Happy New Year and the final five

The Moon's Out Early

Acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches

Barbara Muir © 2018

(available)

The Howard Wolinsky challenge to list 2018 things I learned in 2018 ends
today.  Thank you to Howard, a wonderful journalist and photographer
for his constant inspiration. Here are the last five things I learned in 2018.  Bye bye old
year -- you were great!

The 2014th thing I learned in 2018

Life can always surprise you
Looking back carefully on my life, surprising things happen
every day -- some good and some not.  How could you
predict that a random lady would be in the cat food section at
Loblaws who wanted to advise us about our vet?  And how could
you imagine that being in an international art exhibition, would
bring you true friends from around the world, but it happens.
One of my best friends in the world lives in the Netherlands,
and we talk as often as possible on the phone! And there are
so many more lovely people in my life, who I could not have
imagined knowing even a year ago.

The 2015th thing I learned again in 2018

Care about the environment 
It's almost impossible not to think about the fact that we've been
given 11 years to save the planet.  2018 seemed to be a tipping
point.  As in it's now or never.  So it worries me that
we are still so devisive, and that vast swaths of people in North
America don't want to believe that climate change is real!
I feel desperately sorry for them, as the heat climbs to a level
that is impossible to live in, and drops to lows we could never
have imagined.  I feel sorry for them, as storms and hurricanes
ravage their towns, and fires burn their homes. I feel sorry for
all of us, but we need to band together and see saving the
environment as a number one priority.

The 2016th thing I learned in 2018

Work for kind people
Where we work makes all the difference in the world.  I've
worked for people who didn't understand me, maybe didn't
like me, or didn't get me.  I've always had excellent experiences
in my art world -- thank you.  And in my very part time
writing teaching life I now only work for people who
respect my dedication to teaching, and to helping people learn,
and who help me in every way possible.  Thank you!

The 2017th thing I learned in 2018 (again)

Talk positively to myself
Do you talk to yourself -- either internally (and I think we all
do) or if you are alone -- out loud?  I'm an artist, and when I'm
painting I'm usually alone -- so I am the friend on the spot.
What I say to myself makes a big difference in my day.
How many times have your heard yourself say, "It's
just that kind of day."  Which explains why the day is going
wrong.  But if I take things minute by minute the voice
inside or outside my head can recommend changing that
track from ,"Look you spilled your coffee!, you ran out of
gas, you misplaced your favourite book," to what a friend
of mine in Tucson says is how dogs think, "Forward, forward,
forward!"

The 2018th thing I learned in 2018

It's a big, big world -- so we need to travel
And I have only seen a tiny part of it.  So for my final
thought I seriously want to travel more in 2019.
Travel is one of the best and most thorough
teachers available. But a surprising number of people
in North America have never traveled outside of their
own country!

Have a very joyous Happy New Year