Your Picture - The Art of Living

Spirit (June): It’s me, June. (Mirth)

Reluctantly I’m here. I think you call it ‘Passing the cow’ or is it something like that.

Sitter: ‘Passing the buck’, I think usually.

Spirit: Oh, well that’s what Ling has done. He gave me a topic, “The art of Living’.

Fancy saying that to me, (Mirth) “The art of Living”. He said that it’s good practice for us all, that includes you, “You people on earth” I should say. So I said “Can’t you give me a hint or something”? And he says, “Look at a bright picture June, look at a bright picture”. He also said, “Go back in time”.

So I thought about the beginning of last century for a lot of living went on then, and I tried to think of what I could see then, what I’d learnt. Then I remembered, “Look at a bright picture”. Well I only went into an art hall, or gallery, or whatever you call it, once in my life, and it wasn’t too good. You see, I went in, I wanted to see the pictures, and there was a seat in front of the picture that I liked. It was painted by… now I was determined that I would remember that man’s name, it was something to do with policemen at any rate, it was like a policeman… Constable! That was it Constable. See they tell you that you don’t forget anything.

Well I was looking at this and I was feeling quite good and then some people, (I’m not being very nice here, I’m just calling them ‘people’), strolled past and sniffed. “Fancy the likes of that, being in here!” was one comment I heard. I won’t tell you what went through my mind, but it wasn’t the elevating sort of thought that would get you a good place in the hereafter.

Sitter: Yes we can guess. (Mirth)

Spirit: So after Ling had told me what I had to do I thought on that picture, and the art of living. It gave me a few ideas. You see in our life in those times we had our ups and downs. Sometimes there were serious downs, like losing your home, because you couldn’t pay the rent. For some reason the money just wasn’t coming in to you, or your family or your friends, and so the landlords, or those who worked for them, just came and threw you out on the road.

Now if one was painting a picture of a life, that would be a dark part, very dark for some people, but then some kindly soul might say, “How many in your family lady”? “Ah, just me and me two kids, the old man’s gone. When I say gone, he’s gone to sea and there’s nothing coming in”. So the kindly person says, “Well look I’ve only got two rooms, but if you three can fit into one of them, we can share the sink and the little stove, ‘till you get on your feet”. And for that person there was light in the picture, because someone had been good to them.

So in our own lives, sometimes it’s very hard to get over a nasty aspect, (that’s a good word for me, ‘aspect’). For example, in our day, I don’t know what it’s like for you people now, but if you had to have a tooth out then… Oh Gawd, you’d put up with it for ages, that pain, rather than go to the dentist, or more like go to a tooth puller.

But aren’t you being foolish not to face up to things, because you go along and for a short time, only minutes, ooh, it’s dreadful, but it’s over. That was the dark part. The light is, that it is over, it’s done with, and because you didn’t face up to it you put up with the dark part for a long time.

So that’s what we’ve all got to try and do, face up to what’s wrong. Now most of us can do it on a daily or a weekly basis, perhaps even longer, but to someone who is really depressed including yourselves, (for it can happen to you sometimes too), look at a clock. Now most people can look at the time somewhere, and think, “For the next fifteen minutes I’m going to get on with …”, whatever the job is, loading the coal, or sweeping the floor, or whatever, “And I’m going to do my best with that job, and I won’t be diverted, I’m going to do it, and do it well, for fifteen minutes”.

And because of that positiveness you can look back on those fifteen minutes as a highlight, a bit of bright white or yellow in your painting, because you did it. You might slump immediately afterwards, if it’s a sickness you’ve got that’s causing you to look on the gloomy side, but you did it for quarter of an hour, so if you can do it for that, you can do it for half and hour, and gradually build up your painting until you decide, “I can go for a whole week, and I won’t let myself slide back into unhappy thoughts”, because no matter how well you are, how much you have got, it can become… oh now this is a word that Jean gave me… in, in, insid, ‘insidious’, that was it, meaning it can creep up on you, and take you over.

And it’s only you, no matter what help you get, although it is wonderful if you can get a bit of a boost from someone, but it is really up to you, to make that effort. It works for illness, for depression, and you can’t tell me that there is anyone who hasn’t had that at some time, no matter whether you are rich or poor. We’ve seen it way back in that time I was talking about, where you see someone who has obviously got lots of money, but they’ve also got a face like a lemon, because something has got to them that’s pulling them down. Perhaps they are losing their money, or perhaps they have lost somebody, or if it is a man, perhaps he doesn’t like his job, there are so many things that can get us down. The thing is, to do what Ling suggested, paint a picture.

Look at a bright picture, and then paint your own, because you yourself don’t want to have a horrible grey-black picture, you want a bright pretty one and it’s your thoughts, remember that, its your thoughts, as well as your deeds and actions, that will make that picture. Because a person can go through life with everything wonderful around them, but if their thoughts aren’t wonderful, they may as well sit in a black room.

So paint your picture friends, and tell others to paint theirs. Give them an idea, a little bit at a time, and build it up, so that at the end of your life you’ve got a lovely picture. It will have its black spots, it will have its grey spots, it wouldn’t be a picture without, but it’s what you highlight it with, that makes the picture. I’m told that that is how many artists work, from the dark to the light, and that is what your life should be, from dark to light.

Now you can ask me questions if you like, but I don’t know whether I can answer them, but here goes if you want to.

Sitter: No questions thank you June. That’s a new way of looking at things that we’ve never come across before, and it gives much to think about.

Spirit: Well, be honest, it wasn’t my idea. (Mirth) But Ling thought it was a good lesson for you people, and also for me. He is still teaching over here you know. You never get away from it, you are always learning, but oh it is a joy. You want to be happy about it, because it really is joyful if your attitude is right, if you want to paint the right picture according to Ling. Good night and God bless you.

Sitter: Good night June and thank you for coming. Goodnight all.

Spirit: ‘Bye.

Note: Interesting 'Passing the Cow', which I cannot find any reference to; may be like 'Passing the Buck' as a sitter suggested.