This quote is hanging in my studio and something that I think about often. I was wondering what you thought about it.....
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't be insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. It's not in some of us it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. "
~Marianne Williamson
Friday, October 5, 2007
Our Deepest Fear
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4 comments:
I have encountered this quote before, though I don't remember the circumstances. What a wonderful thought to have hanging in your studio where you might notice it everyday! It is quite timely and poignant for me as I find myself surrounded by all of these flower images and energies that are begging to be shared with a wider audience.
What am I waiting for?
As I (we) face our current culture which seems intent on keeping us in a state of fear and powerlessness I aspire to live by such an ideal.
"Be the change you want to see in the world." -Gandhi
Cheryl~
It has been so wonderful for you to put your art out into the world and I can appreciate the fear that often comes with "not knowing" how something will be received.
"If you don't go, you will never know." I can't remember who said that but your words reminded me of it. Thinking about how long it has been since we went to college together I was wondering if you see similar themes in your work form then until now? In my work I notice that I am still drawn to nature and curved forms and find it curious.
In the introduction to my final project at Riv, a book of photographs and commentary, I wrote:
I was looking for some kind of meaning in the world around me, and thought I might find it by observing those things which occur every day...I try to assess my life and my place in the larger scheme of things...(these photographs) help me in my attempt to answer a recurring question: what's really important?
If I hadn't just pulled that out and reread it, I would have said that I hardly feel any connection to the person I remember being back then. But since those questions still motivate me, I'm obviously still connected on some level.
My perspective has most certainly changed, though. I used to walk around downtown Nashua and covertly take pictures of people. I guess I thought maybe they had the answers. Now, I'm looking to nature to find those answers--and I am convinced that SHE DOES have them.
So yes, there are definitely similar themes.
The subjectmatter has changed, but my intention to capture an emotion or state of being has not.
My mind wanders to the parallels between this change in artistic focus from people to nature to the personal changes I have undergone and the way I have chosen to arrange my life...but that's a whole other topic that might be better suited to a different blog.
Reading your words brought me back to the "workaholic" that I was once labeled and took pride in when I was in school. I wonder how rich my years could have been at Riv if I had been more present to them instead of "rushing to finish them". I was always a bit envious of you and Trish hanging out in the studios and felt like I was missing out on something but I didn't know what. Maybe it was that time to talk, share and think about all of these ideas about art and life. I can only speculate. I don't want to look back, only forward at this point in my life, although I can take what I have learned and use it in a positive way. One important lesson is to not let the world slip by in the haze of only working, not living. Teaching was different kind of job because I didn't see it as work. It was something that constantly brought new challenges, surprise and growth. It was deeply gratifiying but all consuming. There has always been a secret, yearning undercurrent that made me feel like there was more for me to do in this world. Figuring what that is is a different matter.
Being in school now opens my mind to really think about what it means to have intention in my work. I feel like you have to look deep within yourself and ask some hard questions. What is important to you? Being able to articulate these questions in a visual and written form is the hardest thing that I have ever been asked to do. Right now I feel a bit vulnerable, like I am on the cusp of something, but what it is is unclear. Maybe this is the time that I need to not "think" so much and let myself be guided.
I find it interesting that you have the same "central questions" that you did back then. Even more interesting to me is how similar your questions are to my own right now.
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