Not to get too metaphysical, but wouldn’t it just be a delight to be able to see not just your tiny corner of the “cosmic blue print” but to see the entire plan—structural integrity, engineering specifications, how everything interlocks and plays upon everything else and how each event or action is interdependent? Well, okay, I’m taking a leap of faith here and assuming that…it actually is all interrelated and interactive. I fully accept that I may be wrong.
Aren’t there days when you just don’t know which way to turn? Those are the days when I just want to hunker down and take a nap. But naps don’t get you out of the muck. Movement, even if in tiny increments so as to avoid falling further into the miasma of the swamp of overwhelm, (dramatic enough??) is necessary.
It works with the Big Stuff in life too—when relationships are undergoing changes and growth, when you, yourself, are undergoing changes and growth, when your artwork is undergoing changes and growth. Keep Calm and Carry On.
It does remind me a bit of the book by Iyanla Vanzant, In the Meantime, which was really more about finding yourself when you’re waiting for a relationship to show up, but really, there are times when what we are doing just isn’t working out. We are lost to ourselves. And perhaps it goes back to that metaphysical stance.
© Iyanla Vanzant, In the Meantime
We just can’t see the entire Blue Print. We don’t know how things going whacko or projects falling apart fit together with our sense of who we are and what we are supposed to be doing. It’s terribly uncomfortable—that sitting on the razor’s edge and waiting. But, as with those other wise (and clichéd words) this too shall pass…and in the meantime….Keep Calm and Carry On. It may not be the right time in the metaphysical chronology for your book to be published, your artwork to sell like gangbusters or to be approved for that enormously exciting and glamorous public art project.
The important thing is to not lose faith in oneself, one’s vision or one’s art, and to continue to move forward. Even if it is only a snails centimeter at a time. All things under the sun have a purpose and a time. That’s true whether you believe in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Atheism, or Science or some other belief system. If all you can see of the blueprint is the arrow that says turn left now, then, by all means, turn left now.
You can only get to what has been revealed to you or that you’ve allowed yourself to see. Keep Calm and Carry On. The rest will be revealed...eventually.
© Cyrus Hall, used for educational purposes
How Do you Know What Direction to Take Next?
The difficulty of only seeing the tiny corner of the enormous blue print is that there are times when the activities of the day seem too confusing. In short, you’re stuck. The words won’t come. There’s no artistic desire or inspiration. Maybe there are just too many things to do and not enough hours in the day. Maybe it’s that you can’t finish any single item or you get pulled in too many directions by “forces outside” yourself and your own desires.Aren’t there days when you just don’t know which way to turn? Those are the days when I just want to hunker down and take a nap. But naps don’t get you out of the muck. Movement, even if in tiny increments so as to avoid falling further into the miasma of the swamp of overwhelm, (dramatic enough??) is necessary.
© Dragon Artz Designs, free clipart, used by permission
Do What the English Knew to Do
How to keep equilibrium? It seems more and more the answer to life may just be related to those magical words Keep Calm and Carry On that the English coined in 1939 to help them get through grueling days of World War II. They are wise words. And, for an artist, writer or creative person who gets overwhelmed by too many options or project deadlines, they are essential. It sort of goes back to yesterday’s blog “Don’t Get by Stuck Cleaning the Sock Drawers.” Pick something and stick with it.
The poster is iconic in crafting circles these days.
The single most helpful piece of advice when it comes to answering questions such as: How do I get started? How do I figure out what to do next? How can I focus? is simply, Keep Calm and Carry On. Pick one thing and stick with it until you aren’t so overwhelmed.It works with the Big Stuff in life too—when relationships are undergoing changes and growth, when you, yourself, are undergoing changes and growth, when your artwork is undergoing changes and growth. Keep Calm and Carry On.
It does remind me a bit of the book by Iyanla Vanzant, In the Meantime, which was really more about finding yourself when you’re waiting for a relationship to show up, but really, there are times when what we are doing just isn’t working out. We are lost to ourselves. And perhaps it goes back to that metaphysical stance.
© Iyanla Vanzant, In the Meantime We just can’t see the entire Blue Print. We don’t know how things going whacko or projects falling apart fit together with our sense of who we are and what we are supposed to be doing. It’s terribly uncomfortable—that sitting on the razor’s edge and waiting. But, as with those other wise (and clichéd words) this too shall pass…and in the meantime….Keep Calm and Carry On. It may not be the right time in the metaphysical chronology for your book to be published, your artwork to sell like gangbusters or to be approved for that enormously exciting and glamorous public art project.
The important thing is to not lose faith in oneself, one’s vision or one’s art, and to continue to move forward. Even if it is only a snails centimeter at a time. All things under the sun have a purpose and a time. That’s true whether you believe in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Atheism, or Science or some other belief system. If all you can see of the blueprint is the arrow that says turn left now, then, by all means, turn left now.
You can only get to what has been revealed to you or that you’ve allowed yourself to see. Keep Calm and Carry On. The rest will be revealed...eventually.
