Seeing the world as new

Holiday Card featuring 56 Cherrywood

Coloured pencil on paper

5 x 8 inches

Evelyne O'Hara © 2020

The 2020th thing I learned in 2020 -- See the world as new

I remember teaching Positive Psychology -- easily my favourite course
ever.  And I remember doing research to find out how often the cells
in our bodies renew themselves, so that when I was discussing
change with a student, and the student said,"that's just how I am,"
I could answer with, "you are always changing.  All the cells
in your body are constantly renewing, so you'll be a a different person
when you leave my office, from the person who came in 15 minutes
ago." 

In some ways that was an exaggeration, but if you read about
neuroplasticity, we have an enormous ability to adapt to change,
and to change ourselves -- our thinking, our lives. The constant
messages we're getting this year are about how hard life is
in the pandemic, how brutal this disease is, and endless analysis
of politics.  These things are all very real.  So in such times, we
have to take ourselves by the hand, and train ourselves to
think in new ways, to expect the best, to create a positive
reality for ourselves and our families, and friends, to adapt in
intelligent and creative ways.

Life is freaky sometimes.  I'd just written that first paragraph
about seeing the world as new, when there was a knock at the
front door (something that rarely happens these days).  We put
on our masks, answered the door, stood back, and it was our neighbours
across the street, whose house is the painting on our holiday card. 
They gave us a present, and their young daughter Evelyne gave us this
card she had drawn of our house.  

We were blown away.  There was the house (it is the white one with red
shutters, our poor tree, that was chopped in half a couple of years ago,
against our will -- perfectly captured, and gorgeously drawn.  And I'm
pretty sure Evelyne is not 12 yet!

So there it is.  The truth is you have no idea what can happen.
Thank you so much Evelyne.  Your beautiful card is the art for my blog
tonight.

Have a seeing the world as new day.