Dec 3, 2023 2 min read blog

Pessoptimism

(H)armless Skellington

I went to a Drawing Jam this week led by the wonderful Cheryl Hamilton, a Vancouver-based sculptor, illustrator and creative. It was a gift to hear the reframe of drawing as an exercise in self-care – that felt resonant in so many ways – it is an act of kindness.

One of Cheryl's prompts was to draw skeletons with our eyes closed...

Pessimism. The hottest year in recorded history.

The blind-drawn skeletons felt weirdly apt for this week of COP28, + the resumption of the bombing in Gaza (+ the ongoing yesterday's news of Ukraine + this calamity + that outrage). We continue to finger-point, and seem to be quite good at it...

ccomposite Inner-Selfie — As they argued about who should drive, the brick wall loomed ever closer (it escaped their notice.)

CSI - The Climate Shift Index indicates how climate change has altered the frequency of both the daily high and low temperatures at any location around the world. CSI Interactive Map. Source: Climate Central.

The cast assembles for this year's COP28 pantomime. *Photo: Getty Images.*

Optimism

It is probably best to remain an eye-closed believer in an as-yet-unknown future in the hands of as-yet-to-be-born happy kids, and hope for the best... along with a daily constitutional of a Buddhist Walking Meditation...
• in-breath: yes, yes, yes,
• out-breath: thank-you, thank-you, thank-you.

Drawing by Cheryl Hamilton. *The Optimist 2022*

And for a chaser...

A gift of a collection of the most beautiful children's books, in the NYT/NY Public Library's Best of 2023.

Aspirational we remain.

As always, thanks for reading and indulging!