Recently I joined a group of women who meet to work through Julia Cameron's book “The Artist's Way“. At first I was completely surprised at myself when I found myself saying “yes” to joining them but I have long learned to do the thing that surprises me.
You see, I am an artist and a trained art therapist. My work at present is to open others up to their innate creativity and power, especially those who are surprised to find they have it.
So, for the past four years, I have been opening workshops for people to discover their ability to consciously create their life. Using simple art materials as small children do, play dough, pastels and tempera paint, we can play our way into our imaginal world and tap into a whole other dimension within us which brings forward a wisdom and guidance for growth that our linear logical brain can not quite match.
So what on earth was I doing joining a group working through a book that already aligns with everything I am currently sharing with others in my work. It's clear that I needed to receive these lessons for myself now.
It's no big secret that what we teach is the very thing we are longing to learn for ourselves. But the other big secret to me was that in helping others to discover their creative mojo I was subconsciously staying in the shadows and not putting my unique colours and creations into the light. I have become a shadow artist.
What a surprise to discover this, though I sensed it for a long time, to have it spelled out in black and white is quite another thing. It's time for me to get my art out of my studio and into spaces where others can experience them. I paid close attention to this discovery and as a result I have a show lined up in a few months time and have found other venues I am exploring in the meantime.
That was chapter one. There are 12 chapters and I know there are many more lessons for me to learn. I will be heading out of the shadows with this journey I suspect, it's time, it's already written it seems, and so I follow the story line. I am very grateful I didn't ignore my inner impulse to join the group. I know that when I do the thing that surprises me I am never disappointed. So much learning is there when we trust that little voice that says to us, clear out of the blue, DO IT!
This inner voice is so constant and so kind, always urging us along and yet we tend to over-schedule our days and hurry-scurry around like hamsters caught on a wheel that we don't even realize it's benevolence and guidance. Yet, the moment we quiet into ourselves and pause to breathe in the day it rings through our thoughts and tugs at our heart to show us the way to unfold a deeper part of us that we are currently denying.
That is why we are so surprised. In all our doing we forgot that we are beings and that we each have unique ways of being that light us up (and in turn light the world up) that must be activated for us to really feel alive. The funny thing about us humans is that we have so much conditioning and so many beliefs around what is important to focus upon that our unique ways of being are often not expressed. Yet, they are the pieces of us that make us truly shine!
Like the woman I worked with who recovered her long lost love of working with textiles as every painting she made morphed into fabric. She went on to create her unique designs and is in the process of setting up a business to showcase other less known but highly creative designers. Like the man I worked with who longed to be seen for his true natural self and after discovering his longing in a painting, he chose to step fully into his body and realize his dream as a life-drawing model. Like the child I worked with who felt he had nowhere to put his ideas and began to build worlds out of cardboard boxes to contain the steady streams of ideas that flowed to him as he created. I watched his confidence grow as his worlds expanded and filled the room.
What is it that is tucked inside of you that longs to be expressed? What is your unique way of being that truly lights you up and brings something this world so desperately needs to the light of day, especially now in this era of sameness. How do we find this special one-of-a-kind treasure within? Where do we begin the journey to discovering what makes us really shine?
Well, it's simple really, we begin within. We take the steps towards what surprises us and gets us curious and maybe even scares us a little. We trust our inner voice that nudges us toward the things that our logical mind would say “no, I've never done that before” or “I don't have the time for that anymore” and we go towards anything that is pulling and tugging at our heart. In the same way we see a little child tugging at her father's arm to get him to notice that toy she is eyeing on the very top shelf.
Let yourself feel that tug, really feel into it. Sit with that yearning feeling and let it fully in. Allow yourself to be surprised. I mean really, how often, in our “oh so important” adult world do we let ourselves feel fully into a moment of surprise? The deliciousness of it and the way it throws everything upside down so that nothing is seen quite the same. Sink yourself fully into surprises when they arise in your path and go towards those impulses.
The more you do, the more opportunities you will notice arise for you to discover something completely new and in turn, grow more into the authentic and lit up version of you. The world needs this now more than ever. More than that, you will live your life in a way that you always dreamed of and that is something that very few choose to do.
