Pictures from my trip to the emergency room tonight.
I hope everyone is fine.
Black Marker on drawing paper.
Two from the hospital and me in the center with my cat Fiona
I have been ordered to take it easy.
Day 6 in the month of love I'm thinking about somethingboth Louise Hay and my former boss when I taught a college
positive psychology course agreed on. Before you can love
anyone else -- and most people are hoping to find an ideal
person to love, you have to love yourself. So on day 6, I want
to thank Louise Hay and my former boss for teaching me to work
on caring for myself.
And I do, but I'm more interested today in knowing how you show
yourself love. In recent years I have been absolutely blessed to
spend most of my time with kind, loving people. Years ago working
in a corporate office I watched as my manager was kind to every
single person she encountered in her day. That corporation was big
on status and definitely encouraged the idea of rank. But she ignored
it completely and taught me an invaluable lesson indirectly. Every
person we encounter is equally important. So that includes you.
Be kind to you, and it will be easy to be kind to others. That's what we
need today -- love as the driving force and constant in our lives.
In the interest of being good to myself, and at the urging of
my friends, I spent 4 1/2 hours in an emergency ward tonight to see
whether or not I have a concussion. It turns out I do, and I am
ordered to do nothing, unless I want to. Here are some drawings
from the hospital (a different one) and me in the middle with my
cat, where I will be for most of tomorrow.
Have a being-good-to-yourself day.
Wonderful and efficient gestures in your drawings, they capture so much energy plus are faithful to the subject.
ReplyDeleteTaking care of your self or NOT taking care of yourself - it always sounds so easy. And we don't see warning signs, we are all so used to "powering on" and "being strong" that we don't listen to our bodies. My own "powering on" for only 3 months when my mom was ill resulted in lifelong health consequences for me that can't be reversed - so now I try to alway get a proper night's sleep and I can hope for a long life. So I repeat what you wrote "Take care of yourself".
Yikes! A concussion! I'm glad you went to get checked, but so sorry you had such a bad fall. Take care dear Barbara.
ReplyDeleteYour drawings are lovely and compassionate.
XO N.
Hi Carol,
ReplyDeleteThank you -- you are right, and we live in a very "powering on" city. The up side of that
is the possibility for continuous excitement and creativity -- the down side is we need
to power off once in a while for sure. And sleep is so important.
XOXOXOXOXO Barbara
Hi Nicki,
ReplyDeleteI guess I was lucky that I had on so many layers -- or it could have been worse.
I am taking care. I am treating myself to your beautiful paintings. The light
is so incredibly lovely.
XOXOXOXOXO Barbara
Oh BArbara....take care and be pampered and definately stay home from work. I shall phone you tomorrow. Lovely drawings. xo
ReplyDeleteThank you Flora,
ReplyDeleteI will think about it. Am thinking about it. Thank you Flora, you are
sweet. The afternoon is best. Love your paintings.
XOXOXOXOXO Barbara
One split second and everything changes... PLEASE take care of yourself, my friend! XOXO
ReplyDeleteHi Laurel,
ReplyDeleteSo true. I will and you do too. The irony (might not be the right word) is that
I was worried about my dog pulling, and she was good as gold, but a man
on a nearby street was yelling in fury (that never happens) and I missed
my step. Yes I will be extra careful. So love your work.
XOXOXOXOXO Barbara
Oh, my dear Barbara, I am so sorry to hear that you actually have a concussion! And that on top of your fragile knees!
ReplyDeleteI have also fallen two or three times lately so I know how disturbing it is and how vunerable one feels afterwards. (Luckily I didn't hurt myself) As often before I have to mention again that I am always so impressed by your energy and perseverance! Can't imagine going into the emergency ward with a concussion and finding the energy to draw! You are simply amazing.
I hope you will recover soon and send you lots of love from over the ocean.
Thinking of you, big hug,
liza
Hi Liza,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. I am glad you didn't hurt yourself when you fell (although
I know that any fall hurts.) Yikes. The knees are much better and I am on the slow mend with the head
which has turned an exciting shade of yellow! For our 4 and 1/2 hour wait the
options were limited. The phone was not enough.
Reading was hard with all the action going on, and of course my eyes never stop.
So I do like to capture some of it. I wish I could have captured the whole scene --
people coming in on stretchers, and Emergency Response men and women in their
uniforms, police people walking through. The nurses harried, and still having fun
with one another. It would make an amazing painting. And it was like so many TV
dramas we've watched, except these were real people, with real and immediate
problems. So much love from family members -- heartbreaking at times.
XOXOXOXOXO Barbara