Love Letters to Creative Souls

Reflections from the Palace of Pure Possibilities (P.O.P.P.) (aka my new office space) and how renos keep teaching me things…

Happy New Year to You All,

I hope you all had a replenishing Holiday and are ready to invite in 2016! I had a very full Holiday with many family visits and am just finding my way back to my studio as we speak. It was a much needed break after a very intensive 3 ½ months of work.

I write to you from my newly renovated office/den that sat for months unfinished as I prepared for my Christmas show at Blue Moon Winery. It is mostly finished with a bit of tweaking needed.

I have re-named it the Palace of Pure Possibilities (POPP) cuz it is where I create classes, communicate with most of you, and generally open, unfold and reflect about creative possibilities. And why not call it a Palace, even though it is the smallest room in the house!? Hubby says (tongue-in-cheek), “of course you would call it a palace; it is fit for a Queen!” He may be right - the Queen of Colour.

Interestingly enough, part of the reason the room sat here for so long was I could not decide on a colour for the walls. Yep, me, the Queen of Colour was stumped.

Some of you already know this, but strangely enough I settled on white!!!!

Anyone who has been to my house knows how out-of-character this may sound. And I have to admit, painting it on the walls had me not feeling the colour charge and got me second guessing myself.

But, no worries I told myself, I had my heart set on a second hand IKEA cherry coloured loveseat that would punch colour into that white room. And, I actually found a second hand one (or my friend, with the Eagle Eye, did). Perfect I thought, except it needed a fresh new cover. No problem, we were going to Vancouver over the Holidays. The Queen of Colour had it all planned out how it would look.

So off I trot to Ikea with my friend with the Eagle Eye, a list of things in hand. We planned to be there for a few hours. I start off all excited and find a few odd things as soon as we step foot in the place.

All goes well…for a while. However, part way through the IKEA maze, my eyes start to glaze over. I begin to wonder where we are…and where was that thing I saw an hour ago that maybe I do wish to purchase?

I am beginning to feel overwhelmed, disoriented, and not sure what I came for. It was so clear before…

Have you ever been to IKEA? If you have, you may know what I am talking about, and, if not, well I am not sure it is something you want to experience.

We forge onward, I am enamored with a light fixture my friend points out to me, but am unable to decide. I think to myself, I can circle back if I want it…

We continue on, looking for the sale section that they have moved near the tills. My friend spots a beautiful leather couch with an excellent discount and no seemingly apparent things wrong. She sits down on it. Takes some time to relax.

Not me, I keep searching…for what I am not sure. I find a cover for the loveseat in the discount bin. But it is not cherry red, it is grey. She thinks it is lovely and ¼ of the cost. I am not sure, but hang onto it. She arranges to purchase the couch. This takes awhile.

I go in search of the cherry red cover I am perseverating about. It is out of stock. Not there. This cannot be possible. I search some more. Nope. Nada. Some swear words may have been uttered. Maybe, most probably.

I go back and report to her. She simply suggests anther colour scheme for my office (not yet named the POPP). I screw up my face and am visibly irritated. She shrugs, just a possibility, I think she might have said. She sees my mind is clearly closed.

The Queen of Colour had a vision of what it was to look like and a grey cover was just not in it. However, her suggestion of grey and turquoise blue pillows puts a splinter in my brain. Just a sliver of another option that irritates the perfectly crafted vision… and what about the grey with cherry red accents…I am now overwhelmingly confused.

We finally get the couch delivery organized and wrapped up in numerous layers of plastic and I am still unable to sit down. We have not yet seen the top floor!

My friend with the Eagle Eye was hurt on a horse some months previous and understandably has had enough walking. We borrow a scooter for her (yes, IKEA provides those!!). You would think this would have had me cackling with her as she takes off at lightning speed through the store. Nope.

I am STUCK in my head. STUCK with what The Queen of Colour thinks is the best idea. STUCK and unable to see outside the box. Unable to open my mind to the possibility of Another Way. I feel time pressured as I have another commitment that evening.

And I am unable to reason with this STUCKEDNESS, except recognize how irritable, and unhappy I have become, like a petulant child not getting the thing they want. I am stuck in a corner with my very unhappy self.

We finally leave, me with my discount grey cover and some other things. We were there so long the sun is no longer out, it is pitch black out and we are both late for other engagements.

I still cannot see myself and what has happened.

I get back to the place Dan and I are staying at. I remember I have not eaten or drank for 7+ hours. It is only now I feel starving and oh-so-tired. I get some sustenance in, and begin to feel different. My breathing deepens. I rest and we go out.

And the next day it all starts to fall into place.

Another Lesson in Letting Go.

Another Lesson in NOT getting attached to the final outcome.

Don’t I teach this stuff, I think to myself?!

I cannot believe I did not see it. These are the words I am always telling my classes…

You can have a vision, but as you work, let go of that vision so you can be open to what new possibilities might show up.…

I was so attached to my idea of what I thought my new office would look like, I could not see the new possibilities.

I call my friend with the Eagle Eye who has fallen off the horse and apologize for my grumpy behavior. I share my insights with her. She totally gets it…and has some other kind insights. She still loves me.

Morals of the story~ what you learn in Pure Painting can be applied to real life too (see above Lisa-ism). And don’t forget to eat. And drink. And sit down once in a while. And most importantly BREATHE! (Yes, all those that have taken my classes, know that one off by heart!)

Yep, I am really happy in this new space where my desk faces out the window. I saw a heron flying by as I was writing to you all. It feels like a really good way to start the New Year and a re-newed way of being open to possibilities!

How about you? What new possibilities are you welcoming in this New Year?

I had wanted to send you out a Christmas email, but alas, with all that was happening it just did not happen.

I am learning not to beat myself up about what I didn’t get done and celebrate what did get done. Someone recently mentioned the shift from the “to-do list” to the “could-do list”. I really like that.

And, as you have read above, I am reminded that I have a choice in shifting how I talk about things (especially in my head) and how I use my language. This shift in languaging can change how you feel. Yes, this shift does not happen overnight as we would all like to wish, but is an on-going process of observation. (Isn’t everything a “process”…maybe I am just a bit biased since that is my line of work!)

Well, Creative Beings, if you got this far, I applaud and thank you for reading! May you keep on creating in whatever way feels good for you!

Kind Regards,

Lisa

P.S. I am waving my Magic Wand for you from the Palace of Pure Possibilities. And yes, please do make a wish!

P.S.S. I thought the office reno was over, but as I finish writing Dan has taken up residence in here drilling holes in walls and hammering. Almost there, the Queen Mutters….