Embrace Change

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ReverieThe definition of ‘change’ in the dictionary points out to ‘make it different’. Simple enough. Change doesn’t have to be drastic, although it is often perceived that way. Changing little things also make a big difference and can propel to greater more drastic changes. Sometimes changes come without invitation in the form of opportunities. That is also a good thing. Some people need that extra push towards change. I like and embrace change. If I was as flexible with my body as I am with adapting to the surrounding situations I could make a good contortionist.

I would hate to live the same things over and over again for many years. It makes me think of Forest Gump and how there were the same people doing the same thing for years and years. My hometown is like that too. I love my hometown of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. The feeling of revisiting my roots is always great and makes me realize I couldn’t stay there. People do the same things they did when I was a little kid. If they had no successors they left an empty space, a building falling apart along with the memories. In very few cases they left the task to their children who are now doing exactly the same. I couldn’t do that. I have so much to see and do elsewhere.

Looking back at the goals I designed for myself I can’t be anything but thankful. My life changes constantly. Some changes are drastic, but others are small and building up in multiple directions. At the beginning of the year I had some goals that multiplied and others that stopped or slowed down. I was looking one way to accomplish something but opportunities came from a different direction (and keep coming) to accomplish something else. Life keeps moving and goals keep reshaping themselves. It is perfect!

Living under the lie that we can plan and control everything in our lives will only leave us disappointments. Don’t get me wrong: planning is important. However, being capable of flexibility and adaptation to changes is even more important. Rigid trees break with the wind. Flexible ones move with and stay planted and strong. Embrace change!

Speaking About It

WorkBench: Sculpt Your Brain

Join us for this talk
Thursday, May 21, 12:00 pm at The Grove, 760 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT

Free admittance: More Info and RSVP

Join our Sculpting and Painting Parties

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Sculpting Life

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scg2Sculpting clay is very therapeutic and fun. You don’t need experience. I have seen people in my classes, workshops, and sculpting parties who could not believe what they accomplished. All you need is to immerse yourself in the process. It is a unique experience.

scgForming the clay allows for a deep connection between creator and creation. Your hands will smell like clay and the clay will carry your fingerprints. Your fingers communicate with the clay as in a silent conversation. In the process the clay may get stubborn and hard to mold, but with water it becomes soft again. Sometimes little pebbles get mixed in the clay. You need to remove them before they ruin the piece. When the piece is complete you will be proud of the result.

scg1Your life is like clay. God is the sculptor. He is sculpting life in you. He is immerse in the process of forming your life and seeking a deeper connection with you. He is leaving his fingerprints on you and keeping your smell on his hands. Don’t fear or reject the tears that are softening your heart for him to continue working. Let him remove those painful pebbles of the past that left scars in your life. I assure you that at the end, no matter how imperfect you think you are, for Him you are his masterpiece.

Rise Above the Daily News

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A while back I received a large frame as a gift and placed it in the living room. Every time I came upstairs I saw the frame almost asking me to do something with it, something different. I took the frame into my studio, covered the board with newspaper and painted on it. I don’t consider myself a painter but I paint a little. I don’t like to make social/political statements in my art, but this time I did. Not criticizing or supporting any causes or movements, but motivating people to hold on and thrive in the midst of today’s overwhelming news. That’s how “Daily News” was born.

Last week I decided to bring to fruition some company to the painting. Two more pieces were born that day: “The Life we Live” and “Rise Above”. Again, linear figures painted on newspaper. I’ve been working on a clever way to put them together in one sentence to make sense of the set and its message:

The life we live must rise above our daily news.

 

The fact is that more than just a title or explanation of the set this is the soul of a society calling for a chance to live not just exist. The almost asphyxiating images and reports of the news are suffocating our lives and hopes. We need to rise above the constant negativity of every day. Moreover, we can become an oasis of hope. Our behavior, our work, our daily interactions should be refreshing to people. This is applicable online as well. The last thing people need to encounter is another self-centered, self-loving, know-it-all, contemptibly obnoxious person. A smile, a kind word, a gesture of humanity, someone to listen, time given… all this things can make a great difference in the life of a person who might be drowning in the fierce waves of the life they are living each day. Rise Above!