One of the aspects I'm enjoying most about this series is the opportunity for me to meditate on the title phrase as I work with each painting. I love the direct gazes of the figures and their quiet, peaceful presence surrounded by the energetic flowing movement of the organic shapes and lines surrounding them. The saturated jewel tones are my favorite color palette and I'm happy to be able to use them with abandon. This wise woman is the fifth in my Loving Kindness series and my favorite so far. She seems to understand that in order to be free of suffering one must accept the impermanence of life and live in the present moment of what "is". This is a challenging concept for someone like myself, who has worked so hard at wrestling my life into a shape that I desire. I'm not so good at accepting the things I cannot change; because I really do believe I can change almost everything. The universe is still presenting me with lessons about this. Painting through it helps me learn.