Do Something Nice

I see a lot of posts and re-shares on social media that are meant, ostensibly (grumble, grumble about things I'm not going to get into here...), to help people internalize the world, perhaps by pointing out that others' actions aren't a reflection of their value or that a pattern of thinking or behavior is not abnormal, etc. These are things that might boost a person's sense of worth or provide a valuable reminder that in work and life people can pretty easily devalue other's contributions or roles. This content is not a bad thing, per se, since roughly one in five Americans have some form of mental illness and one in twenty has serious thoughts of suicide.

Doing something nice for someone can help tremendously with their feelings of worth, too, and it will probably feel pretty good for you as well. This is not meant to shame anyone - most everyone reading this has probably done something nice for someone recently (way to go!). It's just one more reminder - to me, too - to take a few minutes to reach outward instead of inward, even if it's something small like messaging a friend you haven't talked to in a while, telling someone you value their friendship, buying (or better, baking) someone a cookie, volunteering for or making a small contribution to an organization that helps your community (being kind to people who aren't your friends is important too!), or whatever else you can come up with!

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This is a little extra more specifically tied to my art making right now.

I bought some paint this summer, and I'm painting again! I actually have a few decent pieces that I need to finish so I can share more. I also discovered that most acrylics handle a lot differently than oil paint because they dry very quickly. I have since bought a second set of acrylic paint that takes longer to dry, which I really like. It should be very helpful for portraits, so I might do this one again someday. I hope to have something else finished soon that I can share. I need to stop starting new paintings - ughh...