Thursday 27 January 2011

Perspective


This is the same picture with two very different perspectives. In theory, one could be labeled "right" and the other "wrong".

It took me a minute to remember what I was doing and which view is the correct one according to the way I took the picture. So one is right side up, the other is up side down!

It made me laugh, but it also made me think about perspective and how we view life and those around us. I've decided that it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, and there really isn't a right or wrong - just a different perspective.

I met an interesting artist today who has some really fascinating ideas for a gallery showing. I won't share his ideas, as he hasn't expressed them yet, but he kept saying he wasn't sure if they were "gallery worthy". He also said something to the effect that "you have to hate what you are doing in order to keep learning". And I can relate to that.

I doubt myself and my words sometimes. There are times when I've looked at what I'm writing or what I've already written and thought, this isn't good or that sounds stupid. I've worried about how the words might be perceived, and what people might think of me as a result. It's made me hesitate about putting it out there. Listening to this very talented person express his doubts made me realize just how limiting and dangerous that kind of thinking is. It keeps us standing still and stifles our creative abilities.

It really doesn't matter what anyone thinks - either positively or negatively. What matters is the continuation of the process for process sake. It doesn't matter if someone thinks my words are ethereal and I should be wearing long flowing robes and living in an ashram (yes my mind has gone there), or living in a home for "special" people - laughing now. Some might say that's not me, or it's not how I express myself on a daily basis (or when I've had a glass or two of wine). It really doesn't matter because I've got to keep exploring me and my views on life and the world we live in. I'm on a path leading nowhere and everywhere, and if that means flowing against the tide, then so be it.

It's both amazing and frightening to me to think about how many people choose a life of mediocrity simply to feel as though they are part of a whole. To quote Albert Einstein:
"The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before."

I really need to express my thoughts in order to own them. I need to constantly remind myself that I can't be anybody but me. I don't want to be part of the majority and I don't need to "fit in". I can't think about what you might think of me or my words. I can't let the idea of positive or negative criticism slow me down. I can't write what you want to hear, or think just like you because it's safer and easier. My true gift is my uniqueness. And sharing thoughts for me is a means to living without the fear of recrimination.

The end result of any undertaking is simply the end result. It's the journey that is precious and worthy of any accolades or criticisms received along the way.
©SLP
Words to Live By
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves:
'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?'
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God!
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people
won't feel insecure around you.
We are meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us, it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.”

—Marianne Williamson in A Return to Love.

Picture taken on the far side of the Capilano Suspension Bridge (Vancover, BC)
And however you see the picture - you're right!



1 comment:

  1. SOOO true, my dear! And since I've known you now for 25 years, you are damn straight that I know that you have had this "fear" of putting yourself out there on paper! Like you say, it doesn't really matter what people think (but we all think it does... and let it). YOU love to write and you're good at it and you need to remember what you've written here... The pictures - guess what - I only saw the first one for quite awhile while the second was loading, so as I started to read, I wasn't sure what you were talking about - there was nothing wrong with the first picture to me... I was quite fine with accepting that perspective... until I saw the other one. That's priceless!

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