This last week has literally whirled by, and I’ve enjoyed every minute (apart from the inordinate amount of rain that’s pouring in through the studio roof!). But I did get back in the studio between showers and it does feel like there’s more of a Sense of Possibility, which was this week’s theme.
I did my morning pages all 7 days, but failed to even think about where I should go or what I should do on my Artist’s Date, which is ironic, because the exercises this week were all aimed at examining and challenging existing beliefs and assumptions about what you should be doing with your time and your life.
The big three topics were raising your Limits, Finding the River (flow), and The Virtue Trap. As Julia Cameron points out; “Many recovering creatives sabotage themselves most frequently be being nice… We strive to be good, to be nice, to be helpful, to be unselfish. We want to be generous, of service, of the world. But what we really want is to be left alone. When we can’t get others to leave us alone, we eventually abandon ourselves.”
What would I do if it weren’t too crazy or decadent?
What would I do if I weren’t too selfish?
Answer these questions, at least 5 items per question, and enjoy the answers. Catch that Possibility Virus…
My answers to the Virtue Trap Quiz were enlightening, but there were more and more questions throughout the chapter. If you do them all at once, you’ll bypass that sensible brain of yours and allow the real answers to bubble up from somewhere deep inside. This one was my favourite – simply complete this phrase at least 20 times!:
I wish I….
And the most fun part of the week was starting an Image File. Not a Vision Board or book or anything flat or finite – but a great open ended collection of images to inspire. Pictures of ideas, things, places, anything – pictures that resonate with you. I’ve now got pictures to enjoy of islands in Indonesia, Zen gardens in Kyoto, the elephant fair in Rajasthan and sassy art openings in New York City… of whale sharks and dolphins, opera and outer space, deserts with land art and pictures the boys love of F1 events all over the world…
And then there’s this one – The Pit Spider…
Just in case I get carried away away and ever forget about the perils of The Virtue Trap again…