New Content Added
Humor, Music, Events and Tech sections all have new content. Especially check out Humor and Music. I think you will like.
—Maureen on the Go (MoGo)
Featured Again at Niftypiks.com
My “Iceflake I” from my Imagekind site was reviewed again at Niftypiks.com. Please check out the review and feel free to comment either on that blog or mine. This is great. I found out that the Niftypiks.com owner is part of a group I am involved with but I don’t know him! So thank you Nifty Galoot!
—Maureen on the Go (MoG0)
Got A Write-up for My “Iceflake I”
I am thrilled to announce I got written up in a column called “Art That Doesn’t Suck” on ArtOpinions.com. The piece is my Iceflake I (I am hoping there will be more soon, hence the numbering.) It is by someone I know.
I had never asked him to review my work since I didn’t want him to feel pressured into giving me a positive review since we are friends. To my delight, he found my artwork on his own and decided to feature me anyway.
Please check out his review by clicking here.
—Maureen on the Go (MoGo)
Quick Movie Review—What Would Jesus Buy?
This has been moved to the Check Out: Movies section (see upper right hand side of this blog)
Too optimistic? I don’t think so.
I have had a bunch of setbacks recently. Both personal and professional. The personal I won’t go into but a person who was very very dear to me has made a decision to go an easier path. I will miss his quick wit and sparkling eyes. (And more, but that is TMI.)
Professionally, it has been a mix. I am part of a group of Print on Demand (POD) shopkeepers. It has been hard to listen to some of them talk so casually of their success. Don’t get me wrong. I am delighted for them but haven’t yet attained their level of success so it can be very discouraging to listen to mentions of so far extremely unattainable amounts of money.
But I still believe most success is a matter of perseverance. I am trying to move along in little baby steps and not let anything stop me from doing what needs to be done. I have been accused of being overly optimistic and I guess that can be a viewpoint but it is not mine. Nor do I think the characterization is accurate. I am a realist. I know some things don’t work out. But I also know that in the whole Glass Half Full vs. Half Empty debate that when I am thirsty I would rather drink the half of the glass containing the water.
I used to be a pessimist. I was really sure most things would suck. And they usually did. I have found myself in the same set of circumstances with two different mindsets at different times in my life. And I have found that attitude, MY attitude, meant all the difference.
I have some people in my life who have chemical imbalances in their bodies and need medical help with that. I am not talking about being able to cheer myself up from clinical depression (which I have never had, thank goodness). For those folks, I am not in the suggesting they can simply make themselves happy. Hormones and the chemicals of our bodies influence us to an incredible amount and if they are out of whack wishing yourself better doesn’t work. I believe medicine to be necessary in those circumstances.
That said, I have noticed when I focus on the positive (for me) that things seem to go better. Which is to say, I don’t think things actually go better but my attitude allows me to better deal with what happens. That and getting enough sleep means a huge difference to how I view the world and all its little surprises.
When I can’t possibly go on and am thinking of hanging it all up artistically, something usually shows up to tell me to keep going. And when that doesn’t work I have a poem I found. I found the clipping in a small leatherbound scrapbook my great aunt had made. After her death the book came to me. Her book is bulging out with clippings from letters, newspapers, and other thoughts from a very long time ago. She didn’t leave the author info attached. I did an internet search and so far most references seem to be to a 1910 movie called The Little Hero of Holland. (I haven’t done more research here than what was necessary to find the reference.) So here it is:
You Mustn’t Quit
When things go wrong as they sometimes will
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile but you have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must—but never quit
Life is queer, with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a failure turns about
when he might have won if he stuck it out
Stick to your task, though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with one more blow
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems afar
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit
It’s when things are the worst you mustn’t quit
(If this poem makes you cringe instead of smile, you might be reading the wrong blog. There are plenty of people out there who will help you see the worst of everything. But I want to help myself and others see the best of things.)
So though I am somewhat discouraged now, I will continue on my path. Perhaps my attitude will allow me to recognize the opportunities that show up for what they are. I hope that determination and courage will light your path as well.
Happy Holidays…
—Maureen on the Go (MoGo)
Update: It is funny. As I was writing this I am listening to music and the song that also keeps me going just showed up. If the poem I put above it too cheerful for you you can always check out the lyrics for Metallica’s Hero of the Day. That is something that also keeps me going. “Mama they try and break me.” I have always thought the lyrics were more for soldiers coming back from war, damaged. But I think we all feel damaged and like life is trying to break us sometimes.
