The Other Side of Surrender

As I had mentioned in the previous blog, this year is bringing forth many amazing opportunities for growth.  The beginning of a new year is the best way to kick start that momentum needed to grow and prosper.  We are already well into March and some of those creative blocks, that all artists know exist, have begun to rear their ugly heads.  For me, these creative blocks are temporary, as long as I allow the energy to continue to flow within myself and not get stuck in those pointless mind games that used to happen to me so frequently in the past.  These block are commitment checkers. These blocks are merely the road signs along the creative journey that ask:
"How bad do you want this?"
"Where do you stand in your commitment to your heart's passion and purpose?"
"How much do you believe in creative abilities and visions?"

If you truly take a moment to step back, breathe, and really listen to that voice in your head that speaks to you in those moments of frustration, you may find that it is your soul's way of clearing all that stands in the way of your true magnificent and creative nature.  There is always a choice when those inner voices begin speaking to you,  Which voice will you listen to, which voice will you feed?

Just like the Cherokee Legend of :

THE TALE OF TWO WOLVES

"ONE EVENING, AN ELDERLY CHEROKEE BRAVE TOLD HIS GRANDSON ABOUT A BATTLE THAT GOES ON INSIDE PEOPLE.  HE SAID "MY SON, THE BATTLE IS BETWEEN TWO 'WOLVES' INSIDE US ALL .  ONE IS EVIL.   IT IS ANGER , ENVY,  JEALOUSY,  SORROW,  REGRET, GREED, ARROGANCE, SELF-PITY,  GUILT, RESENTMENT, INFERIORITY, LIES, FALSE PRIDE, SUPERIORITY, AND EGO.  THe OTHER IS GOOD.  IT IS JOY,  PEACE, LOVE,  HOPE,  SERENITY,  HUMILITY, KINDNESS, BENEVOLENCE, EMPATHY, GENEROSITY, TRUTH, COMPASSION AND FAITH.  tHE GRANDSON THOUGHt ABOUT IT FOR A MINUTE AND THEN ASKED HIS GRANDFATHER:  "WHICH WOLF WINS?..."THe OLD CHEROKEE SIMPLY REPLIED, "THE ONE THAT YOU FEED."

This legend is always an amazing reminder for me to keep "where I want to go" in perspective.  It is my guide.  When I take the time to release my thoughts of frustration and see my process through the eyes of "bigger picture", my purpose and drive come back to center.  Once I come back to center, I can begin my journey again, firming up and solidifying my creative intention,

The intention for each piece of Soul 2 Soul Artwork begins with an amazing and overwhelming vision of magnificence.  The challenges arise when I allow my head, not my heart , my soul to guide the journey.  When the only expectation is to create something magical, then the flow of the soul is granted the freedom to fly.  When parameters and limits are placed on the creative process, the artist becomes stuck inside a box of standardized thinking and mind games that can wreak havoc on the creative process.  I believe this is why so many adults fear the creative process.  If these adults are courageous enough to revisit their creative side, there is often an automatic response to create for the teacher, to create so an observer approves.  In my experience, the true beauty of creating from your soul seeks approval only from the self.  Once you begin feeding the imaginative side of the self, truly find pleasure in the act of creating, and surrender to the process,  your own creations become food for your own soul.   The opinions and approval from others only become a spice that adds to your creative response and it no longer makes or breaks the meal.  I, like anyone, enjoy wonderful feedback from others as they critique my artwork.  But I also know that, because I am creating from my heart and my paintings are a representation of  an unspoken conversation of souls, my final creation can be nothing but beautiful.   My soul overflows with excitement from the visions and possibilities that my imagination and higher self conjure up for me to create.  It is an energy that I wish I could bottle and distribute to anyone struggling with embracing their creativity.  

I recently completed this painting, I titled SURRENDER.  I experienced a plethora of emotions while in this creative process, from amazing confidence one moment to utter disgust.  I had to surrender to the process, surrender to my soul, the creative force within my being in order to bring back that flow that supported me to completion.  In my last blog, I do believe I was in the midst of the fury.  I made it through to the other side of this surrender and completed my first Goddess portrait of the year.  I am excited to continue this journey, discovering more lessons of  my soul, feeding my good wolf.