In 2009 I took a 2001calendar that I had bought and had been saving. It was printed in Italy on linen paper. The full color illustrations were of Japanese woodcuts created in the 1800's. I also had coffee table books I had been collecting that were full of old black and white photographs from the early 1900's. I searched through the books of photographs cutting out selected photographs and pasted them into the woodcut illustrations. I found images of buildings to include in each.In the end I saw them as snapshots people took as souvenirs, or memoirs, of their adventures. I titled each to covey this notion.Then I created a story to go with each image. I started with January, and the story grew one month at a time. I hope you enjoy my little fantasy that I have constructed with paper, paste, scissors and words.
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Let me tell you a little about my life as a young man. I certainly remember being a child of ten, eleven, and beyond. I can tell you that by that time my head was full of all kinds of chatter. As a teenager my mind was always full of thoughts, that were reminding me I needed to do this or that. Thoughts that were worrying about "what if's." Thoughts that were rehearsing what I would say or do if something bad were to happen. Thoughts about what I would do or say when I got there, or when I did something, or saw someone - thoughts running amok in my mind all day long. When I was younger I was full of fear and the thoughts in my head reflected those fears. Needless to say I was also a very nervous person who bit my fingernails and tapped my foot and leg up and down constantly. I also breathed fairly fast. I could never keep up with all my thoughts, as they were going much faster than I. I did not really like myself in some respects, although I was a perfectly wonderful person! Inside my head I was going crazy with thoughts that would just not leave me alone. I welcomed sleep so I could be unconscious for a while. The problem was falling asleep in the first place. Those thoughts never wanted to sleep! Eventually I would get so tired I would fade into unconsciousness, but, first thing upon rising with the new dawn, there I was again, in my head with all my thoughts! What was I going to do? Did I need to see a Psychiatrist? Did I need therapy? How was I going to cope with this mental state and keep my sanity? So I lived my early life full of stress and confusion. I coped with a mind full of clutter and had no idea how to clean it up. I put on my happy face and kept my thoughts to myself, and always looked over my shoulder just like the fear thoughts told me to. It's a wonder to me that I managed to graduate from high school and get my BA in Psychology with my mind turning at hundreds of RPMs all my waking day. Then I found some books that turned my life around. I started to practice what they instructed, and it wasn't long before I fond myself with a Clear and Quiet Mind. Today, some thirty years later, I have maintained my Clear and Quite Mind and feel a desire to share what has worked for me with you, in hope that you too can lead a more "less-stress" life.
