Influences :: Indigo Ray :: Part 2

Last week I did a post about my aunt, Indigo.  (Find it here.)  In this post I am sharing some images of where she lives and also, at the bottom, my first attempt at an oil painting.  Alas, I did not get to finish it.

I still need to work on the images I took of her paintings, but these images of around her house and garden are great as they are.

Can you just see what a healing, contemplative space this is?

While I was there, Indigo introduced me to the Enneagram personality test.  In case anyone is familiar, I am a type 4, which is called the “Individualist.”  The description has me fairly well pegged – good, bad, and ugly.  Fours are daydreamers, and often lead a richer fantasy life than real life.  One of the things that really stuck with me from doing the reading was that 4s can benefit from realizing that their past selves are not themselves any longer, and that it is ok to let the old selves go because the old self is no longer relevant to the new life.  I’m working on this.  I’m also working on conversion from the dream/fantasy life to actualizing.  It makes for a much richer existence.

Indigo and I had many, many talks.  Mostly over tasty coffee and breakfast or wine and dinner.

She makes fantastic homemade wines, but we also drank some red zins.  During one such talk, Indigo said that she has no regrets about choices she has made in her life.  This also stuck with me, because I am grappling with some of my own major decisions and having a hard time with it.  And I think that this is critical for me… to figure out what it is that I need to do, and do it.

I also hope that when I reach age 73 that I can also say that I have no regrets.

This is that painting I mentioned.  It was inspired by the two iris photos in this post.  I wish I could have had a chance to finish it, but my visit was not long enough.  I am hopeful that my sister will pick it up and finish it.  I like the idea of a collaborative piece with her.