Teachings from my Mango Tree

Sweet as Kisses

I am excited to announce that the painting above “Sweet as Kisses” was just accepted into the Florida Watercolor Society’s 54th Annual Exhibition in Orlando. It will be on display from September through January 2026.

June has been a month of abundant blessings coming from all directions. It amazes me that people pay me to do the things I so love to do. June brought several new students, art gatherings at my house and two private retreats that were as much fun for me as they were for the participants. Several friend treated me to extra special generosity and I am beyond excited to be spending July and August with family and friends in Portugal. I have to keep pinching myself that I created and am worthy of all of this.

In 2021, I devoted one of my first newsletters to the topic of abundance and the lessons my mango tree has been presenting me. Now that the mangos are ripe in all their glorious color and fragrance I thought this would be an ideal time to revisit that earlier essay.

Does something in your life call you into generosity - into a space larger than your own “play small” story? Can you give yourself permission to move slowly and release your artistic fruit when it is ripe and perfect? Could you create beauty without attachment to who receives it? Like me, you were born to create beauty, to give generously, live abundantly, and appreciate the blessings waiting all around you for you to notice their presence. Teaching beauty is what I have to offer and I’m twice blessed when I share what I know with you.

Every day in June blessings literally fall into my hands. Daily I am reminded of what it means to have more than you need, to be presented with an opulent overflow of scent, taste, color, and beauty. My backyard hosts a majestic 40-foot tall mango tree. She is my teacher. She does not ask for my collaboration, for my effort, or even my prayers. She asks only for appreciation from me. In her slow and patient fashion, she transmutes the Florida sun and rain into a gift of a thousand wondrous golden fruits, each one sweeter than honey, each one dressed in the colors of the sunset.  

From early June to September my bare feet step onto the wet grass each morning to gather my mango blessings waiting for me like fat red and orange Easter eggs. Each one is a spectacle of color; glazed in red, orange, pink, purple, yellow, and many shades of green. Slice one open and inside is the embodiment of golden sunlight, a smell so sweet it attracts families of birds, lizards, and fish to feed on any bruised or imperfect fruits.  

Some days there are more than 40 mangos waiting to be collected in my basket and displayed in my kitchen window. The abundance is so great that I must reach out to others and share with my friends, my colleagues, and even my dog. All year long I collect grocery bags so I can deliver heavy bags of this abundance to everyone I know. Long absent friends just happen to drop by and leave laden with fruit for smoothies, chutney, pickles, and fruit salad, and neighbors receive anonymous gifts on their doorsteps, even my accountant has taken to calling me the “Mango Queen”. All winter long, frozen mango supplies drinks for visitors, spicy chutney, and sweet, golden Mango Lassi to light up my blue days.

I have a personal core “story” that: “I am not enough, I don’t have enough, and I don’t do enough” to deserve unearned blessings. Whenever I am down it is connected to the smallness of this undeserving feeling. For more than 12 years this tree has been teaching me a different lesson - one of abundance and generosity. 

Generosity blesses the giver and the receiver. The tree gives generously and asks for nothing in return. She creates because creating is what she was born to do and I imagine her joy in the beauty of what she produces. She works slowly and patiently, and for many months it appears she is doing nothing, just resting and sleeping. Yet every year she supplies more and more beautiful mangos than the year before. Each mango is delivered in its own time, each one as large and as perfect as mango can be. And she shares just as generously with the iguanas as she does with her most ardent admirers. I am truly grateful for her example and for the way she moves me into the space of grounding and gratitude as I step into her shade each morning.

This year, I am exercising my giving and my receiving muscles. I want to share myself more generously with my students, my friends, and my family. I want to give my special circle the same feeling I get when I stand under my laden mango tree. I am practicing receiving with grace and appreciation, taking time to fully acknowledge my gifts and suffuse the joy into every part of my body. This painting will hang in my living room to remind me of my abundance even when the tree is dormant.

When you examine your attitudes towards generosity, what do you see? Are you better at giving than receiving? Or better at receiving than giving? Do you live in a world of lack, or is abundance flowing freely into your life? In my experience, giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin. Whenever I encounter a lack, I have to start giving more until the tide turns to receiving, and whenever I receive abundantly, I must share my abundance to stay in the flow.

How might you use your art to connect with your own personal symbols for abundance? Some inspiring vocabulary words for abundance are: maximal, layered, varied, textured, kaleidoscopic, stimulating, sumptuous, lush, luxurious,multifaceted. Abundance is not; bare, stark, bland, minimal or spartan. Some visual cues to consider are; gold, rainbows, multicolor, polka dots, stripes, confetti, layered patterns, layered textures, lace, candy, food, flowers and fruit.

Whether you’re an established artist seeking new horizons or a budding creative looking to elevate your work, I hope I have inspired you with ways you can bring abundance into your artistic future. When you paint with passion, you ignite your flames and inspire others to do the same.

Perhaps I can invite you to join my artistic “circle,” where I can generously share all I know to support your creative development. Don't hesitate to contact me if you want my mentorship, guidance, and advice in exploring your artistic path. It makes me happy to share my insights and my knowledge with you.

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 I welcome the opportunity for connection, conversation, cooperation, collaboration, and commissions. 

With Light and Delight

Susan Convery

Quote:

“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you don’t bring forth what is within you, what you don’t bring forth will destroy you”.

- Gospel of Thomas

Sketchbook Prompt:

What is "treasure"?  Think of several visual images to illustrate this idea.  Glue on tin foil or another shiny wrapper. Where can you dig for your personal treasure? What would it look like?

Title: Croatian Kerfluffle

Media: Watercolor

Size: 36"x 28"

Frame: Gold

Price:$1111

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