I had packed it all securely on a pallet.  Circled and circled with shrink wrap.  Paintings and dreams deserve extra protection.

The Statue of Liberty was standing just for me.  I couldn’t tell if the other passengers on the plane knew it, but I was sure.

I hung the dancer center stage, per her request.  She stood there with such confidence, (Lady Liberty like) that she almost made me believe, I too, belonged here.  She sold immediately.  People actually bid higher for her.  My heart became the dancer she always believed she could be.

Last night I watched Restless Creature on Netflix.  It is the story of Wendy Whelan, of the New York City Ballet.  I have always been inspired by dancers.  The movement.  The strength.  The vulnerability.  That’s, I think, what makes a great painting.  Movement, strength, vulnerability.  Maybe it’s not just for art.  Maybe that’s what makes a good human.

There is so much to inspire us to be more.  To be better.  Look around.  Read more.  In the book, Just Kids, by Patti Smith, she takes us back to a New York when all the artists lived and gathered and worked together.  Poets, dancers, painters, writers, chefs, musicians.  They inspired and lifted.  They were curious and empathetic.  They rose.  They lived.

I encourage you to read more.  Listen to more music.  Bake your own bread.  Sing.  Dance.  Pick up a pencil.  Hand write a letter.  Sketch.  Plant flowers.  Listen just a little deeper.  Love deeper still.  Do the unexpected.  Be the unexpected.  Everything awaits.