Marshall Ramsey

American Citizen.

Marie Hull started life taking piano lessons. By age 20, she was making art with a paint brush instead. For the next 70 years, she used her talent in a most proficient way. The Mississippi Museum of Art currently is exhibiting a brilliant collection of her work. Bright Fields: The Mastery of Marie Hull is more than a bunch of pretty paintings. It’s a showcase on how we all should live our lives.

Curator and world-class pianist Bruce Levingston guided me through the exhibit yesterday. (Mississippi Public Broadcasting taped it — when it is online, I will post a link). Like a master teacher, he used Hull’s work to hammer home the lesson. First he pointed out her signature. It evolved as she grew more confident in her talent and place in the world. Then he showed me something even more powerful.

She never settled with one style. She always kept changing.

That’s so important for an artist to learn. It’s so easy to get into a rut and tempting to hang onto something that’s commercially successful. But that can come with a cost — both mentally and physically.

Hull’s career can defined in three parts: Traditional, transitional and impressionist. Early in her career, she did haunting portraits of Depression-era Mississippians. Her floral paintings from the 1950’s are stunning. She traveled widely and captured landscapes in Europe and the Middle East that will take your breath away. And as she entered the twilight of her career, she painted impressionistic paintings that just explode with colors. Bruce said Marie Hull “saw color like he heard music.” I can believe it.

Marie Hull was a storyteller. But she didn’t settle for one single way to tell her story. She experimented and changed. In her mind, experiments never failed. They just led her on a new and more exciting journeys. Journeys that took her around the world.

That’s a lesson artists — and all of us — need to remember.

Thanks to Bruce Levingston and the Mississippi Museum of Art​ of art for allowing Marie Hull to teach me with a such beautiful exhibit.

I tend to complain about things I have no control over. I’m not naturally positive — I have to work at it. And some days I don’t work hard enough.

The current drought is pissing me off. I refuse to water because, well, I hate dumping money on my lawn. But this drought has gotten severe — to the point even trees are dying. The Reservoir is down and if anyone who is reading this knows what Yazoo Clay is, you know your house is probably doing a dance right now, too. I’m mad as hell and can’t do a thing about it. Last time I checked, I’m not in charge of making it rain.

I was fussing about it the other day and my wife, a woman who I respect, looks at me and says, “Quit complaining. You can’t make it rain but you can put out the sprinklers.”

She’s right. Yeah, I’m going to have to spend some money. But I can control the things I can control.

Boy it sure is easy to get overwhelmed these days. Watch the news and you’ll see what I mean. You have so many things to worry about. I know. I’ve seen my job do somersaults. Add to it the challenge of raising upstanding kids and worrying about ill parents — well, you get it. Life’s not a cake walk. It’s not even a Little Debbie walk.

So, I look in the mirror and make the changes I can make. I put out the sprinklers instead of complaining about no rain.

And the world around me is greener for it.

Make a difference by being a bright light in a dark world.

Tough times require tough people.

You must be tough mentally, physically and emotionally. And you can’t allow others to manipulate your feelings and steal your joy. They have agendas and fears. Don’t play their game — you’ll lose every time.

Self-discipline, even when the world seems like it is falling down around you, is the boat that will carry you through the storm. Don’t depend on others to understand, care or support you. But do understand, care and support them. That’s what will give you strength. Pay your blessings forward. Because it’s not about what you receive –– it’s about what you give. The Universe will return the love back to you.

Train your brain, your lungs and your heart. You’ll need all three to be strong. Read good books. Learn to breath deeply and methodically. Stretch and exercise. Build a seawall to protect you from life’s storms.

It’s true the world doesn’t owe you a thing — but you can give so much back to it. Light your inner flame and be the bright spot in a dark time.

When you are strong, negative people shrivel like a salted slug.

Be strong. Be tough. The world needs you.

I sat this morning and talked with a good friend about bad times. We both have a plateful of challenges; the discussion was a cathartic experience for both of us.

Look around. Everyone around you has trouble in their lives. As they say, the only people who don’t have problems are in the graveyard. It’s what you do with the challenges that makes the difference. Do you whine about them? Do you face them head-on like a mariner would a storm?

I choose to allow my problems to change me for the better. Stones don’t become smooth in calm waters. I also promise to find joy and pay it forward.

I can only control what I can control. And my attitude is right at the top of the list.

It’s all about smooth stones.