Blank Pages
It can be a bit daunting to look at a blank page, pen in hand, having no idea what’s going to come out. Drawings, songs, poetry, journaling, anything that’s inside of you suddenly popping out on a page is a vulnerable experience. And if you pause and do a little bit of an audit in your mind, that moment can lead to some fascinating bits of revelation for your inner world.
So my silly work flow is I have this small blank notebook and a sharpie. That’s right. Two measly simple tools in the vast swath of options for artistic medium, I chose something that’s…just so hard to get off your hands (and your kids’ hands for that matter).
As I open the notebook, I shift from approaching the page, to approaching the bench. The walls melt and I’m in a courtroom. No one is in those funny white wigs, and no on is looking anywhere else but me. I think I have my pants on still…yep at least I got that going for me.
Then, the what if’s roll in.
”What if this looks horrible?”
”What if nobody likes this?”
”What if this is it and I can never come up with anything ever again?”
”What if ___________”
’What if’s’ become your fist pounding your face while a bully taunts with “Stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself!”
Here’s where I’ve had to create a little mental pop up; like Clippy in Windows 95.
That pop is simply my ‘why’.
My ‘why’ for my silly little pictures and sayings has nothing to do with earning approval from anyone (since I’m already supremely and cosmically loved already. More on that come Easter), but because I LOVE light entering someones day. I love the idea that in the space of doom and gloom, whether on social media or in their actual lives, someone can look at something and experience light and levity. I’m praying those moments can grow and compound more and more in your life.
So now when I see a blank page, and I pause and go through the sludge, the ‘what if’s’ become something different. There no longer my judge nor adversary, but the Gandalf to my Bilbo asking “I am looking for someone to share an adventure with...”
”What if this is the coolest idea I’ve ever had?”
”What if this really connects with someone and gives them a genuine, true ‘ROFL’?”
”What if this inspires someone else to give something a try?”
”What if I look back on this page when I’m old and gray and, with a nostalgic smile, feel warmth and light at these days I got to live in?”
After all, if you’re prone to “what if’s”, why not give some space to explore positive outcomes and not just the negative ones.
I guess that’s what Inteesive Thoughts are.
Back to creating,
Further up & further in
