Slowly, slowly, I am learning to listen to that voice inside of me. You know the voice, the one that whispers to you when everything is quiet and still, " Do this. Don't worry about 'the odds'. Don't worry about what other people 'might think'. Don't worry about the 'what ifs'. Just do this."
Slowly, slowly, I am learning to pay attention to the signs. You know the signs, the ones that say, "This is for you. This will 'grow you'. This will 'stretch you'. This will 'change you'. This is for you."
That voice inside of me has been telling me that I need to explore the world. To step out, unafraid of being accepted and liked. To venture out, open-eyed and curious. To seek out the opportunities that will guide me in the direction I want to go creatively.
And those signs? They were everywhere I looked in one day: here, where the soulful Nina Bagley shares her musings on nature, life and art, here, where the reflectively peaceful Misty Mawn delights with paintings, poetry, music and wonder and here, where the possibilitarian (her word), Kelly Rae Roberts, uncovers the wonders, worries and whisperings along the journey of being an artist . Three admired artists. Three admired women. All pointing me in a direction, seeming to say, "Come along with us. Come find another piece of the puzzle of you. Come let your creative spirit dance."
And so, I'm headed to the dance! Squam Art Workshops. An early birthday present from my family. A wonderful space to contemplate turning 40, turning a corner, heading down a new path dance, dance, dancing along the way. (Thank you, Rachel, for introducing me to Lykke Li!)
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"Will you walk a little faster?" said a whiting to a snail,
"There's a porpoise close behind us and he's standing on my tail."
See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!
They are waiting on the shingle—will you come and join the dance?
Will you, wo'n't you, will you, wo'n't you, will you join the dance?
Will you, wo'n't you, will you, wo'n't you, will you join the dance?
"You can really have no notion how delightful it will be
When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters, out to sea!"
But the snail replied "Too far, too far!" and gave a look askance—
Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance. Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance.
"What matters it how far we go?" his scaly friend replied.
"There is another shore, you know, upon the other side.
The further off from England the nearer is to France—Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance."
Will you, wo'n't you, will you, wo'n't you, will you join the dance?
Will you, wo'n't you, will you, wo'n't you, will you join the dance?
~Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland