Letting Go

Shifting Gears

For the past 7 months, I have been running around non-stop preparing for my big sailing adventure. I haven’t talked much about it here, but if you are interested, please read about it on my other blog, SailingHaunani. I am participating in the Singlehanded TransPac on July 2, so my life has been consumed by all things sailing lately. Making art is always on my mind, but I have allowed it to settle into the distant recesses lately. That is until yesterday when the pull into my studio could not be denied. I was supposed to go on a practice sail, but when those plans changed, I surrendered to my creative urges and dove into my studio for a few hours. I pulled out old pieces that had been laid to the side and breathed new life into them. It was amazing how much flowed out of me in a short time. I guess it had all been bottled up in there! What I am really amazed about (and reminded of…AGAIN) is that once I open that door, the creative juices start flowing and are almost unstoppable.

Since my life has been so single purposed lately, a lot of areas have gone untended. My creative practice and my spiritual practice are two biggies. It felt so good to show a little love to myself in this way yesterday. I felt so nourished and so deeply satisfied. I was able to process some things that have been lingering, or more accurately that I have been avoiding. I was able to dive into those places yesterday. I took a deep swim in grief, loss, disappointment, and exhaustion. I still have not fully realized what came out of it, but I will say that I feel different today. Things are stirred up, and in my morning writing session today, I was able to chip away some (previously elusive) healing nuggets to chew on. I could see more clearly and feel more deeply into so much that had until now been a confusing swirl.

The theme for me right now is letting go. I must let go of so much. I am not sure why that is so scary or hard, but it is. I am grateful to my creative practice for showing me where I need to go and what I need to do. I hope to dive back in later today for more clarity and more release. I suspect that no matter what I do, just that one act of getting into my studio healed some places in me that needed healing. Art really does heal!

Here are some pieces I worked on. All are in process....just like me!