Create Your World
Life is like a painting. The Universe does not hand you every imaginable color and brush, nor multiple canvases. You are given some supplies and asked to paint. With a pallet, tubes of paint, some brushes, turpentine and rags, and a canvas, we set out to learn, practice, and apply. The more we do, the more our intended purpose and painting evolve. A blank canvas can be a scary place but it also embodies pure potential.
We start by mixing color on our palette. Hopefully, we are thoughtful and preparing such beautiful colors as, careful words, acts of kindness, and building towards our best alignment. These colors go out into our world/canvas. Some days may be bold and colorful and other days quiet and soft. Our privilege is the amount of supplies we were given to make our painting. Use them wisely and be aware of the hard work others do to achieve the same results. Spend time in flow, being in creative space and tapping into your spirit.
It’s up to you to create your world and build your painting. Every paint color you mix and stroke you make is your choice. Your canvas is vast and infinite yet we have no idea how long we will be allowed to paint. So don’t spend your time slaving away in the corner painstakingly attending to minor details. Instead, work in broad strokes and cover your canvas with bold layers. Every layer will bring your painting more and more into focus. And every layer will show others more and more who and what you are.
Some days you won’t want to paint. You don’t have to paint every day. Some days you will add thrilling strokes and some you will need to observe your creation, reflect, and retreat. Accept the ebb and flow of your creative energy in life.
Live in your painting. Make it your reality. Don’t paint a picture in your mind that is not where you dwell, that is the source of suffering. Own your choices and appreciate what you have created. Others might not but this is not their painting.
Keep your eyes on your own canvas when it comes to your choices but appreciate the other art around you. When you are given an opportunity to make anything at all, anything that you can dream up, why would you look to another to see what they are doing? It’s your job in this life to create a painting that is completely unique to you. Then you are bringing forth into the world something that did not previously exist. It’s scary to be in charge of your painting. It’s easier to envy someone else for having a better or even different painting, beat yourself up for not making better decisions, or blame the Universe for not giving you what you need. You might be tempted to copy another who’s work you admire or perceive to be easier. Be creator of your vision and know you are responsible for it.
Some will want to meddle and some will provide constructive, needed advice. Meddlers might say, “Make this color.” Or “No! Don’t paint like that!” Or judge your painting to date. Trusted advisors will try to understand your decisions so far, offer suggestions, and lead by example. We must be aware of the difference between the two, and if we need help, seek the later.
Look around you right now. This is your painting. Do you love it? What can you attend to? What do you see in which you can rest and lose yourself in your creation? For what are you grateful? What are you able to positively affect and what can be let go? When you look around do you think, “Wow, I made this” and give yourself credit for the beauty you brought into the world?
I wish every human had the tools and autonomy to create their world. I know this is not the case. It’s up to those of us who do to contribute our best selves and heal the collective - all of these contributions are all the brushstrokes of the grandest work of art of all.
