Today someone very special to me gave me a calender for 2009.  It was not just any calender I realized immediately. I was instantly struck by the beauty of the artwork, the intricacy, the colour, the vibrancy, the life that jumped off the pages at me!  I exclaimed in wonder: “Who is this artist?”.  The reply - the artist was the person who gave me the calender, the person standing in front of me!  Yes, she had brought her art to the world, and who knew of her talent until now!  The calender took on even more meaning and grew a life of its own as I continued to admire it throughout the day.  I am so proud to be witness to this work and so honoured to hold in my hands the art that represents, I believe, this person’s core essence.  Here is someone who has talent, not only for art but for her life and it is manifesting.  How beautful.  What a precious gift to me and to the world. 

 Our lives too can be viewed as our own personal artist’s canvas.  There is a way that we can all be artists of our own lives, even as some of us believe we cannot draw or paint.  What would it look like if we allowed the intricacy, the colour, and the vibrancy which exists in each of us to simply “be”, easily and effortlessly.  I am talking about what comes naturally to you.   What does your inner artist, your core essence, look like to you?   Do you share it? Or is it trapped within you?  What is your ache, your longing in your life?  When will you let it free to be as it was meant to be? How do you want to paint the canvas of your life?

It is critical that we consider these questions and do the work that can assist us to be clear and know what it is that we long for in our life.  If not, too soon we will be reflecting back on our lives lived.  What will each of us say when we are near the end of our life?  That is a question and answer personal to each of us.  Take up your paintbrush and paint  in whatever way is true for you. It is your canvas… 

I know that my Inner Artist wants to soar like an eagle, be as majestic and yet as natural.  It loves being whacky and dramatic, and quietly meditative.  It loves being on the stage speaking and connecting with audiences and it loves the stillness of the game reserve and a retreat centre.   It loves the written and the unspoken words.  It completey loves the lack of control that comes from dissolving into giggles over “nothing”.  It enjoys with a passion unmatched, the incredible emotional movement of music, the depth and breadth of books, walking in the forests of British Columbia,  and spending time staring at the waves crashing to the beach in South Africa.  It loves watching the full moon, knowing that on the other side of the world, my father looks at it too and thinks of me.  It likes to howl at the moon for the sheer release and also for the sheer comedic value!  It is the global wanderer that loves the moment an aeroplane thrusts itself into the air and when it lands again, in a completely different place.  It loves seeing in each person their light and their potential and loving them and their dreams deeply. It is me and I paint my canvas. 

I would love to hear how you paint yours.

With love and thanks to all the amazing people in my life who continue to inspire me.  You are the “wind beneath my wings”.

K