15 February 2015

Paint


Tone from Trent Jaklitsch on Vimeo.

Music by Darkside, if you never got to see them live (Now it is too late) then you should look up their BoilerRoom set, or Pitchfork Festival. Does not come close to the real concert, but good enough.  This video really catches why I love paint, it is a series of wonderful mistakes and simply pushing around color.

Looks much like the opening I made for the watercolor painting lesson videos by Jody Bergsma, which you can check out here.

14 February 2015

Be the Great Fool



It's been a while since I've written.  Last year was about others, in friendship, relationships, and work.  From volunteering in Nepal (Click here for the photos), to crazy road trips visiting loved ones (Pit-Stop #1, #2, #3, #4, #5), or with the ones I love.  If I wasn't traveling, my time was spend working in which case I made a website and a magazine.  All in all, I forgot to take time for myself.  This year is about regaining sacred space, and in tribute to that I will be working on a songbird series.  To get started I've been working on sketches.



This year has lots of promising and exciting adventures, from sending applications to festivals, possibly moving to another state, to finishing the anticipated Nepal film, to learning another language, and moving out of the country.  And in all of this, remembering to paint.  Many thing depend on a tiny little string of a plan, all of which could easily be broken.  Even if these things do or do-not happen, luckily I'm good at riding the wave.  So far this year has been extraordinarily freeing, and by re-focusing myself, I can then fulfill the goals and promises I've made to myself and others.  In other words, I know what my dream is and I'm well on my way to making it happen.  However, sometimes the universe has things to teach you and the side-paths are sometimes a necessary course.

This was all lead up to because of a comment I received from a person my friend met on the bus going from Bellingham WA to Vanouver BC.  She mentioned to him that she was down visiting a friend, and his remark was "The one with the great walk? Even if she doesn't know where she is going, she must get there with confidence." 

I do, often.  I'm not a planner, but I still do more then most.  And my life has turned into a series of moments that are more then just coincidence.  Being that during my friend's visit we read a book called Einstein's dreams, it was another one of those moments that are a bit too perfect when we were spending time in a used book store flipping to random pages and reading aloud, when we came to this snippet...
The fool is the most potent of the archetypes and also the most capable teacher of crazy wisdom. There are actually two types of fool: the foolish fool and the great fool. The foolish fool is inept and silly, a clown of the mind. The great fool is wise beyond ordinary understanding. The foolish fool is the one we see every day when we look in the mirror or walk down the street. The great fool is the rarest of beings.
Innocence is the trademark of both fools. The innocence of the foolish fool makes him clumsy and unsophisticated because he tries to live according to convention. The great fool, however, does not try to fit in; in his innocence, he lives by his own rules.  The foolish fool and his money are soon parted, but the great fool gives his money away. The foolish fool always gets lost, while the great fool is at home everywhere.  The great fool has different values then the rest of us and therefore is crazy wisdom's master of ceremony.


Einstein was a man who could ask immensely simple questions
The great fool, like Einstein, wonders about the obvious and stands in awe of the ordinary, which makes him capable of revolutionary discoveries about space and time. The great fool lives outside the blinding circle of routine, remaining open to the surprise of each moment.  We are the foolish ones, complacent I our understanding.  We take for granted the miraculous dance of creation, but the great fool continuously sees it as if for the first time.  The revelations of the great fool often shows us where we are going, or-more often- where we are.
 My only thought to the man's complement, "The great fool is never lost".  I will find my way, wherever that may be.

10 February 2015

02 February 2015

New Beginnings



First day in new office.  Last week I quite my job as Creative Director, and am now focusing on creating an hour long feature film from the work I've done in Nepal and Israel for Ecopolitan EcoHealth Community and the Everest Learning Academy.

Now this is what I call living.

11 January 2015

2015 Mantra



I am strong, I relax, I forgive.
I am going places.

It is easy to get wound up, it is difficult to put it behind you and move forward.  Live a life of going against the gain, the difficult path is always more rewarding.

Some people are good at constants, routines, and the day-to-day.  I however seem to demand an ever-constant flowing change, routinely moving forward, and day-to-day surprises.

I am Strong.  I have what I need to move forward.  I've been working up to this moment and now is that time to move, lung forth and leave behind my ties.

I relax.

I forgive.  I forgive myself, for all the choices I made, if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be where I am now.  Take it as a blessing.  I forgive others, for the choices they made, they had to do what was needed in order to learn and grow, it was all for the best.

I relax.

In the last few months I've witnessed much drama based on people's assumptions, it is but a big reminder to follow these four agreements:
1.  Be impeccable with my word
2.  Know to not take it personally
3.  Not to make assumptions
4.  To always do my best.

I relax.

I am going places.  Read The Alchemist, again.  I am a creator, remember your thoughts shape your future.  Your words create today.  Your choices become your reality.  Watch for the signs, they've been there all along, and sometimes sting your harder then you asked for.

This is what the sting ray was telling you.

He is letting you know that everything is now in place. You have the knowledge, you have the means, you have the tools and you have the skills – now get busy and get on with it. Everything you have worked toward is open to you so stop hesitating. Have faith in your abilities and follow your inner guidance.
Alternatively Stingray is asking you to stay on course and keep moving forward. Don’t allow distractions or drama to sway you from your journey. Do not be afraid to protect your own path.