Who ARE You and what have you done with…ME? 

~ Kathleen Messmer ~

So here’s the thing about rolling with the punches… As an artist in general and a filmmaker, photographer, and writer specifically, things change on a daily, sometimes minute-by-minute, basis.  One has to learn to roll with the punches.  As I’m winging my way to an exhibition of my photographic works in New York City, I find myself not nervous at all that my reprinted works will arrive on time…the originals having been damaged and stolen simultaneously from the very crate I sent them in.  I console myself with a “huh…so my work was good enough to steal…cool!” While it left me in a bind as to how I would get any reprints to the gallery on time for my opening, everything seemed to work out swimmingly.  The lab actually reprinted my work for me - at no charge! - and shipped it the next day, the gallery is showing the one piece that did arrive separately and unscathed, and even though I’m missing out on three days of potential sales, my insurance company has taken the reins and all is well.  Sort of. For some reason, all this mayhem started with a three week printing delay at my lab, a shipping disaster that culminated in my gallery having one of four pieces available to hang, and a phone call from the gallery saying my crate, which was huge (4’x6’!) and the work within was damaged badly enough that they couldn’t hang it and two other pieces completely missing.  Anyone would be justified in being a tad bit freaked out, but I have to say, I think I handled it pretty well.  I won’t say I took it “in stride”, but you get the idea. 

In the past, I would have been screaming and yelling and carrying on.  Now, however, I owe my new found calmness to practicing mindfulness.  I know, probably a little too woo woo for most folks, but whether through osmosis or just putting myself in this frame of mind, it all seems to work out.  And not just that, it’s transferring itself into my everyday life as well.  Calm level-headedness prevails more often than not these days and I for one am very grateful.   Rolling with the punches requires patience (which is in short supply for me some days, but I’m working on it), personal growth and an attitude that everything will work out as it’s supposed to.  And buckets of wine!  I tell this to my grown kids all the time - not the wine part - but what do I know?  I’m just their Mom.  Sometimes I wonder who this new person is and when did they inhabit my body?  Mostly though, I’m just rolling with it…whatever IT happens to be in that moment. 

Until next time . . .