FIELD OF POSSIBILITY
/“It’s not the unknown we should be afraid of, but the known. Step into the field of possibility.”
~ Deepak Chopra
During this Father’s Day weekend, I am thinking about my dad, with gratitude. And because it is also the Summer Solstice, the longest light filled day of the year, it inspires me to dream into new possibilities. To illuminate and fertilize what nourishes me, while I courageously let go of what no longer feeds my soul.
In this way, my father has been an inspiration for me. He is almost 90 years old, and when he was still just a young lad on the cusp of adulthood, a few months shy of his 18th birthday, he left his childhood home back in England, and moved to the United States.
He had not planned to stay in the States for the rest of his life, when he first set sail for New York City, in June 1948. He’d merely intended to have a bit of a holiday, to visit his oldest sister, who had recently married an American GI. But as London continued to clean up the rubble and rebuild itself after World War II, my dad packed his satchel and boarded a trans-atlantic ocean liner. He traveled modestly, in third class steerage, sharing a room with three other fellows, replete with two bunk beds and a loo. He was enthusiastic and curious, looking for a bit of adventure, following the energy of his imagination.
He has since told me how much he loved that week onboard the ship, where he ate well, saw a musical show every night, danced beneath the stars, and slept soundly in his bunk, rocked by the wave motion of the Atlantic Ocean. And then, as if by magic, on a bright summer morning, they docked at the gateway to America. Under the welcoming gaze of the Statue of Liberty, my dad disembarked from the ship, walked down the gangplank amidst the throng of his fellow passengers, and into the welcoming embrace of his brother-in-law. Talk about stepping into a field of possibility! How thrilling that moment must have been for him and what courage it called forth. Before him stretched a blank canvas, a new page, an opportunity to trust the present moment, and to follow his own aliveness.
This sounds to me a lot like the Intuitive Painting process, where we say “yes” to the unfamiliar and unknown. We trust our intuition and allow our imagination to guide us. We practice staying present and we track where our greatest energy is. We listen well to our internal muse, so that we may hear and receive her generous, benevolent, bossy, frequently sassy, playful, and paradoxical prompts.
Needless to say, my father never moved back to England. He became enchanted with the field of possibilities available to him here in the States. He followed his curiosity and the aliveness of the present moment. Over time, he became a U.S. citizen, served in the army, and went to University. He married my mother, had two daughters, later divorced, and then some years after that, he remarried very happily. He is blessed with three fine grandsons, and more recently, an adorable great grandson. Along the way, he’s made friends, he’s made mistakes, he’s gained wisdom, and he’s made lots of jokes.
In the past, it was not always so easy between the two of us. There were swaths of time when we had difficulty understanding one another, when distance grew between us. During those times it was painful to feel so separate. I am happy to report that in recent years we have grown very close again. There has been a shedding of the old stories and positions. We are more tender and more real with each other; we have forgiven and been forgiven. I am delighted to say that now there is simply presence and love, flowing with ease, between father and daughter. For this, I am deeply grateful.
While I’m at it, I also want to express gratitude to my dad, for transmitting two essential precepts for a life well lived. The first is to follow your heart’s true longing. The second is to keep your sense of humor, even when things are difficult, especially when things are difficult. And one more thing, I want to say thanks Dad, for always carrying a clean white handkerchief in your pocket, for those many life moments of tears and sneezes.
My father’s journey reminds me that whenever we are embarking upon a new path or challenging project, especially during times of uncertainty and disruption, times when we might be feeling fear or trepidation, it is helpful to have support. Whether we are traveling to a new country, navigating our lives during a global pandemic, saying good-bye to a loved one, changing jobs, starting a family, or starting a new painting or poem, it is extremely essential and delicious to have support from a friend, a mentor, a sangha, our family, our ohana.
My father was heartily welcomed to this new landscape by his sister and brother-in-law. My Uncle Irving even took him to Yankee stadium that very first weekend after Dad arrived from the UK, sharing the summertime magic of American baseball!
Here at Creative Resonance, I wholeheartedly welcome you into the magical realm of Painting, Poetry, & Play for the Soul. With paints and brushes, paper and glitter, and my loving support, I invite you to join me in this safe, healing, playful kiva of creativity. Together we practice trusting in our intuition and imagination, we follow the energy of our own aliveness, and we reconnect with our true self. We allow ourselves to “step into the field of possibility”.
Below I’d like to share with you one of my poems about this simple potent practice of Creative Resonance:
Invitation to Thrive
I invite you to join me in a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance,
to enter this generous garden where we cross-pollinate painting, poetry, and play,
a sanctuary where we appreciate and celebrate who we already are,
a path of inclusion, where messiness has permission to be exactly as it is,
a process of alchemy, where paradox and synchronicity are always welcome,
a loving place of no fretting, no fixing, no resisting, no way to do it wrong,
here we find our sangha, our ohana, “where nobody gets left behind or forgotten.”
Intuitive Painting invites us to become intimate with creativity itself,
to have beginner’s mind and a childlike willingness to explore and play,
to be curious about color, the allure of shape and image, trusting the brush to guide us.
Here we paint like children, engaged in the process, not attached to the product,
where we wade into waves of glitter and gold, make bold wild strokes of neon tempera hues,
all the while, tended and befriended by our own benevolent Muse,
chaperoned by a gracious presence, the synergy of Creative Resonance.
Process Poetry is an invitation to take dictation from our bossy glorious soul,
to be in conversation with the unconventional, the unconscious, the quirky, and the taboo,
a playful, respectful, sometimes sassy call and response,
a walkabout into the labyrinth of imagination and mystery,
a practice of demystifying the actual act of writing, simple as chopping wood and carrying water.
A process of deep listening to the small voice within, just as brave, and just as creative,
as looking into the mirror and welcoming ourselves all the way in.
Soul Play is a safe portal, a simple array of movement explorations designed to nourish us,
a sustainable menu of moving meditations, distilled and woven from Yoga, Improv, and Tai Chi,
gentle, playful, self-regulated forays into motion and stillness, sound and silence,
a chance to dance with our own inner knowing,
a way to encourage our embodied wisdom to flow.
And because self-care and play are essential to enlivening our creativity,
It is a magic pass that inspires us to grow, catalyzing our unique aliveness.
The trio of Painting, Poetry, & Play for the Soul is your invitation to thrive.
Your chance to reconcile your clever-minded left brain with your wise-hearted right brain.
Who would have guessed these simple elegant practices could help you feel so alive?
Your soul knew, that’s who! The one who longs to belong, she intuitively knew.
So please, join me in this terrain of Expressive Arts. Here I am your seasoned sherpa.
I attune well to your words and to the unspoken gestures of your inner landscape.
I welcome all of you, just as you are, encouraging you to courageously be your true self.
