I know you to be a free, artsy, beautiful, natural being. A part of the free-wheeling collision of stars and armadillos.
I bet you spend a lot of time feeling stuck. Stuck at the office, stuck in traffic, stuck washing the dishes, stuck in line at the grocery store, stuck stuck stuck.
Secret #1: I spend a lot of time feeling stuck, too.
But, there have been times when I could feel my soul soaring over mountains, my mind blown apart by raindrops, my world revolving around the wondrous structure of dandelion seeds.
Secret #2: You have wonder moments, too.
The more we can dwell in those wonder moments, the closer we come to feeling like the free wheeling, art-creating piece of the cosmos that we truly are inside.
Even if you don’t feel like “art-creating” applies to you, IT DOES!! Have you ever picked one shirt over another? Ever chosen which song to listen to? I believe that pretty much everything you do with intention is art-making. It’s the creation of a certain aesthetic experience. It’s the creation of the experience of your life.
Did you used to keep a sketchbook and stop? Have you never kept a sketchbook and wished you could?
If you wish you could keep a sketchbook, then please do the universe a favor and START! Right now, this very minute, grab any pad of paper you have laying around (my favorite sketchbook of years past was a lined “journal” book.) If you feel like drawing through the lines, go for it! Use the back of an envelope or a napkin if that’s all you have!!
I just ended my 8-month sketchbook drought. I’ve been telling myself that caring for a newborn left me no time for extras, no time for fun. And the truth I see now is that feeling stuck is not actually being stuck. It’s you telling yourself that you’re stuck. Because we never are. Any moment can be lived in freedom. Which is easier said than done, I know! 😉
But, let me tell you, that after drawing this tiny, imperfect little drawing, I feel like a supernova. Especially since I’m dedicating myself to the renewal of this daily practice. I don’t have to draw anything awesome, I don’t even have to draw anything. I can write down whatever pops into my head or fill a page with circles. What you draw or write doesn’t matter, because the drawing and writing lead you to truth. You don’t have to know the truth before you start. The pen and the page will take you there eventually.
In 2002, my sketchbook/journal was a daily practice. It’s what I did in so many spare moments and I love looking back through that book because there are so many little gems in there. Quotes from books I was reading at the time and sweet little drawings and whole pages of prattling crap and scratched out ideas.
“wisdom is the means to transcend craving and transform a treadmill existence into a lovely inspiring garden walk. This is true freedom.” (from Awakening the Buddha Within, I think).
That humble, lined journal is the best book ever. It’s like a fossil impression of a part of me that felt extinct. I want to reclaim that mental space. Babies are fun, but they leave little room to think. I want to be that me again. I want you to be able to be that you!
Go for it!!