Get to versus have to

Flowers for Friday
Acrylic on canvas
8 x 8 inches
Barbara Muir © 2010

The note from Mike Dooley today made me laugh
because I've been tired this week and in a
highly complaining mode on the home front.
Whine, whine, whine. I hear myself and think
'what's up girl?' Turns out the morning paper has
a simple solution -- more sleep. So I have been working in
another half hour which transforms the world. Plus Mike
reminded me that many people would envy me my
chore list. That made me sit up and laugh!

Mike Dooley sends out the Notes from the Universe
emails on weekdays, and they frequently cheer me
up, and stop me from taking myself so seriously.
This morning his message helped me to remember
the "get to versus have to" idea I learned years ago
from my readings along the way. If I get
to water my garden, instead of have to, I realize
how lucky I am to have a garden. And so on down the
list of former "have to"s. The transformation is
powerful.

I had a lot of fun painting today's painting. It's not
quite finished I don't think, although I love how loose
and abstract it is right now. I may put some darker
tones in between the flowers. It's painted on a red ground over
a rough layer of paint for texture. The flowers that posed
for it are from Pegann at the market garden, and I wanted
to capture them quickly. They are just magnificent. I
felt supremely lucky knowing that I was going to
get to paint them. I hope that joy comes through.

Have an I-get-to-have-a-great-life day.