Thought for The Day - Crumble

That's about what I would like to do with my "exterior" life. I've read the book "The Artist's Way" a few times and I've come to realize, I have a problem with "playing." Not playing video games, chess or going out for a walk - though that is more like work than play. I don't relax and allow the art to flow! I can produce great work, I love the colors and textures and doing the "work," but there is a mental block that implies I have to be serious about it and that art should become a replacement for my job. There are some mental shifts and changes I need to make and while I look forward to a change, and can imagine how I will be, getting there - especially through the process  of "playing" - it' a mystery!

I know we are trained from childhood, to be responsible adults; to a certain extent, we spend our adult life "pretending" to love working. And in the moment, I am quite envious of those who have discovered a way to balance "play" with "work" to the extent, none of 'us' know which they are doing. But what I don't know is how I will relax this outer shell to be one of those individuals! I have my moments, I can sit and draw or paint, have a great time in conversations, but at some point, in the back of my head,  a clock ticks louder, indicating it's time to get back to work.

No solutions or suggestions in this entry, just me talking.

Growth

Transition

Progress.

Thought for The Day - Tightrope Walking

I'm no Wallenda, I'm just trying to get through this thing called life! From the "four spiritual laws", the "four agreements", "seven habits of highly effective people" and "fifty ways to leave your lover", there is no room for just being! Seriously, I just want to be! Between regret ("I should have said, did or been there!") and longing ("I want to say, do or be there!") there is narrow chasm, a string, strung from birth and into the dark of the future. It's not morbid, in this second; I'm simply living my life in this moment. And in this moment, I am.

I remember playing as a child, sitting somewhere with my toys, creating an imaginary world in my head and acting it out with my cars and such. Children have that liberty; they can combine their inner world with the materials of the physical realm. But....oh yeah, there is always that interruption of  the joys of innocence! "Don't run too fast, don't run in the house, don't play with that little boy, he's bad, don't touch the stove it's hot..." on and on, boundaries are established, dug in, built up, etc. A child learns to "play safely" and then not at all. Imagination becomes the stuff of the few children who learned to channel their creativity against the blocks society manufactures. Musicians become performers, dancers become ballerinas and writers become authors.

Seriously, just BE. We can't eliminate our past and in truth, we are always looking for, if not "more" something else. But BE. Appreciate this moment, and if it is a moment of pain and not calm or joy, strive to get to a peaceful place.