You are the Artist

This is not your usual New Year’s Eve email, that talks of setting goals.

Instead, I want to share an observation that prepares me to view the ups and downs of the coming year as necessary course corrections.

I have an artist daughter who has recently completed a month of themed, beautifully sketched pieces of art. For an enjoyable experience, view her youtube channel here. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv4SN9qQyFutsyUmikDBBBw

At one time, I naively thought artists created finished products perfectly from beginning to end without revisions. That is why I thought I could never be an artist. Because I make mistakes.

I noticed as I watched my daughter sketch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWXFh3Oqs7Q&t=4s&list=PL9L73rWHOtW0upebY01lUrIfrE1EGl3QQ&index=3 that she holds her pencil in one hand and an eraser in the other.

She draws her first lines and as those beginning lines are no longer needed, she erases them. She adds and erases lines as she goes, until the end result is a beautiful piece of art.

I realized that certain lines are not considered mistakes. They are guides to assist in the creation process. Other marks are also erased as her vision unfolds.

Watching this process started me thinking that our lives are being created in a similar manner.

What we may have thought of as mistakes or lines to be erased are instead guides to teach.

Teaching us what works and what doesn’t. Some of the decisions or choices we’ve made that haven’t seemed to work out just need to be altered.

The creation process of life, like in an artist’s sketch, requires adding and subtracting, moving forward and doing and then stepping back and adjusting.

The valuable lesson I learned is not to assume that changing a course of direction automatically means we’ve made a mistake. We’ve gained information, and we’ve become wiser in the creation of our lives.

What a freeing realization!

I hope you’re allowing yourself to make lines of action, and then like the artist on paper, erase and adjust as needed.

Sending you New Year wishes for marking, erasing, and experiencing a year of beautiful life creation!

With love,