30 Paintings in 30 Days - Day 12

"Winona's Surprise Guests" - mixed media on reclaimed wood, 6" x 18" x 1".  Ready to hang.  Click here to purchase this piece on Artfinder.


That the birds of worry and care fly about your head
This you cannot change
But that they build nests in your hair
This you can prevent
             -Chinese proverb


This little proverb plopped into my in-box last week, and I smiled as soon as I read it.  I could just imagine the nest being built in my hair when I spent too much time fretting about anything.  It was the perfect prompt for this piece of art, which is a reminder to let our worries fly about, but never let them set up house.

I've blogged about worrying and fretting many times.  Our family is programmed (genetically, I sincerely believe) to worry about everything.  We literally spend a lifetime unlearning this pattern!  But it can be done, and a daily practice is the only sure way to change it.

Whether you give your worries to a higher power, write them down and burn them ceremonially, place them in a worry box, breathe and say affirmations or smack yourself in the head every time (a method I do not recommend!) it is helpful to have something to routinely do when fretting thoughts take over.

The nest metaphor got me thinking about the enormous bower's nest built at the entrance to Ciel Gallery some time ago.

The gallery invited visitors to write on a piece of ribbon - hopes, fears, prayers, dreams - and tie it to the structure.  This was a lovely, gentle way to give wings to dreams and let worries sail away on the wind.  And after a few weeks, the structure was covered in colorful ribbons fluttering in the breeze.

I think it's time to build a small one in my garden - a lovely place to turn worries into ribbons and release them to be transformed.  

To read about the bowerbird and its delightful nest building habits, click here.