I drew this watercolor during the last two evenings. It is always a mystery to me what might manifest. Sr. Madeleva, artist, friend and bearer of Light, encourages students to keeping working with your artistic expression. She uses the metaphor of life. Just as the colors might run together and become brown, muddy and messy don’t throw it way. Keep working with it until something good and worthwhile shines forth.
When I finished my little watercolor, I looked for a poem that might resonate with the image. Finally, satisfied that I found one that seemed a match, I slipped off to bed and was asleep in an instant.
Curiously, in the middle of the night the smoke alarm went off beeping wildly with a voice calling out fire, fire. Just as the chair was positioned to climb up and disarm the contraption, the racket stopped. Twenty minutes later, a repeat performance but wait this alarm does not have batteries that can be removed. After trying to smash it, Woody stuffed it into the cedar chest to stifle the sound. Then regaining composure, attempted again until, success.
Ah, sigh, will try going back to sleep…shortly thereafter a large flash of lightning and moments later a large boom of thunder shook the house and seemed to roll on for an eternity. Rain began to pour down tumultuously from the sky. A car alarm went off sounding another loud warning; a clue that the lightning struck close.
A few minutes later my son was up and remarked on the event. Half laughing, John said, “Wow, I thought it was a bomb and I was going to die.” Admittedly, lightning and thunder in CA is rare, exciting to witness and somewhat of a novelty. I remember growing up on the east coast and the storms in New England. Although more common lightning and thunder was a phenomenon that left me awestruck every time.
Nature is so powerful and literally, I am reminded how life as we know it can change in a flash and we can never take anything for granted, most especially our loved ones.
Well, it’s the middle of the wee hours of the morning and I was going to ditch the poem and instead share these simple words with you on a cold winter’s night. But I like too much…so I decided to just leave you this post script comment. May you be safe, warm and cozy in bed. Now I will tuck back in and fall fast asleep (ever hopeful).

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This might well be my favorite of Whyte’s many spectacular poems and along with that this peaceful watercolor of yours is also among my favorites:
“What disturbs
and then nourishes
has everything
we need.”
This strange and accurate notion is that what nourishes us also first disturbs us is at the heart of your creativity and your strong spirit.
What is wonderful is that you were always and have now become ore clearly that very “lit angel” to which he refers.
Thank you for blessing us.

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Smile, yes it was surely an unusual and memorable night, that I can chuckle about now…

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Yes, our lives are always moving and we along with the currents, let us be humble, aware and ever accepting of the ebb and flows and the ever changing tides that carry us as we reach out to help each other along the way…

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