Artful Faith — The art of a picture frame

Listening to a recent podcast, Special Forces Commander: The Weird Trick for Overcoming Fear, Anxiety, and Self-doubt!, on the Youtube channel: The Diary Of A CEO. caused the following sentence, spoken by Joncko Willnik, to mill in my mind: “…it depends how you frame it…”

As a visual artist, those words instantaneously opened my mind’s eye to see the elaborate, gold frames around many art pieces of the great masters. Those frames are as recognisable as the art pieces; communicating a time period, a way of seeing and living: the Baroque. (After that, as the Reformation swept in, Dutch paintings mostly had dark frames, while contemporary artworks have very simple frames or sometimes no frame.)

Framing an artwork to enhance the masterpiece it surrounds and protects, is as much of an art as creating the piece itself. The frame needs to be an extension of the artwork, much like one’s perfume.

Similar to the picture frame, our perspective — the way we think about something or someone — is a deliberate and creative choice, a skill that is learned over time and often through hardship. 

Since listening to the podcast and meditating on the art of framing, I find that I now often say to myself in various situations: “How are you going to frame it?” Resultingly, I’ve also become more aware of how others frame what happens to them.

Fact: We can’t always determine what happens to us, but we can decide how we think about it and react to it. And “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” says Solomon. Indeed, thinking is highly spiritual and creative. It’s the remote control that’s in our hands. We can use it or we can give it away and let others or our surroundings dictate the storyline.

Habits that shape destiny

Furthermore, I’ve come to realise over time that, framing or reframing our world, includes daily, intentional and practical habits that eventually shapes our destiny. The following is a list of practices I implement in my own life as part of the art of framing my daily life. I trust you will find it helpful in your own journey:

• Ask God how does He frame you, the people in your life and those sticky situations. Is it framed by Grace and God’s love?
• Ask yourself often: If I carry on with these thoughts what will the outcome be? Will you win the battle, but lose the war?
• Capture a thought and ask yourself: Was this eagle thinking or chicken thinking? 
• Listen to what you are saying and ask yourself: Is this eagle talk or chicken talk? Remember: The Word says, “..faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God”(Rom 10:17). And: “Death and Life are in the power of the tongue.” (Prov 18:21)  In other words, what you are saying is an indicator of your belief system and what you will attract in your life. (My husband and I have given each other permission, to tell one another if we are speaking fear and death over our lives instead of life. It helps to be accountable!)
• Step outside of yourself and answer this question truthfully: “Do I have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset?
• Make this truth a motto you live by: Problems are only opportunities for creative explorations and solutions. There is no such thing as mistakes,only opportunities for learning.
• Before bedtime:
  • Put on relaxing music and breathe deeply.
  • Keep a gratitude journal. Write down 5 things you are grateful to God for. 
  • Keep a thought journal: What have you thought about today? Pray and give it to God.
  • Praise and worship: To make God bigger and everything else smaller. Perspective is everything!
• Things to diarise: (No cellphones allowed during these activities)
  • Creativity for healing and recharging.
  • Daily time in the sun
  • Hiking (or other sport)
  • Deep sleep
  • Laughing (Laughter is good medicine)
• Garbage in, garbage out. Ask yourself: “How am I eating, what am I watching, to whom am I listening?”
• Meditation: Use meditative cards or papers on your bedroom walls to remind you what God says about a given topic throughout the day / week. 

A few recommended reads on this subject: 

• A Poverty Mindset by Brian Kally
• Battlefield of the mind by Joyce Myer
• Success through a positive mental attitude by Napoleon Hill
• Die gesindheid van ‘n wenner by John C. Maxwell
• Switch on your brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf
• Beating Chains by Rusty Labuschagne
• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
• And off course, most importantly: The Bible 

I leave you with this poem…

Frames of Mind – painting our reality: 

In the gallery of our minds we weave, A tapestry of thoughts, beliefs, and dreams, Each thread a choice, each color a belief, Creating a portrait of our inner schemes.

With every stroke, we paint the scene, Of who we are, of what we see, Framing our lives with hues unseen, Shaping our reality with each decree.

A negative lens distorts the view, Casting shadows on the bright and true, But a positive frame can redefine, And illuminate the beauty we find.

So let us choose our thoughts with care, Crafting a masterpiece beyond compare, For in the gallery of our minds we see, The reflection of who we can truly be.

Until next month!
Blessings, 
Marzanne

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