Routine.  Commitments.  Demands.  Expectations.  Results. Our days are intentionally built on these. They make sense–we get stuff done. But remove them and see what else can happen. Easy exploration. No guilt. Creative problem solving.  Quiet looking.  And still—results.

SNOW DAYS!! A chance to surrender.

This past weekend relinquishing control of schedule left lots of room for the things at the top of my values list.  It facilitated being in the now, unable to be busy with the usual.  Options were removed so predicted paths could not be followed.  Being fortunate to be warm and dry with food in the fridge, there were no worries. The “set-up” was good so reacting, not planning, was possible.  Not thinking about even the immediate future was freeing.

Once again, surrender echoes the prime sensibility for creating.  With space, materials, subject and time, you can set: an idea; a collection of marks; glops of paint; a collage piece; etc. in motion and let involvement in the experience, not the outcome, be the focus.  That’s the favorite aspect of the “Follow the Leader” exercise. It takes away the control so you can just enjoy the experience and let it lead you into the unexpected. Of course, the unexpected can lead to a mess of mud and leave you lost.  But in the process of finding your way out of that mess, discovery comes to light.

Actor Mathew  McConaughey,  in an interview discussing his decision to risk unemployment in order to accept only acting roles that would allow him to grow and provide meaning, says:  “I’ve been choosing the experience, and I’ve been loving the experience of it, and I’ve noticed that if I stick to the process and love the process and what I’m doing, head down, but not thinking about results…. more results are coming my way.”

Valuing the experience without looking toward the results is the most assured way of getting results that resonate. So this week let’s pretend it’s a “snow day” and surrender. Make it interesting by letting go of outcomes and doing things you’ve never done. Pull out underpaintngs or fresh substrates and with simply an attitude of “what-if”  love  the process.