Appreciation

One thing that the loss of my legs has revealed to me is the amazing human body. Here we are well into the new millennium and prosthetic limbs cannot even come close to replicating God given limbs. Don't misunderstand me, I appreciate that they exist and of the progress the prosthetic industry has made  in recent years, but compared to limbs with which you are born, they  pale in comparison.  Perhaps someday they will be able to transplant legs, after all, now an entire face can be transplanted.


I recently finished a new painting and I was thinking of the intricate movement of my arm and fingers that allow me to paint the delicate blades of grass in a  field of wheat, pretty amazing. A new found genuine appreciation of my human body has emerged. I marvel at the gift of sight, and the fluid movement of dancer's legs and feet as they perform. Even though I never considered myself an unappreciative person, I now regard the human body in awe.


Being an artist, I have always paid attention to the infinite beauty we are exposed everyday, a beautiful sunrise, the details and color of flowers, animals performing what comes naturally to them, the power of the oceans, the majesty of snow capped mountains, and even the very involved patterns of a butterfly's wings. It is endless the beauty that will be missed in a person's lifetime, by simply not paying attention.


Today is the day to appreciate all that has been given to us.   To live more consciously--paying homage to the amazing human body and to the ever changing  beauty in our world, I think it will make us happier people.
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