Springtime Stroll in the Suburbs
by Cindy Morawski
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All the Things I Don't Want
Oscar Wilde once said, "If you don't get everything you want, think of the things you don't get that you don't want." When I look at my life like that, things start coming up roses. (Imagine Ethel Merman on stage belting out that song.) OK, I just had a mean case of the flu, and I recovered, but I haven't had any debilitating diseases, hospitalization, or the debt that might go with it. When I also examine the bleak and tragic life of poverty that affects millions all around the world, I again can consider myself pretty lucky. No, I haven't won the lottery--big-time, nor do I have a vacation home in a far- off place, but living with a fair amount of security in Middle Class America, I know I'm doing all right. Unless, of course, on the other hand, our state government collapses and takes away my teacher retirement. Or, social security goes missing-in-action for Paul when he's ready to start collecting. Hey, if you are paying attention to what they're saying in the news, it could happen! But, hey, I'm getting sidetracked. I'm trying to remain positive. Getting back to Oscar Wilde's quotation, there are other things that I don't want, and I have a fairly good idea that I'm not going to get them. I don't want drug addiction; I even hate swallowing aspirin. I go out of the way to avoid drugs of any kind unless I absolutely need anti-biotics. I don't see myself ever getting trapped in a room full of my friends and family, then looking around, and discovering that it's intervention time, followed by rehab! It's something I don't want, and I'm not going to get it. Unless, of course, you count my addiction to chocolate. Hmmmm.
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Recently, I've been reading some travelogues that have been coming through by way of email. They get forwarded to me by a friend of a friend. I'm absolutely fascinated with the young gypsy couple who are going on the cheap and visiting third world countries with exotic sounding names, food, and modes of transportation. On the otherhand, I'm glad I'm traveling by way of my armchair and laptop. Even though I've always had a passion for traveling and have done a good bit of it myself, I balk at the idea of risking life and limb while in a foreign country with an unstable and corrupt government. I'm elated at the notion of not rotting in some rat-infested prison, not getting tortured with burning filterless cigarettes or a buzzing electric current, or not starving to death on gruel and dirty water. I can hear my stomache growling already. I hesitate when I think about risking my health by getting bitten by something that could kill me in seconds flat or lead to a long, cruel illness that would end in a parasitic nightmare. Too weak to lift a finger to do anything about it. I've read about those places. You know where I'm talking about. Just thinking about what I don't want in traveling, thrills me to the core. Because, I can choose not to go to those places! And, believe me, I won't spend the time or money. Boy, I can see a pattern here. I could be a lot happier if I just paid attention to all the things I am not getting, and that I don't want. This is having a rather calming effect on me.
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Now, when I think about all the things that I don't want, and that I don't have, I feel enlightened. I feel strong. I feel reassured. What was that expression I noticed on someone's t-shirt at the Gap? Life is Good! It could happen . . .
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Getting back to my artwork and painting, the scene of the above landscape takes place in one of my favorite places on the planet, Braun Station, the neighborhood and communtity where I live. I chose this as a subject worthy of painting because it's a place that's near and dear to my heart. The landscape is taken from the Braun Station Greenbelt located between Tezel and Lavenham. In fact, I found through my BSW Book Club selection for March, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, something that lit up a lightbulb in my head. This book discusses how success happens to people. Sometimes, it's not in the conventional ways that you would assume. The book started out with a case study of a town of Italian immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania. The people named their town Roseto after their birthplace in Italy southeast of Rome. The American Rosetans later became well-known in the medical community for their good health. Rarely did the folks from Roseto, Pennsylvania, die on account of heart disease. After a great many exhaustive studies and research, they also found that there was no suicide, no alcoholism, no ulcers, and little crime in their community. People in Roseto were dying of old age. And, that was all. What was the cause of all these good things in Roseto? Diet and Exercise? No. Genetics? Nope. The secret to Roseto was Roseto itself. The Rosetans had created a social structure and world that was powerful and protective. Their success was built on the community that they had created. When we as humans are a part of a solid family, a friendly and helpful neighborhood, or a caring and integrated community that helps us build positive relationships and protects us in a positive and healthy way, that in itself can have a profound effect on who we are. It can build SUCCESS. Understanding some things can help foster a better life.
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I hope you'll consider purchasing my painting, or a reproduction of it by way of a print or art card. I'm a phone call or email away. Plus, I hope you'll branch out your reading with a self-improvement book. You could start with OUTLIERS.
~~Happy Pondering!
Cindy
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MORAWSKI FINE ART
ART EVENTS CALENDAR
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1. Texas Pastel Society's All Members Show at the Carver Cultural Center, 226 N. Hackberry, San Antonio, March 2 through 15, Open Reception to the Public next Thursday, March 3rd, 6 to 9 p.m
2. TXPS Bright Shawl Gallery Exhibit, 819 Augusta St., San Antonio, February 12 - May 6, 2011
3. Corpus Christi~~Festival of the Arts, March 26, 27, 2011, 10 to 7, Saturday and 10 to 6 on Sunday
4. Starving Artists Show, SAHA Park near the King William District in downtown San Antonio, April 2, 3, 2011, 10 to 6 each day, Booth #125
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Cindy Morawski
210.522.0706
