We All Struggle Sometimes

I believe one of my most important (and satisfying) roles as an artist is to help ignite (or re-ignite) the creative spark in others. In my perpetual quest to create inspiring content, I set out last week to prepare (and video) a somewhat complicated floral project for the gelli plate.

I cut stencils and masks, plotted and planned, I laid things out and set the camera rolling, and time after time the results fell far short of my goal. The print in the upper left hand corner even features the message (bloom) backwards, which is what happens if you place it facing the “right way” on the gelli plate.

It was time to walk away.

The next day I opened up my Daily Guideposts and saw a black and white photo of a sunflower.

Perfect! I thought…I will just paint a little piece, a sunflower, and let go of my agenda to create (and video!) a magical gelli plate project.

The “Bloom” painting unfolded so easily, without the stress and struggle (and feelings of failure) experienced the entire day before and I felt pleased with the nearly effortless result.

“Bloom”

What is the message here?

The clarifying quote came through a few days later, “IF A DOOR CLOSES, QUIT BANGING ON IT. Whatever was behind it was not meant for you. Consider that perhaps the door was closed because you are worth so much more than what was on the other side.” – Karen Salmansohn

Even more succinctly stated, “We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” – Joseph Campbell

If you find yourself banging on a closed door right now, consider how it might serve you to stop and reassess. Possibly, as you let go, the life that is waiting for you will magically unfold, bringing the delightful results that seemed so hard to achieve before.