There are so many demands in our daily lives, from people, paperwork, chores, errands… in fact the “responsible” reasons NOT to create our art can be overwhelming, seductive even, and they can overtake.
Getting Out of My Own Way
Follow your impulses as much as you are able because they are indicating some truth for you, some path, some next step. Be still sometimes within your busy lives so you can hear them.
What’s Next?
So to all of us I wish for a letting go of what no longer serves and an embrace of the unexpected, whether it seems good or bad in the moment. And I’ll take it one further: here’s to shingles, the gift I thought I didn’t want, the bit of real life that brought me back to who I am.
After the Storm
I live a privileged life up here on the mountain, one made up of many diverse and beautiful experiences: quiet solitude within nature, good friends, good food and good dogs (oh, and yes, I must include the cats if I know what’s good for me)…
Rising Above Fear
I haven’t been painting. Forever. In fact I’d wondered if I’d forgotten how or if I’d somehow just stopped being a painter. When I did last paint, I fell back on a formula that had worked for me before and, while I do like those paintings, they were “safe.”
Clearing As a Creative Act
But here is the thing about clearing, about paring down to what is essential in a life: you will need to make difficult choices. And these choices can put into motion things you couldn’t possibly have foreseen.
Passion Versus Obligation
Painting isn’t just about stepping up to the easel. It’s about living a life that is filled with inspiration, about creating the space to ruminate and consider and to pursue what fills me.