Take action, share your gifts

Committing to action. Well I finally did it. I finally committed. I decided that I would after 10 months of living in our new house. I put a nail in the wall. And then I proceeded to put a bunch of nails in the wall ;).

I have approximately 31 paintings I finally mounted on my walls this weekend. Up till now they were leaning up against a few walls, stacked in piles in the basement and I decided I'd had enough. I committed to take action. I'm not sure what kind of fear I had popping up over the nails, maybe that I couldn't repair it if I made a mistake? But that's not really true, spackle is easy and so is painting over a tiny spot. But I waited a long time. Now that it's done I can't believe I took so long to do it.

And it looks really nice. As soon as the kids got home they pointed out which ones they liked the best and why, and how they liked that I color grouped them together and when they look at it what it reminds them of. I imagine that most people will have these types of thoughts when they come by to visit as well. This is one of my favorite things about making art is seeing how people connect with what you make and what it means for them. Art has a certain way of connecting with your brain and forcing you to think outside of the boundary of very physical things that we see in our everyday lives. It's a window into a feeling and an inspiration. Also the same reason I really prefer to make abstract art, to help you blur those defined lines your brain likes to apply to everything.

So, the lesson I'm taking out of my adventure is to take action. What thing have you created mind space for the last several weeks or months that you just haven't gotten around too? What's the fear around it, why are you procrastinating it, be willing to really take a look at why that is. And then commit to taking action. What is the one small step that can move you in the direction of where you are wanting to go?

The second is to not put those beautiful things you do on the back burner. It could be an action or activity, it could be taking time for yourself, it could be a hobby you really enjoy or it could be a gift you know you have that you just need to take the time to develop. Those things need to be front and center in everything you do. Put them somewhere you can see them. Make them a priority and appreciate everything they teach you. Allow others to see it, because only through fully embracing it will you see why it was your gift in the first place and why it was meant to be shared.