In the last few days I've sometimes been doing some small thing in the studio (the big dirt-floored "hot studio," the blacksmithing forge) and felt just so happy to be there. "I'm Queen of the Forge," I thought, which made me smile. But it's true. It's all mine.
I'm not sure how it happened, but now when I walk into the forge I feel happy right away. All my pleasant memories and associations from twenty years here kick in. I feel at home.
Here's what I believe led to this happy state.
1) I started coming to the studio first thing in the morning instead of getting into other activities first. So I come with the night's accumulated psychic energy still available.
2) I started comng every day with the idea of working 3 to 5 hours a day. I started thinking of myself as a fulltime artist. (It grows to be fulltime because to work 3 to 5 hours a day takes more time to do the "support work" - getting supplies, doing studio chores, etc.)
3) I started sliding from unhappy, discouraging thoughts to anything that would make me happy. When I start feeling unhappy or just less than happy, I ask "what thought would make me happy now?" Something pops up and I grab it out of the air. It's like pulling a parachute cord. Instead of continuing to fall into unhappiness, I start floating with the new happy thought. This sounds too simple to work, but so far, it does work. And it seems to work better and better with even small amounts of practice.
11:41:14 PM 
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