Life According to Bob Ross

A couple of weekends ago, two of my housemates and I stumbled across a rerun of Bob Ross's show "The Joy of Painting." You know Bob Ross. That artist with an incredible afro and calming voice? Awesome, I know. We sat transfixed in our living room as Bob turned a blank canvas into a stunning landscape. The man was a terrific creator.

As I watched him, I was also struck by his wisdom. As he painted, Bob gently instructed his television audience on how to recreate what he was doing on the canvas. According to Bob Ross, we can all be master painters. I have my doubts about that, but I was flattered by his faith in my skills. Bob offered guidance on how to create vivid colors and realistic imagery, but I found myself realizing that maybe his advice on how to paint was actually advice on how to live life. At one point, as he lovingly created clouds out of nothing, Bob told the audience that a painting is your world. You get to make it however you want it to be. He calmly noted that, "if you are not happy with the world you have created, you have only yourself to blame."

Huh. What a thought. So often I try to find others to blame when something in my life goes wrong. It is society's fault for not properly caring for and therefore signing the death certificate of the Joseph's House residents who die even though I love them so much. A messy house is the fault of my housemates. Forgetting a Skype date with a friend who I was really excited to talk to is my church's fault for making the Ash Wednesday service too long after an already exhausting work day. As much as possible, I try to avoid blame. If I can find another person beside myself to assign fault with, I do.

But according to Bob Ross, who is nearly as wise as Mr. Miyagi, I am in charge of my happiness in this world I have created. There are some things that I can not control, like society determining who are and are not valuable in our culture. So much of the little things that frustrate me though, like messes and my own forgetfulness, just need a change of perspective in order to have a different outcome. I can alter the result by a few words or actions. With enough persistence and faith, I can even alter the big things.

This, of course, requires a certain level of humility, courage, and grace that I am not always willing to live out. It is much easier (and fun even) to be snarky and miserable about things I do not like about my life rather than doing something about them. I want a beautiful world, though. I want my life to be as awe-inspiring as a Bob Ross painting. So I might as well take both the credit and blame for what I am creating. I get to make it however I want it to be. It might as well make me happy.