The Year of The Ox
Happy Chinese New Year! The Year of the Ox. The Ox represents stability and dependability.
Wow, do we need that now. By coincidence, President Obama is born in the Year of The Ox too, 1961. This is the first President I have been older than, by one year. I was born in the Year of the Rat.
For whatever it's worth, we need to think about the positive things. As George Harrison sang all those years ago, "All Things Must Pass" and they do, and we wind up the better for it. A little more downsized, but maybe that's a good thing. I decided to "downsize" myself many years ago. I have a car that gets good mileage and doesn't show the world a facade of "image", and I have a mortgage I can afford(no subprime crap, I saw the evil in that as soon as it started).
In turn, I make affordable art-the small paintings I post here and they give me great joy to make.
I also realized that being content is easier and more attainable than the illusion of being "happy" which is nice, but, transitory. And the other thing, when you expect less..or rather just to be content...you'll never really be disappointed and you'll get joy in the little things.
While I'm at it, I want to thank everyone for the nice comments on the FArmer cover piece. That one came from the heart. It's what happens when you have a publisher like Bill Schafer who'll just say "Hey, give me 'a Bob'" and that is just what I do!
Wow, do we need that now. By coincidence, President Obama is born in the Year of The Ox too, 1961. This is the first President I have been older than, by one year. I was born in the Year of the Rat.
For whatever it's worth, we need to think about the positive things. As George Harrison sang all those years ago, "All Things Must Pass" and they do, and we wind up the better for it. A little more downsized, but maybe that's a good thing. I decided to "downsize" myself many years ago. I have a car that gets good mileage and doesn't show the world a facade of "image", and I have a mortgage I can afford(no subprime crap, I saw the evil in that as soon as it started).
In turn, I make affordable art-the small paintings I post here and they give me great joy to make.
I also realized that being content is easier and more attainable than the illusion of being "happy" which is nice, but, transitory. And the other thing, when you expect less..or rather just to be content...you'll never really be disappointed and you'll get joy in the little things.
While I'm at it, I want to thank everyone for the nice comments on the FArmer cover piece. That one came from the heart. It's what happens when you have a publisher like Bill Schafer who'll just say "Hey, give me 'a Bob'" and that is just what I do!
posted by Bob Eggleton (Zillabob) | 8:43 PM
6 Comments:
Yes, Happy Chinese New Year to you too! Here's hoping 2009 will indeed live up to its Ox name. For myself, I was born in the Year of the Tiger (I only just checked after reading your post!).
Totally agree with your sentiments about having a simpler, more contented existence. Life for me is about wanting less and having more, so to speak, and I think I am a pretty contended person because of it. I enjoy painting, drawing, playing guitar, listening to music, enjoying the company of friends and loved ones - these are the real pleasures in life for me. As long as I have time, freedom and health to do these things, I think I will never feel unhappy.
Speaking of music, I remember from previous posts that you sometimes mention what you listen to whilst painting (what great soulmates those two are!). Your post today made me think of the lyrics from the song 'Paintbox' by the prog rock band 'Pendragon'. Check out the lyrics next time you're online; they're kind sad in way, but also quite uplifting.
"With a fortune in new colours,
new hopes to inspire"
Wonderful stuff!
Kind regards
Kevin
Thanks Kevin. That means alot to hear that and, good thoughts to add to mine!
You dirty rat! ;-) Nice post, Bob. Living simply with joy sounds like something a lot of people will have to learn the hard way. Happy Year of the Ox!
Hi Bob
I too agree with what you are saying. Things had gotten crazy the last few years. A constant rat race (pun intended!) that, unfortunately, I do not see an end to it yet. There is nothing wrong with downsizing a bit and if we all did that, then wealth and happyness would probably spread out a bit more equally.
As for the notion of being content, I fully agree with that too. Most of us chase an illusion of happyness, when we cannot even define what happyness is for us. Ask anyone and most people would struggle to answer the deceptively easy question of "what makes you happy?".
Being content is probably easier because we stop the pointless chase for happyness. And if we are fortunate enough to have a place to live, a job and a good partner, then I guess there is nothing stopping us from being content.
It's like Cheryl Crow's song "SOak Up The Sun" in which the lyric goes "It's not about having much, it's about wanting what you've got"
That's how I tend to think anyway.
Also known as the Buffalo, the ox is both patient and meticulous with strong principles, and as such tends to be very stubborn. The ox is extrememly strong, and an excellent worker.
However, these traits also make the ox stubborn, and their sense of self reliance makes it difficult for them to ask for or to receive assistance. Don't go looking for an evening of scintilating conversation from an ox as they are poor conversationists, and unfortunately don't have much of a sense of humour either.
Oxen are ruled by conviction, and they are not often swayed from their beliefs. The ox's ability to criticise others for their own shortcomings is well known. The ox is not very good at coping with its emotions, and can become introverted and self-destructive when they fail to find a way of expressing their feelings.
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