tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400078448867068387.post8408574913723708188..comments2023-09-26T05:33:04.420-07:00Comments on Marylinn Kelly: Word of the Week - 87Marylinn Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02759437467691163658noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400078448867068387.post-88285605498880199702015-11-03T08:07:20.305-08:002015-11-03T08:07:20.305-08:00Melissa - The reminder of habit, which I know and...Melissa - The reminder of habit, which I know and have known, is one I take to heart, for we do easily forget our plans for ourselves, or at least I do. It is lovely to see your name and thoughtful words here. I've realized that one of the difficulties with drawing is that for 20 years I did all my drawing sitting on my bed, in one particular spot, one specific position. It produced results that surprised and delighted me. Last autumn that changed as I was no longer able, because of mobility difficulties, to work in that familiar, comfortable way and now have to find a new habit. Everything that isn't that feels odd and makes me feel less skilled. To work, to work. xo Marylinn Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02759437467691163658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400078448867068387.post-49598944179042094782015-11-02T20:29:38.163-08:002015-11-02T20:29:38.163-08:00My dear, my dear. Work done drawing which you love...My dear, my dear. Work done drawing which you love before you even turn on the computer (aspects of which you also cherish and need). Sounds completely doable. I adore setting myself daily goals and look down the road as if I've already passed through those gates and stiles, succeeding effortlessly, and twinkleoe-ing it into the next week, next month, next year. Somewhere, after a very short while (and it seemed like such a fine idea at the time!) I find I have drifted away, have forgotten all about my plans for myself, and blunder through my days/weeks/months without the scaffolding of that bright idea.<br /><br />I think it was John Cheever who every morning used to shave, get dressed in a spiffy suit and tie, walk through the house down into the basement, where he would disrobe to his underwear and sit all day writing in his BVDs.<br /><br />Aristotle said, We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit--sounds so simple. But it's the basis of everything: learning to paint, learning to sew, becoming a runner, playing piano--it's practice practice practice until the muscle memory kicks in and you do it without thinking, you are bound to it and it to you like a tree and its shadow.<br /><br />If you thought about how many times in the next ten years you had to brush your teeth, you'd be floored and then despondent---how in the world would you ever manage such an overwhelming task? But that's not how it gets managed. It's only 'for today' that I have to brush my teeth, sew quilt squares, draw before turning on the computer.<br /><br />Put up a big sign over your desk, 'I LOVE DRAWING". Anything that will continue to remind you every morning without fail that this is your joyful task. xoxoxoMelissa Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03270919534011711225noreply@blogger.com