Memento Mori

Remember, you must die

So do not forget to live

What moments will you need to atone for not savoring?

Will your wrinkles tell the story of a life well-lived?

Lines telling of laughter and bubbly joy

But also of the natural worries that come from a caring life

I hope to see your face complete and worn with a bounty of memories

Inhale and feel the bright air

Exhale a sigh from deep within

Hold your loved ones tight and do not neglect to say I love you

I love you

What a beautiful, terrible, wonderful world

I am thankful to share it with you

I love you

"Bird Skull - Memento Mori", Oil Painting on Canvas, 8 x 10 inches

https://www.melissawillett.com/shop/bird-skull-memento-mori

Sunflowers

We wait inside

Isolated

While a few are out caring for the world

We are caring for ourselves

Some a whirlwind of hobbies and work and activities with loved ones

Some slow and steady

Sipping on hot tea, with a book, and homemade bread

And yes, some are giggling at memes

Just our ancestors passed on silly nursery songs about the plague

We all handle this in our own way

But together, we turn towards the sun

Ready, in wait, for brighter days

"Sunflowers", Acrylic Painting on Canvas, 8 x 10 inches (Varnished)

https://www.melissawillett.com/shop/sunflowers

Glowing Forest

If you turned around

It would all be dark

Deep umber branches

Leaves so dark it is hard to tell that they are even green

But stay this way

See the glow at the edge of the forest

See the colors that the light reveals

Feel the light

It is cool in the forest but warmth and sun are steps away

Let yourself feel that bit of romance that is inside us all if we are only mindful enough to notice

Feel yourself stepping out of the woods

Arrive in the sunlight

Arrive in the glow

Feel the warmth

"Glowing Forest", Oil Painting on Canvas, 4 x 4 inches

https://www.melissawillett.com/shop/glowing-forest

Deserts (Trigger Warning)

We all go through deserts

Times where the vastness of emptiness in front of us seems insurmountable

Impossible

You will not make it

The wound has spread and it is deep and infected

Just sit with the pain

Do not notice it growing into suffering

You will not make it past this

The voice is sweet and sad

It lies

For a time it felt like the only voice you could hear was that poisonous, wretched voice

Not any more

You will make it through

You can cross the vastness and come out the other side

You will experience joy again

And all the other emotions that you hid inside for fear that it would expose the wound

It will come in like a flood to the desert

You cannot believe it is there

How can a flood and a desert be in the same place?

The floods recede

And just like that the moment is gone and you are left standing there

Alone

But changed

All you have to do is run, run out of the desert because it does have an end

Take your pain and care for it so that the suffering will fade away under your tender care

It will end

You will heal

You can heal

You cannot believe it now, but it is true

I am healing

The desert has an end

Work in Progress, Oil Painting, Negev Desert

Returning from Israel

Returning from Israel
How will I describe this experience?
How do you sum up thousands of beautiful moments?
How do you make peace with the ugliness too?
Moments where you heard stories of the most vile acts from women who should not have to be so strong
There were lovely moments: gardens, chefs, ruins, musicians, a sense of home and hospitality half a world away
I saw rivers of water flooding through a dessert so deep that you had to firmly remind yourself that it is not usually there - that you who have never traveled get to see a rare and magnificent moment that locals flock to with wide eyes
Tomorrow, it will all be gone
I saw smiles, laughs, tears and the fears that grip us all on the faces of friends and strangers alike
How will I return from Israel?
Different

My first start to a painting in my Israel series is a kumquat tree in the garden of musician George Saman.