Echoes From the Canyon Collage
"The greatest discovery in life is self discovery. Until you find yourself you will always be somebody else.” Miles Munroe
That is a powerful thought provoking quote. I gave it a lot of thought this past week. Discovering who we are is a life long journey. It starts the day we are born and ends the day we die. Discovering our interests, our potential, our purpose, and what we are capable of is very important, and changes as we age.
Knowing who we are is the key to our personal power. It lies in our discovering who we are and what we are capable of. Our identity is our uniqueness as individuals.
I almost stopped teaching a few years back, and teaching has been a very big part of my life, because a group of students had taken the course to learn to paint like me. When I explained that, that was not possible because they were not me, they did not understand.
I teach techniques and composition; I can’t teach my unique creative energy. Students must take the techniques and composition I teach and produce something that is uniquely them. Something that tells their story. Creating our “masterpieces” resides where our individual values, passion, and strengths meet, and they are different for everyone.
We can admire other peoples work and emulate individuals, but the end goal is to let our soul, our ideas, our feeling be the foundation for our work. Whether it is a creative endeavor, a business deal, or just everyday living, being genuine and true to ourselves is very important.
Creativity is an energy. It's a precious energy that is unique in everyone. It is something we need to nurture and protect. I know from experience, having felt it myself, it is like magic! It is an energy that comes from within.
Since our gifts lie in the place where our values, passion, and strengths meet, discovering that place is the first step toward self-discovery and expressing our voice in a unique way. It takes a lot of soul searching and courage to be our authentic selves. To discover the person we are, not the person we want to be like.
Self-discovery can be challenging and a little scary. Yet, it can be a profoundly rewarding experience for the mind, soul, and our creative output. We find a depth in things we did not know existed. We become our own person and are no longer driven by ego, what other people think, or the need to be like someone else. We are driven by an inner energy which makes our life and our creative work richer and more authentic.
Self-discovery. is our path to authenticity. To get there we need to rid ourselves of negative “self-talk”, accept who we are, and enjoy our uniqueness. We must create what needs to be created from our core.
“We all live under the same sky, but we don't all have the same horizon.” Konrad Adenauer
Let’s create joyfully and from our own heart. Carolyn