Paying it forward

Water spray and a low sun, Detail
Mixed media collage on paper

One of my friends had started the year by pinning up a note above her desk - written on it were three words: Neugier, Großzügigkeit, und Gelassenheit - curiosity, generosity, and something where translation doesn't work that well: my online dictionary tells me that Gelassenheit is calmness or composure - but that it too calm and composed - I think it requires a good portion of laidbackness in with it.

I'm usually hesitant when it comes to virtue. - My friends and colleagues will laugh: seeing that my main work project is about civility (and it doesn't get more problematically virtuous than that).

But never mind, Irene's collection of goods things to remember is the opening to my contribution to a bit of random generosity. Over the past few weeks (which have been those were I didn't really look much at other people's blogs because there were too many other things to do), a long and winded paying it forward trail made it through many artists' blogs.

The idea behind it is that you give something away on the basis of the recipients promising to do something for the next round of people... paying it forward and passing it on. It is up there with those projects where books are left on park benches or small pieces of art distributed across places for people to find and enjoy.

When trailing the current PIF, I am now looking forward to received a piece of art from Lindsay at Non-linear arts who's been doing a whole series of water-themes landscape explorations in oil pastel and acrylics, exploring abstraction and composition within these. She has also a number of really sponteneous and fresh water colour sketches.

The rules for the PIF are something along the lines that the first three to leave a comment on this post will receive something on the basis that they will reciprocate the same on their blogs with their artwork.

Yet - Tina Mammoser had a nice addition to this, and I think that rules are usually there to be changed: she stated explicitly that the PIF would also work if you (a) didn't have artwork to pass on or (b) didn't have a blog to do so.

So, here's my attempt to get my non-blogging but reading friends to leave comments: The first six to leave a comment on this post will receive some original work from me in the post - and it doesn't matter if you have a blog to pass the PIF on, but pass it on anyway and in other ways.

Thinking back about the three terms at the beginning - generosity, laidback calmness and curiosity - I reckon that the curiosity was indeed my own creation in my friend's list. And, in fact, thinking of the English saying of how curiosity kills the cat, I have to smile to myself and decide to be even more curious ;)

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