The Old Man ponders his lonely life
A message from the Covid ward

Leaving Covid behind with brush strokes

Paintings
Simon Pentanu's 'first three goers' - therapeutic to paint and relaxing to look at

SIMON PENTANU

Hon Simon Pentanu MP is Speaker of the Bougainville Parliament.
He is recovering from Covid.

BUKA - Stress and distress can be managed without popping pills or smelling Epsom Salts.

Or looking for the nearest pub to drown your worries or sorrows. Or worse, thinking about a noose.

A pandemic of any sort cannot be downplayed. And there is always help nearer than you think.

A traditional communal family, even in a stressful and strange city, is always predisposed to providing support and advice.

But one must first recognise and acknowledge the situation.

Maybe get colouring brushes and water colours from a stationery shop, find a quiet area and go your own abstract way.

There are no prizes to win; you won’t turn into Picasso or Warhol; or get your handiwork to Christies or Sothebys any time soon. It’s the therapeutic benefits that are real and proven.

Painting is calming and uplifting. It will not get your adrenalin pumping but it may improve your serotonin supply when you learn to retire early and rest well. Believe me.

I have lost count of how many of these paintings I have done and discarded - admittedly in a retreat environment - but it’s been worthwhile.

These are my first three ‘goers’ which I’ve kept. The realm of possibilities is boundless.

Wake up and live.

Happy Easter and Passover.

Comments

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Bernard Corden

Dear Simon - This fascinating piece reinforces the dynamic power of the humanities and the arts and the collective unconscious.

"Scientific theory is a contrived foothold in the chaos of living phenomena" - Wilhelm Reich

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