Mozart's Sister and long days of work.....

In recent days, I am devoting much time to work.

Both in the studio and around the property.

I work in the studio every day, which is the best way to spend rainy days.

I put on Mozart on my iPod and lose myself in the art that I am creating.

The other day I saw a movie based on the life of Mozart's sister.

She and Wolfgang Amadeus used to be child protégés.

They lived a nomadic life, constantly moving in search for work.

Their father and mother took them all over Europe to play for the aristocracy.

It was NOT a good time to be a woman....

She was a great singer, a wonderful keyboard player, an excellent violin player and a talented composer in her own right, but she was not allowed to learn music composition at any school, since she was a woman.

It was the same for art.

Women were not allowed to study art at universities at those times.

Because she only had talent, but no title or money, her marriage prospects were very poor.

She finally died poor, blind and her life's work was collecting her brother's musical work for posterity.

Oh.... How sad was her life's path....

After hours in my studio, listening to Mozart or Bach, I go to work in the gardens or around the property.

I started keeping a Reminder-List, filled with chores that I should do.

It has been two weeks of constant work since we arrived in NZ, and my To-Do list has GROWN bigger, instead of shrinking......

There are decks to clean and to stain, tones of garden weeds to pull, tree pruning and pipes to paint, emails to write.... My partner Jules is also working as hard as I do.

The other day I cranked up the brush cutter and did some trimming around the studio and house, until I got too tired and completely covered in grass clippings.

Today I cranked up and chainsaw and only did a small bit.

I spent most of the day in the studio, listening to my own thoughts...

But I am not complaining.

I love to work and I enjoy the physical challenges.

Work is a wonderful thing, especially when you set the tone, the pace and can choose the tasks yourself.

Hard outdoors work is a good virtue, and it promote clarity and well being.

I feel invigorated by the wind, the birds, the beauty of the tides....

Unfortunately hard work is looked down upon by most.

People yearn to work less, to be more idle, to do less....when in fact, being idle and lack of activity leads the body and mind to lose agility, and become more fragile and brittle.

In extreme cases, lack of activity will lead to obesity, inertia, lack of energy, chronic fatigue, over eating, and much more.