Noah's Challenge

CHALLENGE . . .

Challenge -- "a task or situation that tests someone's abilities."

This all came about because I'm participating in an art challenge--5 days--each day's challenge based on a prompt emailed to me by the artist whose challenge it is.

I am free to interpret the prompt as I wish--literally, metaphorically--so long as I work with the art supplies recommended by the artist.

At the end of 5 days, I'll have 5 pages (or more) of "art stuff"--five pages I wouldn't have had if I'd not signed up for the Simple Things Art Challenge.

And what am I going to do with what I've created, you ask? Why, nothing, unless I want to. The challenge is only for myself. There are no right or wrong ways to do the work. No one needs to see what I've created unless I wish to show my work. I get no money, no award, no certificate, no--well, no anything!

So, I hear you thinking, what's the point? I'm glad you asked.

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Here's how it all started. . . .

After my heart valve surgery, and cardiac rehab, and eventual release by the various medical teams who checked up on me, I realized I'd gone through at least six months when my life didn't seem to be my own. If I wasn't sitting in a doctor's office, I was riding in the car on my way to an appointment. Once cardiac rehab was in place, I worked hard three days a week and crashed the other four. To put it in a nutshell, my life was focused on getting through surgery and post-op stuff, so I could get back to former activities.

At the time, I didn't think any of that was odd. It "just was"--the surgery was necessary, I got through it, the rehab was necessary, I got through that . . . that was the focus.

Months later, I began to look around and see things I'd neglected while I was medically occupied. And guess what? I realized I hadn't picked up a paint brush for months. Hadn't watched videos by artists I follow on the Internet.

To be clear--I'm not a professional artist--art is my hobby, one I enjoy and like to practice--so I'm not missing out on commissions or pay checks. But I am missing out on the way visual art makes me feel. Is my stuff any good? Don't know. Don't really care. I paint because I like to paint. Some people like what I do, but I don't join competitions or seek shows to display my work.

Thus--The Challenge! Five Days of testing my abilities. After months of no painting, how will I know if I met the challenge, since no one is checking? I will know if I've painted for 5 days in a row . . . if I continue to paint with no one giving me prompts . . . if the way a summer sky looks like it ought to be painted and I'm just the one to do it . . . .

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Challenges--testing your abilities--are everywhere:

• losing weight to get into the suit you plan to wear when you walk your daughter down the aisle at her wedding
• modifying your language so your young'uns don't pick up bad habits
• 
  keeping notes in notebooks so you can remember things, like what the doctor said, or when to renew subscriptions before they expire, or home repairs that need doing next summer
• keeping a list of how many books you read in a month (or a year)

They can be as simple as challenging yourself to get up at the same time every day (if that suits your life); paying bills at least a week before they're due; answering emails before you realize it's been a month since you heard from your child/sister/good buddy.

It can be fun--it can be serious--it can be totally frivolous. It's your challenge. You decide.

One of my greatest challenges--besides the heart stuff and the current art thing--is taking care of myself. Remembering to be kind to others, because it helps me be kind to my own body and life. Remembering this: concern is not the same as worry. 

Blessings,

Thursday's Child