Roome: Finding lessons for life, one brushstroke at a time
During the initial pandemic shutdown there were six adults living together in our house. Five of us had jobs that occupied several hours of our days, but we still found ourselves with many hours of time that had always been filled doing things outside of the house.Jim RoomeAs a family, we seized this unique opportunity to learn new skills. We learned sign language, cooked amazing meals, played different instruments, and even tried watercolor painting.My youngest daughter, Carly, an art major with a psychology minor and a creative perspective on life, taught us the basics of watercolor painting. On the day of our first lesson, she handed out the supplies we needed and began by telling us to create a base of water over the area on our paper where we wanted to paint. As we created our water foundation, she explained that the base makes all the rest of the painting possible. With the base in place, she told us to take a tiny bit of paint and begin to create whatever we wanted to design.For my first piece, I wanted to paint a coffee cup with steam rising from the drink. I established my base, took my first color, and brushed it onto the page. As I applied the paint, I was amazed that it actually began to resemble a cup. About 15 minutes into the lesson, Carly stopped me, gave me a quick compliment, and said, “To improve this, you need to add dimension and depth.”She explained that to achieve this effect, I needed to manipulate the paint that was already on the page. Following her advice, I lightly wet my brush and began to move the existing color, adding to some areas and reducing others. The result was a cup that had depth—something I could genuinely be proud of as a novice.As I worked on this art project, I was struck by the wisdom of needing to start everything we do with a good base. The water on the page starts everything off right. In our lives the base is equally critical — faith, family, friends and many other things can be central to that base. Everyone’s base is different, but we all must have that foundation to be successful.Beyond the base, I found the idea fascinating that all the color I needed was already present on the page. When I first examined what I had on my paper, I thought Carly was mistaken; there was no way I had the necessary color. However, she was right. To create something with depth, I just needed to manipulate what was already there.In our everyday lives, it’s easy to feel like we lack the things we need. In reality, while we may need to rearrange “the colors,” everything we require is so often already available.I encourage you to take some time to notice, reflect on and celebrate the areas of your life that are vibrant and full of color. When you look closely, you can find those wonderful aspects of your life — whether it’s your relationships, family, friends, routines or cherished memories. All that vibrancy can be applied to the areas where you feel a struggle or where the color seems too faint.Moving that color might involve asking for help or taking time for a conversation. It could also mean finding opportunities to assist others or trying something new. Whatever approach you choose, it can be as simple as adding a little water to your brush and blending those colors as needed.The rich colors of your life make a difference, but before you can move them, you need to see them.You have got this.I hope my words inspire you, and that you will share them with those who need encouragement. Thank you to everyone who has shared their stories with me so far; I truly appreciate hearing about the valuable ideas you find in these columns and how you use them to uplift those around you.Jim Roome lives in Arvada with his wife, Beth. He spent 34 years in public education. Lessons learned from the one two punch of being diagnosed with MS shortly before his best friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer led him into a new pursuit as a freelance writer and speaker. He uses his life experiences and love of stories to inspire, educate and encourage local, national and international audiences. Contact him at [email protected] post Roome: Finding lessons for life, one brushstroke at a time appeared first on Colorado Community Media.
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