Artists spend hours in openness. They free their minds from being in complete control. While it can feel risky, openness gives them a chance to experience change and break down the barriers that can build up from everyday living. It allows them to work beyond boundaries of what else is happening. They know that in each moment they have the choice to anxiously wait, resist, or long for something, or to experience the inner awareness and beauty that is deep within their hearts. Artists who improvise are particularly adept at taking chances and opening to possibility.
The spirit of jazz is the spirit of openness.
~ Herbie Hancock
Openness allows artists to find unexpected delights, new information, and opportunities for growth. Artists learn from the inside out. In every moment you are either closing and resisting or opening. Openness is easy for some; others may find it to be more of a challenge and have to work at it continually.
Whether it’s easy or a challenge, the effort ultimately rewards you with new ideas, new opportunities, and new experiences. Choosing to live in openness can help you express yourself artistically, creating the life you desire. The life you experience becomes your work of art, and you experience the surprising benefits that artists find within and through the work they create.
How open are you?
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- Do you experiment with new food or would you rather stick with what is familiar?
- Are you curious or do prefer routine?
- Do you try different options or always stick with a plan?
- Are you imaginative or down to earth?
- Are you aware of your feelings or do you rarely notice your emotional reactions?
- Are you open to new ideas or resistant to change?
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It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.
~ Erma Bombeck
Leaping right into artistic expression as a life experience is not necessarily easy. It takes courage particularly if you have never lived this way. It takes time, commitment, attentiveness, and the willingness to learn. You may feel vulnerable or frozen with fear. Artists often experience these feelings in their training or presenting their work to the public, but that doesn’t stop them from expressing themselves artistically.
Eagerness, interest, and curiosity build with every chance you take. The fun truly begins once you get past the feeling of anxiety and the threat of being exposed. It’s still hard work, but the rewards of open-ended learning and independence and the allure that comes from what you can create are exciting and powerful.
Creative experiences can be produced regularly, consistently, almost daily in people’s lives. It requires enormous personal security and openness and a spirit of adventure.
~ Steven Covey
Promise to live your life as an artist, never giving in to unused potential. Work to gradually make it the focus of every possible moment. You can have creative experiences daily and reap the benefits of fresh insights and new levels of awareness, knowledge, and understanding.
— Pat