Serenity (Lake Michigan Morning)
The longer I practice my art, the more I realize how important it is to manage distractions. Distractions often come in disguise. For me, they often masquerade as inspiration to take up a cause, to take action about something NOW! With this sort of distraction I'm usually off and running before I realize I've embroiled myself in a situation that has very little to do with what really matters to me.
I won't say I've never been inspired by a distraction, but it's more the exception than a rule. Most of the time a better guide for me is a motto I adopted several years ago: Keep your eye on the ball.
What's the ball? It's everything I need to do my part in bringing Art Ideas into expression. And it's nothing to do with everything and everyone else. Everything/one else is a distraction. "Everything/one else" may seem important—often urgently so—but that's precisely why it's a distraction and not an inspiration. While distraction tends to excite and incite, inspiration remains a still, small voice of calm insistence: Do your Art.
When I choose to keep my eye on the ball, life becomes very simple: If the painting I thought would surely sell yesterday in fact doesn't, I know exactly what to do: start the next painting. If a decision is made by others that changes what I believe to be my future, I move on. Re-directing my eye to the ball makes it less likely I will waste time trying to change anyone else's mind. It makes it unlikely I will stir up needless discussion or controversy (historically, one of my fave distractions). Since I've come to realize the only battle I need to fight is the one in me that would have me do something other than fulfill my calling, that's usually a good thing.
I find it's getting much easier to recognize and release distractions. Perhaps because they are now so endlessly available (via Facebook and Google), I see how when I'm bombarded with distractions, I feel more stress than relief. And, stress is ultimately self-limiting, isn't it? If we don't choose to reduce or eliminate our stress, it tends to reduce or eliminate us!
I'm grateful to be learning to focus on things that deepen my sense of well-being. Doing my Art is one of those things! Today I received a bit of news that irritated me mightily. But rather than firing off a letter to the concerned parties, I decided to write this Note to Self. I then decided to add the image of my mostly completed painting. It's title: "Serenity (Lake Michigan Morning)." Like this blog, the painting was born of inspiration, not distraction, and looking at it makes me feel good. If you're looking at this, I hope it inspires you and makes you feel good too. And, now, lest this writing become distracting, I shall go paint. Thanks for your attention!
Read More
