Sometimes you just have to jump!
As I mentioned last week, I've been thinking a lot about risk lately. About risk in art but also in life.
When I was younger, taking risks came so easily.
'Want to go to Canada?'
'Sure why not?'
'Want to move to the US?'
'Hey that would be fun!'
Just a few of the things that I didn't think through:
When I get to Canada, I won't have a work permit and so will spend the first six months watching daytimeTV and eating chocolate.
They don't have national health care in the US
It will be hard to make friends in a different culture.
Just because they speak English, it doesn't mean they're like us
It's bloody cold in Canada for 7 months of the year!
It gets really hot in New York in summer and I don't like heat
Had I thought of any of those things, I would have put the brakes on, and reconsidered. In fact, I may have cancelled the whole plan.
When we're young, we don't know enough to be scared. We just jump in and then deal with each challenge as it comes.
As we age - and gain experience - we learn all the things that can go wrong and so we start to become cautious. We tell ourselves that's wise.
But is it?
I did get a work permit and built such a good career that I was offered a transfer to the US
My US company gave me benefits so the health care thing didn't matter
It was hard to make friends but we did manage it
No they weren't like us, but we changed and adapted
It was bloody cold in Canada - there's no getting around that!
We got an air conditioner and I stayed inside for 3 months every summer
In other words, it worked out. We overcame challenges and had a fabulous experience that has enriched my life, taught me new perspectives, and made me appreciate home all the more.
The risks were worth it, and I wonder if age really makes us wise or just makes us overly cautious.
I'm contemplating some big changes in my business and i =n my personal life and I can feel the cautious side of my brain kicking in .... "what if it goes wrong?" it says. "What if that's not the right move?"
For now, I am beating back the negative voices by treating them like I do in my art.
When I'm painting, I take constant risks. I don't get tense or worried because i know it's just paint. I can do it over if it doesn't work out. I can start again, or I can go back to where I was. Nothing is ever forever.
I'm currently teaching my course and the newer artists are just learning this ... they still think the paint matters. They still tighten up for fear of 'getting it wrong.' Until they learn that there is no wrong - there's just another step you took, another experience you had, another thing you can react to.
Maybe that's the same for life too? We're only here for such a short time. Instead of taking ourselves so seriously - instead of thinking of these decisions as massive moments - maybe we should think of them the way we think of paint ...
"it's just life. I can do it over if it doesn't work out. I can start again, or I can go back to where I was. Nothing is ever forever."