"One thing I have read here and certainly in (Eric Maisel's) many books and articles is the importance of creating a ‘practice’. Mindfulness is my client's practice that he is ‘allowed’ to do, so I suggested why could music* not become a practice?" - A Fellow Coach in Training
* or drawing, dance, painting, singing, macrame, etc.
What's your biggest hurdle when it comes to creating art? Is it time-management, fear of not being good enough, unrealistic standards for yourself, fear of wasting your time, fear of not living up to the needs and expectations of others, etc? For some it can be several or even all! But what if I told you there might be something of a magic bullet solution in terms of dismantling these hurdles?
Think of activities that are joined with the word "practice". You might have a "mindfulness practice", or a "yoga practice", or you might make a practice of studying a language, or practice making bread dough. In each of these activities, in no way is the practitioner expected by either mentor or by themselves (hopefully) to be perfect at the first go-around. Yet, I believe each and every one of us is probably guilty of sitting down to create and expecting something like perfection the first time we try something new, and feeling utterly defeated when it does not go according to plan.
I used to prepare for making art like I was sitting down to my own doom, ready to be defeated by the pen and paper or the paintbrush, for I surely had not mastered them yet. And I hadn't. I would set out to do something large, elaborate and challenging, and sure enough, end up failing at it. And instead of pushing through, to get better, I would be so ashamed by my experience that I definitely wasn't eager to get back on the proverbial horse when next I had a free block of time.
Enter, "Art as Practice".
I learned to enjoy making art when I took the teeth out of my own fear, by changing my own perspective. I decided I wasn't sitting down to make a "work of art", I was sitting down to PRACTICE putting pen and ink and paint on paper. I wasn't here to show myself or others anything, other than to prove how much I enjoyed the action of painting. When others would ask me how it was going, I would say, "I'm so excited to be learning how watercolor works!" and I would eagerly consume tutorials online and on Instagram, collect and stockpile the works of other, more experienced artists who inspired me, and day-dream about color palettes in spare moments during my regular work hours.
It was no longer a battle I had to win, and it truly never had been. It was me sitting down to do the work, without judgement or expectation, as is the way for every yogi or person who tries meditation (at least, I think this is the AUTHENTIC way to engage with yoga and meditation). It's a practice. You'll have your good days and your bad days, but the point is that you showed up and tried something.
Believe me, I still have my days where I'm afraid of painting because I'm "rusty". But when I get like that, I have to remind myself that this painting could be for the dustbin and THAT IS OK. In the great words of Mr. Greg Universe "If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hotdogs." And I really ascribe to that!
So go on, PRACTICE, make a hotdog if you must but DON'T WASTE ANOTHER MINUTE TELLING YOURSELF YOU HAVE TO MAKE A MASTERPIECE OR NOTHING.
Sending so much love and care to you all!
-Jess
No comments:
Post a Comment