Surprise Yourself

Always listen to your doubts.

Your doubts are different than that internal negative critic that is always babbling away inside your head. Your doubts live more in your heart than your mind. They will steer you toward your next learning experience. Yes, your doubts may expose your fears, but sometimes, they also teach you of your wisdom.

Wonder is the call to your imagination.

When you move out of your head and into your heart you will not hear the critic; you will hear the whisper of wonder. The root meaning of wonder is awe, curiosity and surprise. It is the seed, the gift that is hidden within doubt. To answer the call of wonder you must be brave. Be bold and find your wisdom through your art.

Answer the call of wonder by awakening your imagination.

When you ask yourself the question, what does wonder mean, it will answer you, always. You may not be paying attention when the answer comes, but when you do, you will see that by asking the question your options are illuminated.

The map to discover wonder.

When you can conceive a boundary or a threshold you are halfway there. I used to try and imagine eternity. I still haven’t figured it out but as a child my imagination kept me entertained with this question. When you reach the threshold, stop, look around and take in the wonder around you. It is awe inspiring and also intimidating. There is too much to grasp at once. The view may be overwhelming.  Grab a view finder metaphorically or literally and look at only a slice of this new frontier. It is like a crack in a darkened landscape that allows only a stream of light into the room. It is a laser beam. When there is too much, you cannot focus. Adjust the lens on your scope and let wonder come into focus. Now you can step into the place of imagination.

The threshold of wonder is the place between your inner and outer worlds.

Imagine yourself stepping into this place of wonder. Surprise yourself by moving toward the horizon. Gather your experiences and bundle your tools and trek onward. Look at the land in your imagination. Feel the wildness and trust that your imagination will guide you.

Imagination never pretends to know it all.

It never needs to be right. It always celebrates the liminal place between knowing and imagining. Imagination is the companion of exploration. It is always flexible, and it loves to weave together all possibilities to create new landscapes from fragments of memories.

Imagination and wonder are the tools to activate your creativity.

When you paint, write, play music, sing or dance; take a moment to imagine yourself standing on the threshold. Take a risk and jump into your imagination.

A few ideas to get you started:

1. Begin with a question. What would a boundary or a frontier look like? Ask yourself a question about where you are now and where you wish you were.  How do you feel when you are inspired? Close your eyes and imagine what it looks like. Then the next question might be, what is beyond that? Begin to paint that next threshold.

2. Another way to surprise yourself is to begin with 2 minutes of contour drawing. Or drawing with your non-dominant hand. This will move you out of the analytical and into the descriptive part of your mind. It is a quick start to wake up your right brain.

3. Turn your art upside down and work on it from this point of view. It is always helpful to evaluate your art from this perspective as well. Your eye will automatically see what is off.

4. What is the story you want to tell? Even an abstract painting has a concept or a story. Try naming the painting before you begin. This is like having the title of your story before you begin writing. Write it onto the canvas. Use a word of intention or a poem to jump start the story. Even my abstract paintings have stories to tell. You can read them on my website and my posts. Try writing a few sentences of a story prior to painting.

5. Take a class or a workshop. It doesn’t have to be in your medium. I love writing and poetry and I listen to books while working out. I take classes in glass and welding. Try something new, let yourself be a beginner. Find something that sparks your imagination and surprise yourself.

6. Follow through. How many times have you signed up for an online class and not finished it? I too am guilty. That is why I love experiences. I am back to teaching in-person workshops and they are so energizing for all of us. Surprise yourself by committing to a class. It may be at your local community college, or you can join me on one of my adventures around the globe.

The most powerful gift I can give you is to lead you to the threshold and help you activate and awaken your imagination. Step across the threshold and dance with the new world before you. Awaken your spirit to adventure. Let me ease you into taking a risk. Your soul senses your creativity and wants you to surprise yourself.