Flying Girl Sends Long Distance Love, or You Have Wings to Fly

Flying Girl Sends Long Distance Love, or You Have Wings to Fly
2/018/09
Golden Fluid Acrylic on paper, 5x8"

This Flying Girl is not so much about my own creativity, as it is about wanting to support others in their creativity. Over the course of my life, I have been surrounded by so many creative folk, female, male, young, not so young, sure in their own creativity and insecure, experts and just starting out.

Life's tough right now. Finances, job security, housing, commerce-- all shaky. Things are folding left and right. It is a pretty tumultuous time, and it would be easy to lose the faith in yourself. It would be easy to fall off your own path as you get all wrapped up in the mess of it all.

But even when it's scary, we still have the power to deal with whatever comes our way. We can still create the life we are meant to life, even if it takes detours and delays to get there. Remembering that means remembering we don't have to let the tough times keep us from flying. Maybe we fly close to the safety of the ground for a while, maybe we fly alone, or slide into someone else's slipstream to ease our journey when we need help, maybe we even land for the night, to regain our strength. It's all good. It's part of our journey. And we are still flying.

As I read Jamie's post on the 7th secret, listening to our guides (in the 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women) I realized something new.

At first, I thought those secrets would be my spiritual guides. I often turn to the tarot cards, the Iching, the Medicine cards and other forms of oracles. In fact, I read for others, and many times the readings focus on the creative journey.

Then as I read, I remember those people who have helped me along... mentors of sorts. My parents and grandparents, my friend's parents, my teachers.

Also it came to me that other writers and artists have served as guides, in both their lives and their writings. I don't have to actually know these people to have them serve as guides. Even fictional characters can guide, at times.

Then I thought about my friends, my peers. All the people I have talked about art, or shown my work to. All the people who have supported me and urged me on. All the people with whom I went on artist's dates, or cooked, or talked about our creative dreams, or sat in cafes writing side by side. The people who came together into creative groups, whether geared towards writing or empowerment. My online friends, too, count in this group, as I have been inspired and led by their creativity over the last year or so. In the last 20 years, it's people like you who have opened the doors to my creativity.

After reading other people's posts on guides, I have to come back to my own role in this. I'm a guide, too. Sometimes I think it is one of my most important roles in life. I used to write and paint to entertain myself. That's not why I do it anymore. I write for other people. I paint for other people, to help them along on their journeys by showing mine. I still get something out of it, but to give it purpose, I need to give it to others.

While I can't help but want to help other people, I am also cognizant of the ways in which they guide me. How we switch places as leader and follower, and that's part of why it works, just like Amy said the other day. We are guides and we are guided in return.

So while I have the faith to give, I send it to you.

Some days, I need the reminders to believe in myself, and I just might need one of you to lead.