Overwhelmed or uninspired is the state where I seem to see most people struggling, sometimes both but in different areas of their lives. Recently, I was given a necessary reminder: In his book Discovering Your Soul signature: A 33-Day Path to Purpose, author Panache Desai offers a Meditation on a Blank Canvas (Day 25). Just a short section of it:
“When an artist approaches a blank canvas, all that is possible is a single brushstroke at a time. If the artist were tempted to paint a whole canvas at once, what would happen? What a mess!
One brushstroke at a time.
One breath at a time.
One word at a time.
One small gesture at a time.”
Some of us are gifted with great creativity that they hone artistically. For those of us who are not artists of the Arts, is it not inspiring to elevate what is so often qualified as mundane, such as everyday life, to an art form? A lifetime reaching the status of masterpiece, cultivating each relationship artfully, making living an art form, mastering a skillset, any and all of these items sound compelling. If you describe yourself as uncreative I would argue that creativity is not only applicable to sculpting, painting or writing. Creativity is applied to solve problems, beautify our environment, communicate, and numerous other areas of life.
In addition to infusing an artistic dimension to working on our lives, the Canvas Meditation reminds us of the necessity to act on the smallest units of existence. “One brushstroke at a time”. “One breath at a time”. In yoga we are constantly reminded to get back to the breath, to move with the breath, to use the breath as an anchor to the present moment. It is amazing how much focusing back on the breath can calm and slow down the thought process to get a better grip on ourselves. Thus refreshed, the mind can better serve. We can be more deliberate. In this manner we are able to cultivate our ability to respond rather than react to situations.
“One word at a time” was the part that compelled me the most. No doubt that we create our lives mainly with our words. We shape our relationships, form our projects, and articulate our thinking with our words. Taking responsibility for our choice of words is crucial. There are spaces for us to optimize our communication and thinking where we sort out our words (brainstorming, confiding in a friends for example) and even if we are in constant refinement mode of our ideas it is fundamental to be purposeful with our communication. The more precise with our words we become and the more impact we have on the world that surrounds us.
Often attributed to Rumi (although it is not firmly established) the three gates of speech suggest a certain form of filtration in our communication: ”Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates: At the first gate, ask yourself “Is it true?” At the second gate ask, “Is it necessary?” at the third gate ask, “Is it kind?””. Dr. Seuss’s version is:” Mean what you say, say what you mean, but don’t be mean”. Ultimately, both and many others invite us to be thoughtful with our words and to seek speaking constructively as well as respectfully. Some messages are difficult to communicate and require tact. Some ideas are complex and require work to be articulated carefully and properly. I also believe that our words have a programming effect on others as well as ourselves. We can be encouraging as well as undermining with our words, the choice is ours. For all these reasons our choice of words carry much weight and applying ourselves to be conscientious when we speak by honing our language is a duty that has to be taken seriously.
We all heard the expression “actions speak louder than words” and “a small gesture goes a long way”. By the virtue of the Law of Accumulation there is no such thing as a useless gesture or action. It is so easy to talk ourselves of taking action for that exact reason. We imagine that having this little desert, skipping the gym, staying a little longer in bed, saying a small lie, pushing a deadline by just a day, or showing up only fifteen minutes late is trivial and without consequence. It is incorrect because it all adds up. The good news is that positive actions also add up. Whether we are doing others a favor or taking a small action towards developing our business, our relationships, or ourselves it always pays off on some level or another. Small streams make big rivers.
As we patiently or swiftly add a brushstroke after another on our canvas we need to cultivate the capacity to shift from the smallest details to the big picture. We are all capable to focus and defocus although we tend to be more at ease proceeding in one direction rather than the other. A very detail-oriented person may start by gathering all possible pieces of information on a matter than draw conclusions. Possibly, the risk to this approach is to get lost in the details and get stuck in analysis paralysis mode. For those who are more big-picture-oriented, visionaries, a possible downfall may be to feel too disconnected from a particular matter, which may result in boredom or disinterest, hence a necessity to break down into smaller and more relatable components. In NLP it is referred as chunking down or chunking up.
Just as the artist who has to conveys uniqueness to the work by layering subtle touches, one brushstroke at a time, it is imperative for the artist to take a step back to figure out the harmonization of all the details in a coherent ensemble. Or inversely, for an artist to transfer a concept or vision and materialize it in a piece of art, like Michelangelo chiseling away piece by piece the marble to sculpt his David. To live artfully we develop and hone our capacity to shift our level of focus. It is important as part of knowing ourselves whether our default mode of functioning is by starting from specific and move to general or from general to specific. Having this awareness facilitates our tackling of problems, helps us to communicate with others, and to strategize for small or big projects. One brushstroke at a time, let us picture and realize, one word at a time and one action at a time, the masterpiece we can.
