It's weird what thoughts surface while walking. This morning I asked myself if I could go back and be born again who would I want to be. Myself, of course, a healthy version, so my childhood wasn't concerned about always being physically unwell or at times my whole being merely focused on staying alive. As the imagination developed an image of a radiant me with supreme physical health I realised how wrong those thoughts were. Let it go, Let it go I called out much to the surprise of passerby's. It's a mantra that seems to work for me. Time to come back to the moment and enjoy being me, in the moment, walking.
The big "what if" scenario of "what if I had been inspired/motivated in Singapore for the past 5 years?" creeps into my thinking. Move on and learn from this experience. It's been a huge lesson.
[1] I need a studio, a personal space that's just for my art. Not a spare bedroom that gets converted back to a bedroom when visitors stay.
[2] You gotta show up to work and do art, simply show up, like walking every day. Make it a routine.
In his video 'A Note to Younger Self' Chuck Close outlines eight perfect rules for living:
Never let anyone define what you are capable of by using parameters that don’t apply to you.
Virtually everything I’ve done is influenced by my learning disabilities.
Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. Every great idea I’ve had grew out of work itself.
Sign on to a process and see where it takes you. You don’t have to invent the wheel every day. Today you’ll do what you did yesterday; tomorrow you’ll do what you did today. Eventually, you will get somewhere.
No one gets anywhere without help. Mentors…can make you feel special even when you are failing in other areas. Everyone needs to feel special.
I learned very early in life that the absolute worst thing can happen to you and you will get past it and you will be happy again.
If you’re overwhelmed by the size of a problem, break it down to make bite-size pieces.
There’s always someone worse off than you.