Love Letters to Creative Souls

Hello Creative Ones (yes, that means YOU!),

Below you will find my Spring Blog post. I really don’t like that word "BLOG". It is so bla... and boring.

Since I am writing this and I can be Queen of this "blog", I will from now on call this my "Love Letter to Creative Souls".

Yes, this is my Love Letter to You from Imagine-Land. Yep, it is kind of long, but since I am only writing them about four times a year, they can be a bit longer.....here it goes...

This Spring has been intense for many of us, but for me it has been in a good way. I feel like things are shifting deep inside my being, incrementally things seem to be changing. I have started to clean out my house and get rid of things I have held onto for a long time. I am making choices in my art, based on what feels right for me and creating from a place of connectedness. I am working on getting my work out into the world, and wanting it to find wings to reach those who truly love it and find joy in it. (Yes, feel free to contact me for a studio visit and/or visit my website to view art...but it is always SO much better to see the actual piece.) And if you want a good read about planetary influences go here:The Sky is Not Falling Even Though it Feels That Way

I am noticing what brings me joy and leaning into those places. I am being more aware and observing my choice of language and how by shifting just a few words, it shifts how I feel about things.

Yep, it feels like stepping up to the plate, my plate, and owning my life. Embracing my life, and living it the way I choose. For many years, I spent life living it for everyone else. I am not blaming anyone, I am observing, and that was a choice I made.....a choice made with little awareness.

Now, I want to be aware, I want to be awake to my life....to all it brings. It is in this awareness that I can then make more conscious choices. Sometimes those choices are bang on and sometimes not so much. Then I can choose again and see if I hit the mark or not. Sometimes it takes practice, patience and noticing how I feel about those choices. And this can be applied to the art making practice as well. Everything I learn in life can be applied to my painting...and visa versa. Perhaps that is what I love about the Creative Process so much.

If there is one thing we have in life, it is CHOICE. There is something liberating in that. Now some of you might say, well, when I was a child I did not choose to have such-and-such happen. And I get that, really I do. There are many, many things I did not choose to have happen either.

However, now I can choose how I want to respond to those things. Whether I want to keep carrying them (see: Rut or River Stories below:Winter 2014) or whether I am choosing to move forward and learn (yep, there is always learning=Life Lessons), to step up to the plate, to own my Authentic Swing (Re:Steven Pressfield`s book, The Authentic Swing); to put everything I have behind it and aim for the seats....or better yet the stars. I love the stars; they glitter, they shine and twinkle and smile down on me. Even if it is cloudy, I know they are there; a beacon of Light in the darkness. Yeah, I am gonna aim for the stars. Cuz I know my angels and guides are up there cheering me on, celebrating that I am stepping up to the plate.

We were born to be Bold, folks. How do I know this deep in my bones? Well, every week I watch people come to my studio and paint. They dig deep into their stories and their souls and pull up colours and shapes and images that speak volumes. Each week, every person that comes through my door, who is willing to enter that magical painting process with all their heart, is given a gift.

Imagine a gift given to you every week through your paintbrush? And, all you gotta do is show up, open your heart and trust your brush (yep, I will guide you through this part until it comes easy). I watch this gift being born each week, and it asks the painter to embrace the Boldness of their lives, the beauty of the pain and the joy; the journey of Life. It asks each of us to Step Up, Be Bold, and to Love and Celebrate ourselves. I watch as these people who come through my studio door, gather momentum, courage and the strength to make changes in their lives. Every week I am in gratitude for this work I have been blessed with and those of you who enter this space.

Watching all of you has taught me something. How can I ask you all to step up and not do it myself? So, I am going to stretch myself too. I am choosing to step into my Boldness. Why not? Yep, it scares the bejesus out of me some days but what have I got to lose?

So you ask, what does that look like, Lisa? Well, I would say it is different for each of us, depending on your zone of comfort. I am reading “The Big Leap” by Gay Hendricks and he talks about moving into your “Zone of Genius”. He talks about reaching a point where we hit our “Upper Limit Problem” and this keeps us from stepping into our “Zone of Genius”. Have you ever reached a point in your life where something amazing is about to happen and then...oops something gets in the way--illness, accident, a more pressing matter? Oh yeah, and did I mention Fear....the thing that creeps up on us and takes us down? Well, folks, this book is excellent. I ordered it from the library first and have since bought the book.

So back to that thing that creeps up....I have fear too, lots of it. We all have it. We may hide it well, but it is there. And guess what? We can use it as a guide. What you say, “a guide?” Yep, it can be used (in the right situation, of course) to ENERGIZE you. Fear and anxiety are a sliver away from Excitement. If any of you like to ride the roller coaster (not me), you will know what I mean. And those who like roller coasters get very excited waiting in line to get on. Imagine yourself in line with your Fear/Excitement. Your heart is racing a bit, your palms are sweaty, some of us may be thinking we want to bail, but we are stuck in line now. We have committed. So we have to step up, step on, step into our Boldness and just do it.

The key is, are you letting fear drive you in the wrong direction—away from your Boldness? Think of shifting gears into Excitement about what you are doing. IMAGINE for a moment taking one of the fears that is preventing you from doing something amazing (and maybe scary) in your life and shifting it into something that feels Exciting? Just wander around in that imagine-land for awhile. Listen to your languaging and try this on for size (thank you Jo Pillmore--she is a life coach and language shifting guru (ie mindset coach)): “I am afraid to.... “ and shift it to “I am excited to....”, see how that feels different? Feel the energy shift? That is where I am aiming for. You want to come with me on this?

If you do, you know where to find me. Classes fill fast and are small. Any level of experience is welcomed....all you need is the willingness to dig deep, trust the process, and are open to sharing within the group. Believe me it is a powerful process. Are you willing to step on that roller coaster? You will not be alone, we will cheer you on and support you through whatever Bold choices you make, whether it is just signing up for the class, actually riding a roller coaster, climbing Mt Everest, or traversing the many paths of life. Hope to see you soon in Imagine-Land.

Kind Regards,

Lisa,

Goddess of the Boldness of Colour, Imagine-Land