On the way to my painting site for the day I had looked at a couple of other spots and was reminded of the feeling I get when looking at certain meadows that are surrounded by trees. I get a very cozy sense of arena. If you've ever been to a small playhouse then you know exactly what I'm talking about. Almost like a movie theater with a small screen but without the 3D affect. Shrubs and trees take their places on the stage The grass and hedges do their stretches and loosen up. Flower communities flow through your eyesight like a running creek. Being dimly aware of sounds that are off in the distance while your focus is on the stage, the arena. It helps to look at one spot in particular, usually somewhere in the middle of the field, and let your peripheral vision take it all in at once. It's a very safe feeling. Like you're finally home after running from the police all night. The arena feeling is also like some kids' toys. When I was a kid I had this multi-level parking ramp with an elevator you could crank up or down. There were some painted lines for parking out front and a sticker on the building looking like a window into an office. In playing with that thing I would get swallowed whole by the fantasy of it and forget everything else around me. That little parking ramp became my world. These little arenas are very much the same thing. It's a cozy little world. A universe unto itself. Separated from the rest of the globe, from the curious eyes, from the rest of humanity by a curtain of trees. It feels like coming home.
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