The Teachable Moment

Featured image: Linus II - Wind Up Toy

Every negative experience provides you with an opportunity for growth. It is what some call a teachable moment.

What stands in the way becomes the way and you can move forward. Only you in this situation and me as an artist, can control and choose how to move forward. The more you free yourself of the idea of an either-or situation, the more you can open yourself to teachable moments and the more you grow as and artist and a creative person.

This bird, “Linus,” became a wonderful teaching moment for me as it was combined with the character Linus from the Charles Schultz character in his cartoon series Peanuts. The characters in the  Peanuts cartoons all presented very teachable moments. My Linus II is a combination of the Linus in the Peanuts cartoon who is a voice of reason and my writings about life. It is a balance between the mechanical and the organic in my gears series. Click here to read. 

Linus, according to peanuts.com is a thoughtful and respectful, Linus is often the voice of reason among his peers. He is a deep thinker and a student of philosophy. Despite his run-ins with cantankerous Lucy, and the fact no one understands why he carries a security blanket, Linus remains delightfully hopeful.
This bird, “Linus, is just that. The rings and circles around him represent thought and respect. His voice is a voice of reason. He respects who he is and is not afraid to fluff up his wonderful bright colors. He is hopeful that there is no one so small as to judge him because of his colors. He is thoughtful with his ability to reason, think and realize that it isn’t very helpful to play tricks on others as his sister Lucy does.

Some Linus quotes I love that illustrate this balance between the mechanical and the reasonable:
“ I love mankind … it’s people I can’t stand.”
“Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace.”
“A friend who understands your tears is much more valuable than a lot of friends who only know your smile.”
“Sometimes it is very hard to decide.”
And this one is one of my all time favorite:
“There is not a heavier burden than great potential!”

Perhaps today is the day that some of you might want to share your favorite quotes, maybe even a Linus quote on my Facebook page.  It would be fun.

Blessings to all. c