Influences

Influences. Recently there has been so much to think about in the news. Lets be frank, so much to be worried about if you want to lean that way. Gas prices going up, food prices going up. Talk of global warming, pollution, animal species in danger, coral reefs dying. Politics, world wide issues of all sorts. We all, or at least most of us, worry about money, do we have enough, what if there is a crisis? Lots of us are tired, traffic is frustrating. There are bills, credit cards. There are of course good influences too, don't get me wrong. Family, nature, books, to name a few. In thinking about this over the last few days, about daily influences, I started to form an image in my mind for a picture I wanted to create. I pictured an image that was made up of lots of things, influences. Everything, every influence in this image lived next to the other one. To me this represents the way things really are, nothing is separate, we all go through every day with so many things jumbling about in our brains. Really, it's a wonder that we are as sane as we are. Back to this image in my mind, all of these influences are jumbled together under a shiny clear dome, with sparkles on the surface. What is this image saying? I think it's saying that everything does co-exist. It's ok to feel a multitude of emotions and thoughts throughout the day. It's nice to think things through and realize that this is a crazy world but damn it all, it I like it anyway. Is that too simplistic? Probably. But that's what I've got so far, I'm sure as I keep thinking about this and as I look at this picture, I'll come up with more conclusions. For now, if you click on this picture to see the details, here are a few of the items that you will see: a lightbulb, a yawn, my family, trees, money, a flag, a gas pump, books.