Believe in Better

My last blog was about letting go during times of change and chaos. I talked about trusting moving pieces both in our artistic processes and in our lives.

A lovely woman who comes to Inner Art Studio told me it came just as she needed to hear it, so I reflected on what I wrote. I likened ‘letting go’ to taking hands off a steering wheel! On reflection a different analogy would be better... an art one even! Let’s go into that a bit more and think about why letting go is difficult, and how it can become easier.

So imagine you're attending your art lesson with a precious piece of artwork you’ve been working on for a while and your tutor tells you to ‘let go a bit’. That jars doesn’t it! You’ve spent ages on this piece and demonstrated all your talent ... why mess it up now?! A hundred thoughts race to protect what you've been so terribly invested in. "What if I fail? This is my best already, I can't do more. How would they know what's best? It'll ruin everything".

But what if alongside the helpful ‘let go’ advice, your tutor provded an array of inspiring artists’ work, new and improved tools, your favourite music and verbal encouragement? Now you have something to move towards as you let go. Hope, confidence, inspiration and belief are now present. Letting go doesn’t have to be dangerous or threatening, it can be a natural development and progression towards something better.

One of my favourite life tools is visualisation, either via a moodboard or in the mind. Because when we believe in better, we have faith to leave things behind. By having a clear knowing, and allowing ourselves to feel the future we can boldly paint over a previous old version to create a new one. The historic layers behind add to its strength, depth and credibility.