But, I bit the bullet and purchased 4 of the super expensive (Doug is now thinking – how super expensive) paints – just to see. I got home and started on my daily apple, excited to experiment with my new paints. And… well, I have mixed feelings. There was no way I could predict this – I just had to give it a go and although they didn’t “act” the way I expected I’m very glad I got them and I know that I will find a way to incorporate them in a way that works and is blessedly predictable. If that doesn’t end up happening at least I tried and know and can now make a situational decision.
I plan on looking for ways to break out of my usual and normal situation – I might not be able to predict the outcome but like Martha, I can feel confident that I’ll meet it with happiness no matter what because that circumstance I can determine!
Until tomorrow.
Jenna
Day 310 was created in a mixture of Danial Smith watercolors and my “usual” pallet as well as prismacolor pencils, graphite, and a gold sharpie! FUN
In The Studio
1. Countdown – 55 days to The Big Apple Paint-A-Thon to raise money for AS Education!
2. In The Studio – So many colors too few days!
3. Apple Recipe of the Day – Pork belly with apple and celery salad.
What a great apple! It turned out beautifully! I luv the things you mentioned in your life that are predictable. lol Too funny! One of my favorite quotes is:
“No matter what you are doing, keep the undercurrent of happiness. Learn to be secretly happy within your heart in spite of all circumstances.”
~~ Paramahansa Yogananda
Not always an easy thing to do, but a perfect goal to set for ones self! 😀
I adore that quote – and truth be told – I tweeked and tweeked the apple after trying the new watercolors… I will figure them out but I am so not a subtle person or painter so the new paints have me at a bit of a loss.
It is so not an easy thing to find the happiness all the time… I just truly believe if we keep it as a belief that it is how we want to live – then the bad and sad times pass quicker.
<3
Jenna
Where’s the “like” button here? lol
Great – put me on the spot. When Jenna asked me if I knew what “situational awareness” was I said “it’s talked about in baseball a lot.” Baserunners with situational awareness pay attention to the number of outs, what the score is, where the fielders are, because it makes a difference when they’re running. Same things with the fielders – a good infielder will pay attention to the same information, as well as things like the count on the batter, and plan out in their heads where they are going to throw the ball if it comes to them, or if it’s hit somewhere else, does he need to cover a base, back up a base, or be a cutoff man. For outfielders it similar – “if it comes to me where am I going to throw the ball.” It depends on the score, the number of outs, who’s on base.
At least that’s how I see it.
And no, I don’t know how much the paint cost. Don’t want to know.
Notice how my sweet husband responded about baseball and expensive paint but had no comment regarding the salt and pepper shakers. Jus sayin.
I adore you sweetheart – for that logical interesting brain, dry wit, and the fact that you are super cute – among other things! xox
Awwww…..so sweet! 🙂
Oh yeah – the salt and pepper shakers. I DO SO PUT THEM AWAY!
Don’t make me bring up your shoes.
A very interesting post,as well as a very interesting apple.
It is nice to step out of ones comfort zone, every so often, just to keep things interesting.