Greetings, Art Lovers!
I think one of
life's biggest challenges is letting go. This
very idea leads to some very intriguing questions. Why
do we attach ourselves to some things and not others?
Places, people, jobs, hobbies, habits, status, stuff.
And why is it way easy to let go of some of these
things and not others?
We
all aspire to become better people, to eat better, to
exercise more, to improve our financial status, to embrace
true love, etc. Yet often times we are our
own roadblock to the very thing we SAY we are seeking
to attain or to let go of. AND often times we
hold on with a death grip to things that we KNOW stifle
our creativity, our health, our career, our very
aspirations.
I'm
not a psychologist so I cannot explain the deeper
reasoning as to why I might get attached to one thing
and you another. Or why it's easier for you to
let go of something and damn near impossible for me to
let go of that same thing. (Why can some smokers stop
cold turkey and others cold turkey attempts fail every
time?)
Yet
in the spirit of moving forward in life, the fact of
the matter is, if we don't let go, we're gonna be
dragged. And what hurts more? Being
dragged by it...or actually the letting go of it?
(Whatever "it" is.)
When
I sit and seriously contemplate this topic of attachment
and letting go I often look at wild birds. Birds
carry nothing with them. In fact, the only thing
that they ever collect might be some branches and fluff
to build a temporary nest...and then most abandon it
and move on after its no longer needed. Birds
don't hoard food either. They flit about and
eat what they find along their way. On an as needed
basis. What FAITH right?
Makes
me laugh to think how much we as humans can hoard. We
hoard friends, we hoard experiences, we hoard stuff!
I think I want to be more like the birds.
And yet, even in my saying this...I know it's
easier said than done.
Mark
Nepo, author of The Book of Awakening says, "There
is no point to holding on to the deepest things that
matter, for they have already shaped us. The
purpose of sentiment, then is to release the powerful
feelings that sleep in us. Sometimes books and cards
and shells and dried flowers do this. But often we carry
more than we need, seldom trusting that what these small
treasures represent is already living within us."
So
here's to flow, and allowing and letting go and
embracing life moment by moment and seeking
to enjoy every juicy bit of it. To not drag it along
with us or be dragged along by it either.
I
think creating art is a form of this. The process
is all about flow and letting go and not trying to control
too much...but to allow and let it unfold before us.
What
do you think?
Peace,
Rachel
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