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Sunday, September 02, 2012

Loving What I'm Doing

Ever have one of those stretches--where you forget time, can really feel the magic--because you're doing something that's the thing that you're meant to be doing?

That's where I am right now. I pick up my paintbrush, and it's as though the brush knows exactly what to do. When I'm sitting and looking at a painting, trying to figure out what to do next,  I'm in joy. Not an ecstatic kind of thing--just a soulful kind of purpose...It's as though my brain is getting out of the way and I'm just painting...

I've been talking about this on the blog lately--about playing and having fun and letting go and just being where I am right at this very moment. The kids and I have been talking about this a lot too, since the two oldest are now at an age where "What am I going to do with my life?" starts to loom larger. Especially Katie--we've spent lots of time talking about finding the things in life that bring her joy--about the fact that the best kind of job is one where you love what you're doing.

She started playing the guitar in May, and has now written nine or ten songs. Being Katie, her guitar playing has progressed at an amazing pace (I still think that in another life, Katie was my grandmother--my guitar-playing grandmother!). She told me that she can go to her room, start playing the guitar, and look up and it's 2:30 in the morning and she's been strumming and singing for four hours! And that, I've said--that total absorption--is what we all need in life. Not that she's going to make a career out of songwriting, but that as humans we are at our best when we have a little bit of that kind of PLAY in our lives. It's important to leave room for that, and to recognize and cherish it when we find it...

I'm not sure that words can do this justice, but that's what I've been feeling lately--as though I'm completely in the act of painting while I'm doing it. I'm llike a little kid in the sandbox--completely captivated.

And it feels really good... Here's to each of us having more of those moments in our lives.


3 comments:

Lynn Cohen said...

I call it "being in the zone"...
My left brain has left the building.
I just "do".
Or it does itself. Not sure.
If people are around I can feel a tug back to left brain, is this okay? sort of thinking...but if totally in the zone/invisible to others feeling it does itself.

I hope Jenny gets enough sleep.
:-)

Rita said...

I miss that SOOOO much! I call it being lost in time. My darn body won't let me do that anymore. I have to set a timer for an hour and then wait 2-3 hours before I do another session or I pay dearly later. An hour! I am just getting in the zone! Sucks!!

I remember writing and the next thing I could hear the birds and the sun was coming up. And making cards or doing calligraphy or making Christmas presents or whatever all day long. I remember when this reorganizing project of mine would have been done in one long weekend. I would have gone from the time I woke up until my eyes were crossing for a couple of days and it would have been finished...and I would have loved every minute of it.

If you have anything that you love so much that time evaporates--DO IT! And do it a lot!! :):):)

Maria Ontiveros said...

I love it when my muse takes over.
Rinda