dog

Moments with My Dogs

| paula belle flores

This is a personal post, so skip it if you consider that it is irrelevant to you. I’ve just felt the need to share a bit of my life with you, so you get to know a bit better the person behind the crazy paintings like “The girl with the bird feeder hat”.

Four weeks have passed since I had to put my dear Nemo to sleep. It was such a hard decision but I couldn’t stand seeing his suffering any more. He stepped onto the path that lead to the angels’ realm and he didn’t want to leave it no matter how hard I’ve tried to lure him back. The light from the angels’ land was too peaceful and warm bright. And maybe he thought that I could use another angel friend to help me from above. I talk to him from time to time. He’s ok. He met Tara, and Micky, and Cody, and Didi, and Kiki, and Maya, and Rex, and Piciu, and Corsa, and Lady. He has more friends there than he had here. He’s in good company. As for myself, as you can see, I have an army of angels watching over me. I’m in good paws. I miss Nemo’s physical presence a lot, though. But my dear Nasuki (his name is a made up one, a mix I’ve made from Nose and Suki-that means beloved in Japanese), who is now the man of the house or the head of the pack, whatever you want to call it, feels the hole left in my soul by Nemo’s depart and he is so cute in his attempt to filling it. He surrounds me with his love more than ever before. Every night he comes to dream with me. Lately, I call him my “dream buddy”. He often falls asleep on my shoulder or on the pillow near me. The girls, Lala and Nera, keep me company during the day, Nasuki, during the night. It is like they have split their responsibilities. Funny, cute, loving dogs. I would say that I have the best four-legged friends in the world, but I am sure everyone feels the same about his own furry companions. So, I guess I am just another one in the crowd that is blessed with the unconditional love of her best friends.


In the first 3 photos you can see Nasuki, who came to share his dreams and love with me last night, adopting different positions according to his dispositions. At first, he used me as a pillow and, of course, I had to stay still, not to disturb his sleep in any way. In the end, he embraced his favourite sleeping position: on his back, legs up, kicking the air every time he dreams himself running. The pictures are not very good. They were taken in the dark, but you get the idea. In the 4th picture, I am with Lala, who is poking my head with her bent leg. I often lie down on the floor when I am tired. I find it very relaxing. And it would be, but, every time, at least one dog, if not all three, comes to keep me company. And their idea of keeping me company is different than mine. They come, lie somewhere near me, and start kicking me with their paws or noses to make 100% sure that I am aware of their presence and start, at once, fulfilling my duties that are, of course, to stroke them … preferably on their bellies. Why else would I lie down if not for that, they wonder? Such opportunistic best friends I have. It is said that one has what one deserves! I have poking dogs.

Thank you for taking the time to read these lines. They represent a part of me, a part of my thoughts, a part of my life, which is, mostly, split between my art and my dogs.

I would loooove to read about your own experiences (happy or sad) with your furry friends.

Much love to you all!

Amor Fati or Dancing in the Rain

| paula belle flores
This piece is dedicated to my dear Nemo, who passed away 2 weeks ago.
Until we meet again, we dance together in the rain, in my dreams and in my thoughts.

Yesterday my brother paid me a visit. He was on a short motorcycle ride and he stopped by on his way home to say hi. I offered to make him some pancakes but he refused as he was in a hurry. I insisted. He refused me again. I insisted more (I am really pushy sometimes. I must work on that) telling him that they will be ready in no time. He again refused my offer and told me that he promised his wife he’d be home before the night fall. She doesn’t like knowing him riding his motorcycle during the night time. I understand her completely so I wished him a safe trip and thanked him for stopping by. He did not get home on time. Only 15 more km to go and he got a flat tire.

The moment he called me to tell me what happened I had suddenly realized just how much we depend on luck, fate, God… whatever you want to call it, in our daily life. For me, the simple things, the more or less ordinary moments of life have that special power of opening my eyes if they come at the right moment, in the right circumstances, in the right “shape”. And it seems that my brother’s motorcycle had the perfect shape”! Of course I was aware that we don’t have complete control over our lives, but that was the “A-ha” moment that had short-circuited my lazy neurons irreversibly and made me realize at a much deeper level not only the idea of , let’s say, fate, but the importance of embracing it instead of fighting it or complaining about it. We might want things, we might make plans, and, when things don’t go according to our plans, we might fight, we might struggle, we might rebel but, in the end, we have no control over anything, we are in fate’s hands. The sooner we embrace this idea, the better. The only thing we can control is the way we perceive things, the way we respond to life. Well… this perception might also be an illusion but I leave the discussion for another time . Anyway, instead of fighting, or lamenting, or seeing ourselves as victims of life’s circumstances, we might as well try to embrace life as it is, to see the light in everything and try to perceive every misfortune as a possibility for growing. I know I don’t say anything new. We have all met this idea many times on the internet, in movies, in books, but for me this was the moment in which this simple knowledge permeated my every cell and became part of me.

On the subject, Nietzsche once said: “My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it…but love it”.

I liked the phrase that he used to express his idea. Amor fati comes from Latin and it is rooted in the wisdom of the ancient Stoic school of Greece, that means “love of one’s fate”. It describes an attitude in which one sees everything that happens in one’s life, including suffering and loss, as good or, at the very least, necessary. Well… I don’t know if suffering is necessary, but it, for sure, help us grow if we are inclined to introspection. If we aren’t, then there is the risk that we are suffering in vain and nothing good comes out of it. And it really is a pity to suffer and not learn something of it or do something out of the situation. A kite, at least, or a paper crane, or a house for lady bugs. Anything. For our own good or for somebody else’s.

The same idea we find at Epictetus, who, two millenniums ago, said: “Ask not that events should happen as you will, but let your will be that events should happen as they do, and you shall have peace.“ There you go: the key to peace of mind, according to the slave turned philosopher, is accepting one’s fate: with good and bad, with chaos and order, with wins and loses, with everything.

The idea is not about becoming passive and accepting everything with resignation. Not at all. It is about working with the situations. Together. As a team. And instead of letting yourself crushed by the wave of “misfortunes” that has just come upon you, or instead of trying to resist it, to fight it when it hits you, just acknowledge it, jump on it, ride it, make the best out of it. You’ll end up with a wave-ride and, most probably, you’ll catch a big fish. But really… only riding a wave would be awesome with or without the fish. So… why not try the experience?

For example, next time when you are on your summer holiday on a wonderful beach in Greece and it doesn’t stop raining for days, don’t get mad, don’t blame fate. Embrace the situation, turn it into something to remember. Dress yourself beautifully, for a special occasion, get out and dance in the rain, dance with the rain. Let the water drops kiss you, kiss them back, give the rain a big hug, make it your dance partner, thank the sky for this blessing. Because rain is a blessing. In moderate quantities.

And this is how this “Amor Fati or Dancing in the Rain” piece was born. It all started with a flat tire. I leave the neuroscience to decipher the intricacies of my brain as I have abandoned this task long ago.

To My Dear Nemo

| paula belle flores

I promised myself that every week I’ll post a new design with a story attached. Unfortunately, life showed me, once more, how fragile our resolutions are, how fragile everything is. I didn’t have much time or disposition for any new art these days as I spent all of my time taking care of my dying four-legged friend, watching life slowly leaving his earthly body. We have spent almost 12 years together with many ups and downs. He was my joy and, sometimes, he was my hell, as he was a difficult dog. But he was mine and I was his and I loved him deeply. But it comes a time when life tells us we must follow different paths. For a while, at least. This is the thing with our dog partners: they have a life span that doesn’t fit ours and we have to witness their deaths. He could have stayed a bit longer but, for some reason, he chose to go away now. Maybe it is like the doctors say: in their old age, dogs hardly accept changes. And our lives have drastically changed lately and he didn’t find the energy or will to adapt anymore. Well, it might be that or, maybe, as my father says, Tara, his female dog friend that died an year ago, is calling him. You know, on the other side is not always that fun. If you don’t have your friends or family by your side, it might get a bit dull. So maybe, my Nemo heard Tara’s call and he decided to go entertain her. She is, probably, really bored and wants some good company. And with Nemo life is anything but boring. He goes knowing that he is leaving me in good hands: with my other three younger dogs that will keep me company until they will hear, in their turn, Nemo’s call.

But until then, I am saying good bye to my sweet companion that is leaving now, one of the few beings I have been blessed to walk my life with on this Earth. He’s part of me and he’ll always be. He filled my life with many experiences and all kind of emotions and I am what I am because of him, too. I’ve learned so many things by having him by my side: about dogs, about me, about life! A dog is a special friend. A true one. Maybe the only true one.

It is a difficult thing to witness my furry friend’s last days. Until death will embrace him, and I hope that will happen soon so he can be free of pain, I try to enjoy for the last times the light in his eyes, the warmth of his now frail body, the smell of his fur, the roughness of his paws. I will never see or feel them again. At least not in this form, not in this way. I really hope he felt loved! And until we’ll meet again, we’ll see each others in my dreams and we’ll talk during my sleepless nights, as I do with every dear one that left this realm.

But, sometimes, miracles happens, so…who knows? I don’t dare to hope, though.