We all have potential. Of course, the word itself implies that we could do better. This in itself might be negative thinking. I try to live everyday being the best I can be. When I hit the bed and refuse to get up, I know I'll be better tomorrow. I'll do better tomorrow.
Looking back on the first day of my ceramic's class, the clay was cool and smooth on my sore arthritic hands. It let me slip out of my sad disease for a while. I got in trouble by the teacher for talking and laughing instead of paying attention to what I was doing. At the end of that class, I sculpted a lady dancing. Later, I sculpted another I kinda feel was a mother thinking about how much she loved her daughter who was dancing next to her, almost unaware of the power she has over her mother.
Nobody ever told me I had a talent for sculpting. I wasted a lot of years chasing other dreams where I failed miserably. This is why it is so important to expose children to all the arts. That is why we are never too young or too old to learn something new. We all need to know what we are good at. We need to have hope. We need to not be afraid of failing. Failure is okay if we learn something. If we keep making the same mistakes over and over; obviously, we are learning nothing.
Unfortunately potential is never realized without change and sometimes hard work. When I was suffering from chronic depression in my forties, I was introduced to a few art projects as therapy in the hospital. I found in myself a deep desire to communicate, but I had no words for my pain. After leaving the hospital, I was still too sick to go back to work as a legal typist, so I took a few art courses in college just for fun. Some of the things I learned was to be persistent about my hunches. I always loved to touch everything that caught my eye, like art, sculptures, stones, and anything that was smooth to the touch. As I look back, my muses were tempting me. I was so dumb. It never occurred to me that I could make something smooth and pretty to touch myself. Later, I tried not to listen to others who thought I was crazy taking art. I always wanted to but my mom always made me take typing so I could earn a living she said.
Another thing I learned is not to let my ego override my good sense like so many star-struck gals and guys ton So you think you can dance? Many just don't get it that they need to keep looking for what they are good at! This is where my book Sculpting the Heart will be so valuable It gives much inspiration for learning new things. I learned if I had no success at one thing, to try something else...keep trying till I did succeed. We all are good at something. Learn to make good decisions. What gets you excited? Do what you are good at and excites you. We all have to be a little selfish when it comes to giving ourselves permission to shine. Playing small doesn't serve the world. We are all meant to share our divine light with others but first we have to turn it on.
After sculpting clay for awhile, I noticed my children sculptures seemed to have the look of rapture on their faces unlike my adults like in the picture of the girl above. Many sculptors purposely pose their faces up to wards heaven. I was very successful at letting God's light shine in their faces.We can take a lesson from them..As we let our own light shine, we subconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear of failure, our success motivates others to try doing the same. Children's hands can teach us as much as we can teach them. I think it is important to keep our hands busy doing what we love.
