What do artists bring to the world, besides art? A reminder that there is not only one way of being. A reminder that the feral force of creativity isn’t solid, static, narrow, findable, or predictable, and our lives too can operate with such openness and fluidity.
The ”artist” I find the most inspiring is actually any person when they intuitively live life in a unique, unconventional, artful manner. Living like an artist means daring to surrender to spirit, even if there is a lack of certainty about outcome. It means experimenting and being open. It means something deeper than physically making art.
Artist mindset can remind us that allowing our lives to take shape in creative ways that feel true might not be that hard. It might require more letting go than actually doing.
In your life, can you think of a time that you did something ‘your way’? Maybe it was out of trust, out of listening to a deeper voice. Even if it wasn’t totally logical on paper, it just felt right in your heart. And it worked out.
There are so many ways of being.
By intuitively transcending constructs about what living a correct life is supposed to look and feel like, I am becoming more comfortable with believing that it is ok to be the way I am, which is fluid, adaptable, curious, experimental, non-solid, non-linear and made of many parts. I referred to myself as a flower arrangement the other day. Maybe you’re like that too, maybe we really all are, beneath the surface.
Here is why I’m writing about this. I’ve been confused about if there is a right way I’m supposed to do things. My life feels like a big garden of portals. I don’t just have one thing. Is that ok? I pour myself into many passions, projects, and channels for creativity, service, and love, and I like to be present and active in the communities and environments I am in. It’s a lot, but I can’t quit any of them, because I love them all. So in the last several years, I have observed myself engaging with these different areas of my life fluidly depending on where I am needed most (or sometimes what I need most myself). It is fulfilling. It is aligned in my heart. However, it is also mysterious and hard to pin down or systemize (in the way we are trained systems are supposed to look). For example, If I tried to organize each area of my life into a hierarchy or priority, it would change the very next moment. A pie chart of how much of me I designate to each area would look less like a pie with clean-cut solid slices and more like a hot swirling sphere of shape-shifting marbled color fields, oozing around like a kind of living fluid, different parts coming in and out of prominence. Everything is always shifting, always an experiment.
I used to think this was an invalid or underdeveloped way of being. I used to think this made me vague or chaotic or unspecified. However, having the persistence to keep my garden of many portals plentiful, the trust that I can maintain them skilfully, and the uncompromising devotion to following the mystery of what(ever) feels like truth, while also accepting that it is all subject to change… this is precisely what makes me an artist.
What does it mean to *be* an artist? Artist does not need to be a label, or an identity, or some *thing* to *be*. Perhaps instead it’s an ongoing act of viewing BE-ING as a verb that has the freedom and permission to greet each unique moment with creative and curious eyes.
If you can relate, I hope this reminder makes you feel excited about daring to be an artist of your life, whether you make art in a conventional sense or not.
May we live curiously + unconventionally!
May we be surprised by what we find!
May each moment be an art supply!
♡ - Kristen
P.S. How have you been enjoying Field of Visions? I’d love to hear from you! I also love answering questions. If you reply with a question I’d love to make a whole post inspired by it.