ebb and flow
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 7:42 AM 
It is early morning. I have been up for over two hours and it is just past 7:00 a.m. Why am I up? Dreams, thoughts, feelings flow through my being. The past couple of days have been punctuated by a sense of contentment, but today I feel my old nature pressing in and saying, “Do something. You can’t just sit around being content!” And so the tides of life continue to ebb and flow.
Awhile back I wrote about dabbling versus mastery as I encountered the lovely blue jays in my path. This morning as I read a journal from four years ago, I noticed that the answers for which I was searching were right in front of me. Just this week, I communicated with two friends about their own messages being right there for them, too. One showed up in music they had written over the years. The other in art purchased without any "known" rhyme or reason. And so it is that I believe the answers are often right before our very eyes. Sometimes we are open to seeing them and other times we are not. And sometimes it is just not the right time to see.
Still I ponder where is the balance between hyper-focusing and/or just waiting for things to happen. What is my responsibility to move things along and/or when do I just need to get out of the way? Am I willing to risk appearing foolish or (gasp) failure by putting myself out there? Or will I be like my encouraging creative friend who says we must celebrate the rejection letters, because that means we made one more step toward our art?
So, the question for me today is what am I willing to risk? Time? Energy? Ego? Failure? If my dream is to share my gifts* with the world, how can I move toward the fulfillment of that dream if I sequester myself behind a wall of fear?
How about you? What are you willing to risk today? What holds you back from exploring or expanding your dreams? Are there small steps that could get you going? Is your tide ebbing or flowing right now?
*Defining my “gifts” is another roadblock, for sure…and definitely the topic of another post ☺.
photo from yelapa, mexico by h3images
Reader Comments (13)
Oh Lucy, you often have such remarkable timing, I cannot tell you!
This was exactly what I needed to hear, as I had a divinely inspired idea for a book that needs to be written from right inside me come out this morning.
Thank you for being you and saying what you say.
~K.
k.--thank you! your words are greatly appreciated. it is my joy and delight to provide a little hope, inspiration, and/or camaraderie to my fellow travelers :-) sounds like you better get to writing!
"we must celebrate the rejection letters, because that means we made one more step toward our art...."
That is sooooo hard to do....
Dear God help with this one. I know those words above are true.
I know that friends like you, Lucy will continue to provide the encouragement and the reminders I need to keep going forward, taking those steps....
Thank you.
oh, the rejection letters bit - I loved that advice also!
Keep goin' for it Lucy and remember my brave little collage on the Art Center wall where even my friends don't see it until I point it out to them:) They don't HAVE to see it, I know it's there:)
It feels very "at home" to be reading and writing this evening. The post I did was not in the brilliant category but what the heck ...... accept the good:)
And speaking of that, click over and visit
http://oldcactuswren.blogspot.com
there's a lovely post there about the freedom of blogging.
xoxoxoxox
HM & SS--you may be happy to know i spent the afternoon looking through my work in search of some rejection worthy pieces...oops...i mean publishable pieces :-)
maybe tomorrow i will take the next step and send a few off. yikes! it makes me queasy even thinking about it!
let's keep encouraging each other, o.k.?
lucy, thanks so much for your own risk-taking and bravery. Ebb and flow describes much of the movement in my own journey these days. Right at the moment I am delighted to be immersed in flow again after what felt like an ebb last week. Looking forward to exploring some creative flow together too! xoxo C
thanks, C...it's always wonderful to have you stop by with your bits of inspiration :-) here's to going with the flow! xoxoxo
The way in which you said "...you can't just sit around being content" made me laugh. No, I guess not, but sometimes it's nice. As you say, ebb and flow.
On the question of defining your gifts (look forward to that post) let me give you a little hint: you display many of them here and in Lucy Creates!!! and not all of them are about writing and visual arts.
Good Grief! Very often my comments to you get lost - I hit send and...gone. And of course it always when I say something profound :) Anyway let me repeat that I love your posts, they always bring up thoughts that might otherwise go unrecognized. And I find myself on my own journey, with lots of questions.
tess--you are most gracious. thank you!
rebecca--you sound a bit like charlie brown :-) best wishes to you and amelia on your grand adventure!!!
Howdy from the mountains,
I had some downtime due to the heat, so I thought I'd check in with ya! Good post, Lucy.
I was pondering some of this yesterday, reflecting time past, things I wish I had done, or done better. Things that I let go and didn't do, due to various reasons; or waiting for 'someone else' to make them happen...
I think I've come to a time in my life where it's time to let a few things go and not chide myself for not 'making them happen'. But, there is also the desire to fulfill some of those other dreams that I don't want to let go...it is about overcoming fear, making myself, my dreams, a priority...not selfishly, or at the expense of others, but because with these dreams followed/fulfilled, I think others will benefit.
(I also think that the whole woman/wife/mother thing can go against us if we let it...as in, we put ourselves last and in a way lose ourselves...and that, is a loss to others)
Life is about ebb and flow, and being sensitive to which season you're in, and making the most of it! :)
I've been struggling with this, too--and it all boils down to who I want to be. Do I want to be tortured, or do I want to be prolific? I'd rather be prolific--and it's FINALLY sinking in--failure isn't trying and not succeeding, failure is not trying at all...your posts always make me think!
HGF--you have captured so much that resonates with me. all we really have is the current moment...right now...so, here's to making the best of each moment. i have found that as i truly follow my dreams (not selfishly as you say), that the world around me...family, friends, strangers...all benefit in positive ways that i might never have imagined had i stuck with all of the "should's and have to's"!
karen--keep thinking and keep writing! i think prolific sounds much more appealing than tortured :-)