ART NOTES from Alice Lynn Greenwood in The Carthage Press

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR ENERGY?

With frequency I’m asked, “Where do you get your energy?”
 
Answer: “I practice being happy by living from my passion—my passion for happiness and health—fueled by daily work I love and lots of exercise (walking, lap swimming and yoga plus a terrific up-and-down workout on artCentral’s stairs); time with lots of happy-hearted people; balanced nutrition (or as the French say, “Mange bien et juste”—“eat well and right”); and the cultivation of a rich spiritual life.

For this entire year, artCentral has kept me in expanded mode—engaging with a multiplicity of good folks and moving at full throttle through a splendid diversity of tasks and activities including most recently artCentral’s first Holiday Boutique, our annual Board of Directors Christmas Luncheon and the Chamber of Commerce’s monthly Friday Coffee sponsored by the Missouri Southern State University Alumni Association.
 
When I’m “on” I’m constantly opening my supportive mental and physical apps and switch-tasking between them, which means my energy eventually runs down and requires recharging, especially after an intense stretch like the one just enjoyed.

Recognizing my energy has an ebb and flow rhythm, I aspire to mindfully keep tabs on my vital signs—my thoughts and my feelings—that tell me when I’m in sync and when I need to pause, seek solitude, practice stillness and take time to re-source and gather more energy.
 
“How and where do I re-source when I’m seeking renewed energy?” Answer: I un-plug to plug-in. I go home to my heart.
 
After living at my edge for any extended time, I go home where I can breathe in peace as I tap into eternal source energy vibrating within and through me. Home where the light of source energy pulses inside me like a glowing coal on a hearth waiting to be fanned into the reality of burning brightness. Home to my rhythmically pumping heart where I can rest, align, re-source and bask in happiness.

 Bottom line, where does my energy come from? My energy comes from my happiness.  ​And how do I find happiness? I choose my thoughts and go with the happy ones.  I surround myself with what pleases, supports and inspires me—especially serene and elegant beauty.

 I do what I love and love what I do. I get on an east bound plane whenever I can and go play and make art with Sophie my granddaughter and Trooper the Doberman. Playing and making art with a two year old and her dog, while I visit with my daughter and my son-in-law, supercharges my energy and gives me blissful happiness.

​In this glittering season of celebration, I wish you abundant energy, happiness and health! Where do you go to get yours?