Move Your Thoughts

The sun was rising above the crest of the waterfall. It had been a difficult climb to reach the top of the waterfall, but an even more difficult time to climb back down. I had made the climb up and down four times now over the past two days. This time I would take the fast way down. I stood on the edge of the rock and felt the roar of the water crashing down 40 feet below. I felt the cool morning breeze becoming warm from the rising sun. I acknowledged the fear in my gut, but I honored the desire to fly. I took a deep breath in, moved past the fear and jumped. Time stood still and I felt like a bird flying over the water. It was amazing. I hit the water and continued to plunge deeper into the colder depths. I began to swim to the surface, but not directly overhead. I had watched the others jumping and diving for two days now. I spoke with them and learned all their tricks for successfully jumping into the waterfall and emerging. I knew to swim away from the plunging water to make the ascent faster and easier. I had watched long enough, now I had to move and experience it.

I have a fear of heights. Not all heights, but if I am on a ledge with nothing to hold onto, I get a bit wobbly. I was 15 and I wanted to see if this would help me get over my fear of heights. I also wanted to jump and swim with my friends; remember I was 15. The jump was invigorating, and I climbed and jumped for the rest of the day. It didn’t cure me of my fear of heights and vertigo, but it taught me a valuable lesson in understanding my fears and about how I learn. Many years later in college I studied Cognitive Science and focused my studies on learning and memory. We all learn and encode information in assorted ways, reading, listening, writing and ultimately doing. My waterfall experience showed me that I had to finally act upon my information. I would not be able to fully experience flying unless I took the leap. I am glad I did. It allowed me to know that I could move through my fears to have experiences that I wanted. I have since been Hang gliding, Ziplining, parasailing and some high mountain climbs.

Apply this to creating art. What are some forms of art that intrigues you? Is it something you want to invest your time in learning? Have you been waiting half a lifetime to reawaken your creative side? Begin your journey with visual inspiration. You might explore Pinterest or Instagram but consider museum visits or even attending an outdoor art fair or studio tour now that things are reopening. I find architecture inspiring because it activates both the visual and the mathematical parts of my brain. Try something new. If you love antiquities try visiting a Contemporary Museum or gallery or vice versa. The experience will jump start your imagination. Then you may begin your research. I saw an exhibition on aboriginal art in Canberra Australia that affected me deeply. I held that experience close like a precious gemstone for several years, knowing that it would somehow inspire my work. I researched and learned about the practice and the installation that I had seen. Finally, it hit me that it was time to jump. Acting on the idea was the beginning, and it took me on a journey before I finished the first piece. I will continue the steps I took in the next blog post. For now, act out your inspiration. You encode your moves better when you are doing it rather than watching or reading. My Mixed Media Soul Sparks are designed to give you that bit of inspiration and just enough visual to follow along and allow space for your own voice. The episodes are available by the month. You can get them all or pick and choose what intrigues you. Check them out here.