Monday, January 17, 2011

What If?

What if I have nothing to say?
What if all the great ideas are taken?
What if, in all of the playing, I never accomplish anything?
What if I'm terrible at it?
What if I don't have the skills to flesh out the ideas I do have?
What if I don't have enough time?
What if I spread myself too thin?
What if the thing I'm doing isn't the thing I should be doing?
What if I don't ever learn to be consistent?
What if I never finish anything?
What if I never find my passion?
What if I get so involved in my creative process that I start failing at other things?
What if I can't pursue God AND creativity?

What if?

This is a post from one polka dot day I've been pondering for days. These are all thoughts that we creatives have at one time or another. Katie is just starting out in her creative endeavors so I commend her for laying her fears out there. Even though I've been creating art in one form or another most of my life these thoughts still creep up on me every now and then. Like I told her, those little nudgings of wanting to make art is actually God, or one of His art angels, whispering in our ear that this is what we're supposed to be doing. Yes, there will be mistakes, yes, there will be dry spells and yes, there will be people that don't like what we're doing. That's all part of it. Our destiny or rather the search of it, is not supposed to be easy. When I start struggling, the thing I always try to remember is that He gave me this gift of creativity and therefore I must use it. If I choose to give in to my fears then I am really disobeying Him and disregarding my destiny. Breaking through the fears is not so simple. I still hesitate hitting the send button when submitting my work. I overanalize participating in art shows, thinking too much about about the end results, yes, the $$$. So I've learned to relish in the good that happens; articles being published, upcoming book, and most of all the wonderful friendships made along the way.
If we don't face our fears and ignore the creative nudgings, I suppose our world would look like this photo. So like Paulette, from  Summerland Cottage Studio, we can look at everything on our artistic path like a fresh blank canvas, ready for us to make our mark on the world. There's no one else out there who can do it quite like we can!

New Beginnings
Summerland Cottage Studio


8 comments:

  1. I love this Julie! Yep, we all struggle with these things. I am thankful for your words of encouragement.

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  2. AMEN sister...i let God sort out the what if's??? thank you much for sharing :)

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  3. Yes Julie, funny you mention this. I've been having a terrible case of the what-ifs lately. You have to give it all God. You'll either make art, or you'll make right, either way, you take something away from these "nudgin" experiences.

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  4. How true Julie. Starring at the what ifs get us no where.
    XO

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  5. Thanks, Julie. Funny story: I had another tiny "what-if?" meltdown today...I guess it's a process to learn that we might ACTUALLY have something of value to offer, or something worth saying. Thanks for sharing your hard-earned wisdom and for the creative encouragement. Oh! And as for today, my husband bought me chocolate and told me to quit being so hard on myself. That helped too. :)

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  6. Hi Julie ~ Thanks for posting this, these feelings creep into me now and then. But I have a quote that gets me on the lighter side; "Don't let your worries get the best of you; remember, Moses stated out as a basket case".
    My daughter & I always admire your unique creations~hugs Andrea

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