The barn's burned down, but now I can see the moon.

It's all in the way you look at it, right? And it kind of fits in with "things happen for a reason" and "when one door closes, another opens...."  yeah, yeah. It gives me a little hope to subscribe to this more positive way of seeing things and experiencing the frequent hardships that life deals out. I've often thought of it as God sitting up there...with a big chess board, moving pieces around steadily and seriously, and then getting a wild hair and making a BIG risky move just to spice things up a bit. "Oh, her life has been kind of drab lately...or her she didn't learn from that last mistake, so let's move her HERE." KnowwhatImean?

There's a big part of me that gets a huge kick out of the whole thing, but that's when the learning process is not terribly painful. It's a lot easier to see and understand when it happens to someone else. You know that things will get better for them, they'll heal or they'll meet someone new, or they will find another job. When it happens to you, the light at the end of that tunnel is often very hard to see, even when you squint.

I know that I'm still learning the same lessons I should have learned many years ago. Those are the ones that keep getting put in front of me until I 'get it'. I'm trying already! There's been a few small steps forward, and as always, a couple of big ones back. Though when I look at others in my family and circle of friends who are struggling with health, money, career, I consider myself exceedingly lucky and eternally grateful for just having the stupid-ass problems that I have.

Here's the latest painting, and the title is the title of this blog post. I know it doesn't really "go" with tulips, but it was the mood of the day when the painting was being completed. Besides, it's my painting and I'll name it what I damn well please.   :)