2022 Reflection

Dec. 23rd 2022

Today is really cold, I spent more time to get myself all wrapped up from head to toe, dressed Rocky with his warm hoody, than we actually walked outside, we were literally just 10 feet outside the garage, for less than 30 seconds, before Rocky insisted to come back.

So I decided to sit down and write my annual reflection. Two years ago, the exact same day, my beloved dog Ollie was napping next to me while I wrote my reflection, back then, we were deep in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, both Adam and I were laid off, and few days later, Ollie fell ill and died suddenly… (tears are running down my face…)

Today, as cold as it is outside, my heart is full of warmth, Rocky is snoring next to me as Ollie used to do; Adam is doing well with his current job, yet on his way to pursue a new career as software programmer. I have been back to GE for a year, work with lots of good-hearted people happily, while also contemplating the pathway to advance my artistic adventures… What a stark contrast to two years ago…

Recently, I realized that life is very much like a painting, starts with very vague ideas, just trying to make some marks on canvas or in the world, purposefully, or randomly; creatively or conventionally; along the way, we discover who we are, what we want to do or be, gradually the canvas starts to have some telling … sometimes, unintended surprises occur, it is up to us to recognize and seize them. ?Every so often, we don’t like what is on the canvas, we repaint with new ideas, partially or completely apart from the originals… just as we start over in life…

We can continue the process over and over, adjust or reshape our lives, based on what we have experienced, learned and discovered... Today’s canvas may or may not resemble yesterday’s painting, but it is certainly our most fresh and best of making this far. It is never too early or too late to alter it, it won’t be finished until we are absolutely satisfied.

My life painting has started to show some shapes. I can understand and see life with much more clarity, yet, it is still in the middle of the making, I continuously try to make it better, by exploring novel things, from time to time; with new realizations, reflections, and insights; consequently, my life painting becomes more and more sophisticated, intrigued, and captivated.

I truly believe we are all artists, and life IS the ultimate Art that we are making.

Zhen