Becoming the flow versus going with the flow of others offers us the opportunity to understand our authentic self and our individual taste. Instead of mixing who we are into the mainstream, we can purify our view of ourselves as we carve our own path toward a vast ocean of possibilities for our lives.

Today, I’m sharing a poem I wrote more than a year ago that, unknowingly at the time, speaks to this process of seeking the depths of my authentic self and revealing a desire for authentic artistic expression. I’ll also share my Artist Date trip report and complete and reflect on one of the tasks for Week Two in The Artist’s Way since I’ve gone a little rogue so far this week!

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The first time I went through The Artist’s Way was last year, but I only listened to the audiobook and didn’t do most of the exercises. One task that comes up in Week Eight is to pick a color and write about it in first person. An example Cameron gives in the book: “I am silver, high-tech and ethereal, the color of dreams and accomplishment, the color of half-light and in between, I feel serene.”

I still remember driving and hearing that in the audiobook. I paused the book and started speaking the assignment as I drove. It came out poetically, so later, I sat down to write the full poem which I’m sharing below.

I am jumping ahead a bit in the book, but when I was writing about the three visions yesterday, I couldn’t help but reference this poem I wrote in response to the idea of personifying a color to represent myself.

As powerful as it is to have these river visions, being able to connect them to art I had already created before the third vision came feels like an interesting synchronicity. My favorite color is turquoise, so that’s why I chose that color. Little did I know that it would lead to something more symbolic than just a the color of my favorite stone.

I Am Turquoise

A poem written on August 10, 2024

I am turquoise
The color of the ocean
Teeming with colorful life in many forms
I am a safe haven for the life force below my surface
I nurture and love this precious life within me
I intuitively withdraw into the depths to explore my vast domain
The life force at the deepest levels (in it’s weirdest forms) endlessly inspires my imagination
This is where the seed of my dharma grows
This is where art becomes my own
When I return from my ritual, my ceremonious visits into this expansive flow within
Sometimes I roll up gently, stretching to my edges, renewing my life force once again
And sometimes I rush out with an unstoppable force, releasing my abundant energy far beyond the shore
And still sometimes, parts of me stealthily evaporate into the neighboring blue of the atmosphere
It’s in this return to the shore, in any of these forms
Where I discover opportunities to share my treasures from the deep
This is where my dharma grows again
This is where art becomes our own
I am turquoise
The color of the ocean

After that third vision where I became the water, I journaled about where the river is going. All rivers flow toward the ocean. It’s an innate quality of all rivers.

And it represents an innate quality in all of us, too. We were made to be creative.

Taking expeditions into our inner world – our ocean – is how we discover our own unique gifts. Some of what we discover in there may look or feel weird, but it is all a precious gift meant to be shared with others.

My desire to share my art was building even a year ago. The poem’s message to myself is to notice that I discover my authenticity deep within myself, and to remember that my artistic expression may come out strong and forceful, roll out gently, or evaporate into thin air. But it’s when my expression meets others on the shore – in any authentic form – that my purpose or dharma expands. Art is meant to be shared, and I’m finally becoming courageous enough to do that.

Spiritual Electricity: Basic Principles

The first task for Week Two is to begin a practice of Affirmative Reading of The Artist’s Way Basic Principles. Here are the Basic Principles.

1. Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy: pure creative energy.
2. There is an underlying, in-dwelling creative force infusing all of life – including ourselves.
3. When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator’s creativity within us and our lives.
4. We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.
5. Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God. (I freaking love this one!)
6. The refusal to be creative is self-will and is counter to our true nature.
7. When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction.
8. As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected.
9. It is safe to open ourselves up to greater and greater creativity.
10. Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity.

The task is to read these principles every morning and evening, and to notice any attitudinal shifts.

Before starting this project, my attitude about my creativity was already opening up, but the block has been around the questions of “what do I actually like, and what is my individual taste?”

Just over one week in, I feel closer to God because I’ve created space for communion with my Creator and just like Principle #10 says, moving toward my dream is bringing me closer to divinity.

I can see that one thing I really like is symbolism. I love to express myself through poetry and in metaphors like this river or the ocean. My individual taste is emerging, and I can see that there is an element of romance. I don’t mean the kind of romance of love and attraction to my wife – I mean a romance with the world around me.

Artist Date Week Two: Solo Hike Along Bull Creek

Which brings me to a quick share about my Artist Date from yesterday. The weather is finally staying below 90°F so I found a small park and planned a hike. I picked up a sandwich from Snarf’s, packed my binoculars, a blanket, my water bottle, journal, and the little wooden Audubon bird call Emily gave me for our 5-year wedding anniversary. (We are celebrating today!)

I didn’t realize until I arrived that I chose a park that does not have trail markers, but I could see the trail and just started walking along the creek. I felt a little nervous at first since I wasn’t sure if I was lost or not. The tree canopy above me created shade the entire way, and the sound of the creek babbling filled my soul immediately.

As I walked alone, I was taken back to my childhood memories of playing along and in the creek that ran behind our rural house in the Hill Country. I remembered and reveled in that feeling of freedom and independence. I found myself enamored with the constantly, gently falling yellow leaves, the way the sunlight shone through the foliage, and the songs and calls of the White-eyed Vireo I watched bouncing around the branches above me.

I found a spot under a giant oak tree to eat my sandwich, then hiked to a new spot next to a babbling part of the creek where I spread the blanket and wrote my Daily Pages, practiced qigong, meditated, prayed, and did a little bird-watching. There wasn’t another human soul around – it was just me and the birds for two and a half hours! Before I left, I placed sticks, rocks, leaves, flowers, and snail shells into the shape of a mandala. It felt fitting to leave a little thank you to the land for offering me such a tranquil afternoon.

I had no idea how rejuvenating this would be. I’m definitely doing more solo hikes as Artist’s Dates in the future. Especially while we have this gorgeous weather!

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