Shifts

 In four hours time I watched as the water current shifted and the green scum drifted away, All of it, gone. 

Later I took a walk through the neighborhood on the other side of the road and discovered that the green scum had drifted over there. And now this morning it is back. It’s as if there were a tide that moved in and out. There is not. But there is a current that seems to shift directions, moving west in the evening and east in the morning, The green scum is back this morning, but the current is flowing east, I wonder if it will be strong enough to move this stuff along today? I’m watching water fowl and raptors vie for territory and food. A flock of baby ducks floated through the scum and under the border trees. And now two raptors, some kind of hawk, are hiding in the trees. I watched them land but now they have blended into the branches and I can hardly see them. The ducks moved on awhile ago, but clearly the hawks are hoping they’ll drift back. White bass jump out of the water to eat the tiny bugs on the surface. A couple of rabbits hop out to eat clover, startled when they notice me. The pair of hawks flew off to the other side, and now a cormorant is floating in the water, looking for breakfast. And a seagull joins the hawks in the trees across the lake. Lots of activity on the lake. And underneath the current flows, I wonder if the green scum will stick around or if it will drift to the other side again?

Yesterday was an odd day. I felt edgy in the morning, and the only reason I could lay blame on was my disappointment in the water - that green scum. I anticipated that it was going to increase and stay on. Which meant looking out at a wired flat green blanket of scum instead of water. This is not what I anticipated for my three weeks of sabbatical. So when it shifters a few hours later I was completely entranced. I spent all day looking at the water, noticing what it was doing. I also spent much of the day working on the icon. I am trying to figure out how to paint skin tones. Really difficult to achieve the color and the light/dark ration that I am aiming for. And I noticed this morning that the image is disproportionate, one side much wider than the other, so I need to fix that today.I also need to fix the beard, right now the face is too long. Anyway, here is where I am as I start my painting today:

My attitude has shifted today. I no longer feel edgy. I exercised yesterday, which helped. And, I understand the water a bit more, finding it fascinating and wondering if I could every afford to but a little place on water? I’d love to spend more time doing what I am doing, it is a good way for me to rest. 

I’ll work on fixing the icon today, getting the proportions better, adding color to the tunic and robe. I’ll read, and write, exercise, and paint. I’m grateful for this time, to shift myself away from work and enter deeper into this sabbath time. The shift, like the water at the surface, is a movement into stillness. But like the water, who’s current continues to move, shifting this green algae across vast sections of water, there is movement underneath my stillness. A shift in awareness. A shift in time and place. A shift in energy. A shift in what I see and how I see. A shift in me.