Written by For Day 2 Of #WorldWatercolorMonth, we have an official prompt of “Sunny Sky,” which made me think of the sunrise, which in turn made me think of a rooster. I still remember hearing the sound of rooster crowing when I would stay at my grandparent’s farm. This particular rooster isn’t the same kind I knew as a kid, as Philippe introduced me to the Gallic rooster, le coq Gaulois, which is an unofficial national symbol of France. The sound of a rooster was the first signal of sun and a new day dawning. As lovely as that seems, on long summer sunny days, that crowing came insanely early in the morning. Thankfully, a kid doesn’t mind that at all, but when I stayed once as a teenager, I actually found myself annoyed to be woken so darn early in the morning. Thinking back, it wasn’t because I was particularly tired, it was because I’d lost a bit of that thrill that comes from the start of a new day. Instead of being excited for the million things that could possibly happen next, I thought I actually knew what was coming next. It’s funny how we can stop imagining possibilities and began to simply expect realities. As an adult, this only got worse until I finally decided to DO the unthinkable. I switched off that adult mind, so I can now awake each morning with the insatiable appetite for discovery I had when I was a kid. This wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be to achieve and involved a few steps along the way to get there.
One of the first things I realized is that my adult mind tends to worry about things. Literally anything at all is a potential candidate for this worry and it’s a rather overwhelming emotion, or rather, excess of emotion. It’s not a true emotion at all, but a cocktail of thoughts that mix together to produce a bit of an anxious bundle of feelings. So yeah, I know that my parents handled all that adult stuff and now I actually have to deal with it, but there was something more to consider. When I think of being on the farm, I actually had chores to do that day. I wasn’t there to only play, but had to help out my grandparents first. Yet, even though I had a job to do, I wasn’t worried about it. I had to ask myself, why? As it turns out, I realized I didn’t yet have the experience to know what a “job” actually was. To me, it was simply showing up to DO something and figuring things out along the way. And when I compared this to my own adult life, there didn’t seem to be any real differences. That’s really all that happens each and every day, and even if the things that happen along the way seem tough or challenging, I just move forward to find the solution.
The next thing I realized was that nothing that I ever worried would happen was as bad as I thought it would be in the moment. This was probably the most revealing thought. They say that hindsight is 20/20, meaning that it’s easy to know what you should have done, but much more difficult to predict the future. Yet, if we look back at all of those times when something failed to turn out as worrisome as we thought, it’s a bit like predicting the future after all. The truth is, we can’t know exactly how something will happen, but we can predict with some certainty as to how it effects to us in the end. Because that’s one emotion entirely under our control. Or, at least, it should be, and was once upon a time. I know I often talk about embracing that inner child, but it’s only because I’ve discovered the sage wisdom to be found there. We can DO anything we set our minds to do, and we don’t have to worry about the result. We’re all amazing and talented creatures who can create anything we imagine. As long as we let that imagination lead the way so that we’re ready and excited to usher in that sunny new day, when the rooster crows.
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Beautiful rooster! I’m a night person, so I prefer the hooting of owls to the crowing of roosters. Daybreak is much too early to awaken!
Thanks so much, Sharon! 😃💕hehe! I totally agree agree! Give me a hoo owl any day!
What’s the saying ‘the only thing you have to fear is fear itself’? I’m naturally nervous, to the point of having trouble leaving the house at one time in my life. I’ve worked hard to overcome that and I doubt that I’ll ever stop worrying. But I’ve managed to come up with arguments and exaggerations. If I start to worry, I give myself a certain amount of time and then I pull the arguments for being happy instead. If I can’t convince myself that way, I start exaggerating. “Oh, if I go on that trip, a tsunami will hit so big that Missouri will be the new coastline. Sea-alligators will ride the wave and eat us all.” I can usually come up with something ridiculous enough to put a smile on my face. You can’t worry about something that’s ridiculous.
hehe! I LOVE that Sandra! 😃💕 I do the same! If you look at life in a ridiculous way, it’s entirely impossible to worry about it. Some things are just too crazy to bother with! 😉
I love your rooster. Finding that inner child and letting her play with watercolors is what I am trying to do. Thinking less and just Doing makes for happier art.
Thanks so much, Karen! 😃💕 And yay! Exactly! That’s the message I hope to impart in my own humble way! DOing is all what really matters in the end.
Day 2 and counting. Today’s is much better than yesterday. And actually, I made a mistake, and am one day ahead. So there’s that. Maybe I should do a chicken next. I’m a big fan. We are having grilled chicken legs on the fourth. 😂😂 I want some yard chickens, but hubs is not a fan of that idea. I suppose they would free range all over the neighborhood.
Hehe! Yay to being a day ahead! 😃💕 And yum to your 4th of July celebration. That’s awesome!
Great post tonight, Charlie! 👍 I like your ideas for waking up like a child with only possibilities for the day! Brings new meaning to a new day when the rooster crows! Thanks! ❤️🎨😊
Thanks, Jill! 😃💕 hehe… yeah, it’s still a challenge to quiet that silly adult mind, but when I DO? Pure magic!!!
Your beautiful rooster reminds me of last year when our neighbors down the street kept one of their chicks. It was a rooster. Living in the city limits, they were supposed to get rid of it. Being unthoughtful neighbors that they are, they kept him for a year. He would crow in the middle of the night. Oh, he was so screwed up! They are such beautiful birds.
Thanks, Lori! 😃💕 Oh wow… that rooster was definitely out of his element… hehe… but I love that story!
Gosh Charlie I love your rooster.
Thanks so much!! 😃💕 So happy you liked him!
That’s a handsome bird! I have blue jays waking me lately. I need the help getting up sometimes! (K)
Thanks, Kerfe! 😃💕 Hehe… in truth… yeah, I agree… I think I’d prefer a rooster over my phone alarm… much more soothing!
Very handsome rooster!! Love the sound of a rooster announcing the sunrise. When we moved to Florida the neighbor two doors down had chickens and a rooster. Loved hearing him singing in the morning. Guess I’m just a country girl at heart.
Thanks, Mary! 😃💕 And yay! Love that you’re a country girl at heart… I know I’ll always be a country boy at heart as well!
That is a beautiful, colorful rooster with an expression that is priceless!!! I have always been a worrier. My husband was the opposite.
Thanks so much, June! 😃💕Yeah, I’m not sure if I’m a worrier or just a riddler… I like to riddle out possibilities all the time. Creates the same stress sometimes… hehe… so I prefer to just say, the heck with it. It will all work out!
When people said roster to them i … it. But no doubt it s beautiful 🥀.
But dear Charli i can’t get July. my bad luck.
I’m not sure what you mean by “i can’t get July”…. what seems to be the problem?