The Art of…making a mark.
So, for the creatives out there, I KNOW you can understand the “dry” periods. It’s a time where the words won’t come, the paint lies on the palette without motivation and you are quite certain you have lost all of your talent down some horrible chasm of despair. Those are the days where fear prevents me from picking up a pencil or paint brush, or even writing a word. I have to find the courage somehow to break through the negativity and find a way to begin anew. It’s not easy, it takes commitment, and I might fail, which is scary.
Likewise, I feel like we as humans have dry periods of humanity. We wrap ourselves tightly into our own selfish worlds. We become unable to reach out beyond our own comfort to assist someone else. It’s too hard to step out of our comfort zone to do more than our busy lives already dictate we do. We forget compassion as we travel through life in lieu of the grocery list of tasks we allot for each day of living.
When we are driven by fear, or selfishness, our world gets smaller. I don’t think that is how it is supposed to be.
Take a moment, look at your hand. Go ahead, I promise it won’t hurt. See that? That unique and lovely swirl? You know- right there on the end of your finger? Your fingerprint. That is YOURS- there is not another in the world that looks exactly like yours.
Just like your fingerprint- YOU are meant to make your mark in a unique and wonderful way!
Our president has this to say. “Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.” —Barack Obama</p>
Your mission is as unique as your fingerprint. It is yours; no one can tell you how you should do it. That is on you. I suppose sometimes it takes a bit of effort to figure out just where your talents lie. However I do know that it is a process and inactivity will only serve to squander the opportunity you have to make your mark. Fear builds up, and negativity wins. Don’t allow this to happen! A painting will not paint itself; a score of music will not play until it is written, nor will a machine get built without the mechanic or designer creating it.
Another tidbit of wisdom for you-
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare composed poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
I don’t think I set out with the forming of Create Art 4 Good as a way to make my mark, but truly I felt it was a culmination of who I am. I felt that it was the next part of my journey. But certainly I hope to make a difference. I can tell you that this process has already made a mark on me. I feel like doors are flying open and I am having a hard time keeping up! The intent was certainly honorable, and I believe in that is great power- I am in awe of this process. It is exciting and life giving. It certainly comes with plenty of work, but, full steam ahead!
Now I ask you-
What can you do? What is uniquely yours? How are you going to make your difference?
Today, I invite you to make your mark on the world- go on! Get to work!
In Peace-
Susan