Living an EXPANSIVE life

Every day I read and see so much… don’t we all… but this week I just HAD to share this concept with you.

It’s a thought by Emily McDowell. I’ve been following her for years and I love the way she writes and illustrates and thinks. This is a concept that she wrote about a little while back, that I haven’t been able to get out of my mind, and I SO wanted to share with you:

And these are her words:

“…what if, instead of a line that goes perpetually up and to the right, with the goal of reaching a future point of “success,” the point of being alive is expansion? What if another, more accurate definition of success is the process of broadening our experiences, growing in different directions, deepening our understanding of ourselves and the collective, gathering new information, and adjusting our decisions accordingly as we go?

In the “expansion” illustration, there is no point B. Instead of “before and after,” there’s a perpetual during. This, as it turns out, is a much more accurate portrayal of what it’s like to exist.”

A PERPETUAL DURING… can you identify with that???

I LOOOOOOVE IT!

As a card carrying “Creative”,  I find it difficult to stop and smell the roses… to celebrate a finish… because I’ve already moved onto the next idea. And it’s something that I’d like to get a little better at, but I’m not going to lose sleep over, because “Hello new idea! Let’s go!'“.

So I really like this idea of expansion - of living a colourful life that just gets bigger as long as I live… some bands of colour will grow slowly and other’s will be a flash… but it all adds up to a life. Hopefully a bright and BIG one!

That’s my wish for you too.

I also saved this note this week:

Life is heavy for everyone at the moment. And we’re all on vastly different ships/boats/rafts/pool noodles in this huge, deep ocean of life.

But the ‘fun’ of life can be found in our heads (ask Anne Frank, Eddie Jaku, etc etc etc). And whatever your situation, it is well worth looking for it.

And this is why I keep sharing art ideas, originals, classes, inspiration and workshops in an effort to help people (you!?!) find some fun… find your joy.

That’s my mission.

Let me know what you think of the progress vs expansion idea. I know I’m definitely going to make some time later today fill a page with a plan for a COLOURFUL life - and then stick it on the fridge to open the conversation with the teenagers in my house.

So… a deeper message than usual today. But hopefully I’ve got you thinking.

Big love, my fellow Shiny Happy Artist (if you’ve read this far - you’re one of us - welcome).