The Art of Self

I am still learning--how to take joy in all the people I am, how to use all my selves in the service of what I believe, how to accept when I fail and rejoice when I succeed.--Audre Lorde

I like a place called Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. Art fascinates me; the creativity that flows like a river of paint upon a white canvas. The canvas comes alive as it captures the scenic view. I enjoy the art of melted glass being carefully blown to perfection: a beautiful vase the result. Skilled crafters gather at Silver Dollar city and create their perfections and imperfections for all to see.

The last few weeks since the passing of my grandmother; I have been reflecting and kept quiet in my blogs. Sometimes, I believe silence in a busy world is good. It is a time to reflect upon the moments of your life and the other person’s life that have impacted each one's life. Much like crafters coming together and creating magical pieces that leaves the unskilled in awe.

Being in love is so fun. You find those special moments you want to save and remember those special times. Like a sunset that takes your breath away and you seal the night with a kiss and the moment is slid into an envelope of the brain and carefully reread or tucked away. Mentally, we want to have those happy creations, but sometimes we enjoy carving our initials in the tree as a reminder of our love.

Our lives are being shaped. There are some that want to carve their initials in our life. We can be like the glass that is carefully being sculpted and there you have people who are fragile, transparent, on show or used by others. We can be like the metal that over time being on the anvil hardens us, shapes us into something useful for others to use. Maybe it was that one Marine soldier that gave up his life to save his platoon from an attack.

We could be clay; moldable, flexible, pliable, and ready to be used. Notice how these skilled crafters at Silver Dollar City have an impact on their creation? Others have that same impact on our lives. The biggest challenge to being a living art form is that it constantly wants you to be like everyone else. You are the real you fashioned by life and to hide your imperfections you can stand in a crowd, but for you to be the real you take courage in standing in front of the crowd.

The mind is the potter’s wheel. If you think too much about what others think of you, it can change what you think of yourself. Because you are on the wheel; you may feel like you have to explain yourself to your friends that do not need an explanation because they accept you. Try explaining yourself to your enemy and your spinning on the potter’s wheel because they won’t believe you anyways.

How do you become flexible in your thought process; when you are still being fashioned and sometimes on display like Silver Dollar city? Bottom line: who are you letting create and design you? Defining who you are without being molded by others agenda can be challenging. You have an innate ability to create and to help; you may tend to ask what the world’s needs are. When in fact you conform to what the world needs and wants and you shape yourself to the moment and not realizing you begin to chase the wind and become unhappy, unsettled, restless because you cannot fulfill what the hungry world needs.

Instead, ask yourself what helps you to come alive and what can you offer: go and do it. Life needs driven purpose. Do not compromise; follow a path with strength of conviction that can move others. There is a tendency to compare ourselves with others and then the focus shifts onto the success or failures by which they or you have lived. Be a person worthy of your own respect.

When you take life’s fire out of your heart; you become hardened and then you’re stuck in the form you were molded. The fire is the passion to be different, keeping at the forefront of your mind your willingness to take a risk like the Marine, and impact another life for the better. Finally, test your thoughts against the truth and there you will find your direction within the truth.

Always be yourself. Some are lost in the dark because they are trying to win your trust and wonder what you think of them. It is an amazing life when you do not care who gets the credit and can look back at everything you accomplished small or great. It is easy to conform to what others want you to be; that is a safe way to exist, but to live is to find out in your own heart what is true. You are an earthen vessel and hidden inside is a treasure that is beyond measure. Captivate those self defeating thoughts and others’ words and comparisons and make them obedient in truth.

In the end, we are all on the craftsmen’s bench, we are being molded; but it is up to you in how flexible you want to be. continue being the best masterpiece for the world to see. Do not become the victim by being bullied into silence or accept someone’s definition of your own life, but define by listening to the hand that is molding you on the inside by being comforted in knowing through perfections and imperfections you are a rare art form that is unique and priceless. One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes ... and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.--Eleanor Roosevelt

Remember – the only thing you can change about yourself makes all the difference in someone’s life to admire.
 
By Faith (Forging Attitude In Trusting Him)