It’s never too late

I have allowed myself to be held back by a lot of things over the years. Usually a lack of one thing and another. You know how it is. Not enough money, lack of confidence, poor self esteem or self belief. Is that the same thing? There are too many to mention. I could play the blame game and lament over missed opportunities. If only — fill in the blank.

Finding blame or pointing fingers is a poorly disguised time waster.

I once told myself thirty-five was too old to work with teenagers. Then I heard about someone leading a youth group when they were eighty-five. Apparently age really isn’t a barrier. I successfully worked with young people for years once that barrier was smashed.

We all have limiting beliefs we have picked up along the way. I can’t sing, I can’t draw, I can’t dance. We could save ourselves a lot of angst if only we held onto being like a small child. Have you noticed how young children – pre school usually, before they’ve been exposed to life in the jungle, paint and dance and sing with abandon. They don’t ask if there are rules or if they have to be qualified first. They move to music because it is playing, they sing along at the top of their lungs because they can, they draw or paint because it’s fun.

What happened to carefree creativity? Something happens along the way. Anne Lamott says, ‘Life is very lifey.’ We lose our freedom one unhelpful comment at a a time. A flippant remark here, a criticism there and soon we are closing down our creative selves. Hiding those tender creative parts and keeping them safe.

Creativity is one of my three top values. Curiosity and connection are the other two. I stopped working to focus on creativity a few years ago. I am limited with arthritis which restricts my working capacity. I am thankful every day for being blessed with a supportive husband. He is my biggest cheer leader.

I challenged those limiting beliefs holding me back and started writing ‘Morning Pages’ and committed to writing this blog every month. I keep discovering new limiting beliefs. Like peeling an onion, tears included sometimes.

I was one of those ‘I can’t draw’ people. I decided it was time to get over that limiting belief. Now I draw stuff. I paint and I draw. I am rarely happy with the result. But that’s not why I draw. For me it’s about the process far more than the result.

I persist. I figure it’s like learning an instrument or a language. It takes patient persistence and a lot of practice.

Recently I made my husband, Glyn, come to an art class with me. Our first. Linda Bester was running three art workshops and I’d already missed two due to the storm and all the trees and chaos that followed.

We turned up and Linda had us drawing a Kookaburra on a stump. It was realistic drawing. Not my usual loose water colour. Glyn was like the proverbial duck. His Kookaburra even surprised Linda.

I know right? Talk about hiding a light under a bushel. I’m sitting here typing and Glyn is at the dining room table drawing his next masterpiece.

He has amazed himself with what he is capable of drawing. The process has flicked a switch in him and now he is hooked. It’s a little quieter than drums.

The process of making something from thin air is nothing short of amazing. It changes our brain and our heart and creates new muscle memory. It changes us in all sorts of cool ways.

I wonder if you have limiting beliefs holding you back. Life is short my friend. Why not dance to the music and sing at the top of your lungs? Pick up a paint brush or pencils. Write a poem, write a song, write a book! I will be here cheering you on.