Einstein is Your Fairy Godfather

Art and CraftSpirituality
Written By

I'm gonna be honest with you lovely people: it's been sort of a rough few weeks (though I feel silly even saying it because, come on, I have never in my life had capital-P problems.) I came down with one of those sucks-all-your-energy colds the last evening of Squam, and I realized that usually being so healthy and energetic means I no longer know how to be sick. That might sound strange, but you know what I mean: taking it easy and gracefully accepting your temporary limitations instead of beating yourself up for not getting anything done. I went back and forth on that, but admittedly I was frustrated with myself for at least 60% of the time—which was, of course, a waste of what little energy I had!Underneath the cold-induced inertia there has been another sort of malaise, one that wouldn't dissipate with the triumph of my white blood cell platoon. I'm feeling better now, it's still there, and I have to face it (and I might as well do so publicly, because I can't be the only one in this position!) P1130206 A week or so ago I sent a letter to a very dear friend saying, in effect, "I see you not living up to your potential and I want you to stop being afraid and GO FOR IT." Last night it finally hit me that I could have written myself a version of that very thought. (Isn't that always the way?) I have grown in leaps and bounds as a writer since Petty Magic tanked at the end of 2010, but that's just it—there's nothing about being a storyteller that frightens me anymore. I'm looking toward my most ambitious writing project to date and I just think, I got this. While I recognize that drawing and painting and putting what I draw out there is the next big scary thing in my evolution, I've only made the most tentative steps so far. I've spent the past three weeks intending to put pen to paper, to follow through on the epiphany I had in the incomparable Kerry Lemon's drawing class (which I will blog about soon), but until last night I kept excusing my procrastination with "when I'm feeling better." (I know I was just talking about going easy on myself. This is different.) I was feeling better, physically anyway, but my mood had taken a nosedive. There were all these serendipitous things (seriously, a note in a library book!) nudging me to forget everything and just pick up that Micron pen. Elizabeth is always the best person to talk to when I'm in a spot like this; she said, "You are being too precious about this. Just set a timer for eight minutes and DRAW ANYTHING."So that's what I did. P1130205 You know that new(ish) internet challenge, 100 Happy Days? I hereby promise myself that I will draw for eight minutes per day for the next 100 days. This is how real and lasting change happens—one simple action at a time, modest and brave. A sweet little paradox, no?I have a lot more to say on this subject, but I'll leave it here for now. It's your turn, lovely people! What are you afraid of? Who is it you want to become, and what do you need to do to let go of the person you are? (You don't necessarily have to share below, it'll just be good to know you are thinking about it too.) 

  

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