Life is too short to be in a hurry.

A word of explanation so you are not put off unnecessarily. I am sure you have heard of atheistic Jews. Well, I am an atheist follower of Jesus. So any talk of Jesus is not to proselytize. It just helps tell the story.

"Life is too short to be in a hurry."

Jesus said, “And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”

The point is that there is always enough to go around for everyone if we’d only learn to share. The object lesson is taken from daylilies which are native to Asia, including Palestine. Daylilies are glorious. I have about 90 varieties in our tiny yard. This is a painting of a stem of daylily buds that are yet to open. The largest will open the next day. So “consider the lilies” and get out in a garden. Dig in the dirt. Spend time in a park. Connect with the cycles of nature. It will lower your blood pressure and calm your psyche’.

I painted this on April 30, 2016. I was facing open heart surgery in June. I was thinking that just seeing the first bud of Spring one more time will be pleasing. I don’t hurry in grocery lines. I talk to the check out people and the other people in line. Life is for living every part of it, even when you aren’t in full bloom. 

I have been saying “Life is too short to be in a hurry” to cashiers and bank tellers who have apologized to me for having long transactions or difficult customers ahead of me for some time now. Before I painted this, I googled the saying. I found it attributed to Oscar Wilde and an obscure poet. I had never read it by either of them, though. I think it just makes sense and treat it as an aphorism of those who have lived long enough to slow down; like all those white heads driving 45 on the freeway!

Now, in the COVID-19 quarantine, it has even more poignancy, as people are antsy to get out and about; to get back to work, etc. But opening too early may kill a lot of people, as the experience in Hong Kong suggests. This brings new meaning to the phrase: “Life is too short to be in a hurry!”

The painting is acrylic on 12″x12″ canvas, painted on the sides as well, so no expensive framing is required.

Price: $75 plus postage

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