“Being an artist means, not reckoning and counting, but ripening like the tree which does not force its sap and stands confident in the storms of spring without fear that after them may come no summer. It does come. But it comes only to the patient, who are there as though eternity lay before them, so unconcernedly still and wide. I learn it daily, learn it with pain to which I am grateful: patience is everything!”
~ Rainer Maria Rilke, from Letters To A Young Poet
Patience in the storms of spring…
I read those words and suddenly the tides of emotions I’ve been feeling, the inner struggles I’ve been facing, all made sense.
Why?
Let’s not forget that spring can be tumultuous. Yes, there’s green growth happening and pretty flowers blooming on trees around us, but think of the work that transformation takes! From the dead of the winter when much is dormant, new life arises. Don’t expect it to be smooth. Growth is messy.
When you commit to an artistic life (i.e. when you realize that calling deep down that it’s in you, whether or not you’re actively making art), you’re also signing up to feel the cycles and seasons of life - magnified!
You are an artist. You are more sensitive to the world around you. You feel things deeply. You long to express that energy inside, you long to paint the world with your colors and strokes.
And so your body tunes in to everything around you - especially the changing seasons and moon cycles.
You can choose to numb out to all of this. And many do.
You can cover the feelings and cycles with a whole range of things: from booze to Netflix to overly “busy” syndrome. You can pretend the creative impulse is not really there and instead just live a “normal” life.
But does the straight and narrow path really work for you?
Rebell against the status quo! (quoting my dad Gerry Grippo on that one ;)
Make waves, paint your strokes, choose your colors.
And don’t be afraid of a stormy spring.
The summer WILL come.
The sap will flow.
Without having to push or force or try,
you will channel something beautiful into the world.
It will come together.
Trust this emergence.
Have patience with your delicate process.
And while you ride the storms of spring, don’t forget to dance through the rain.
[feature_box style="11" only_advanced="There are no title options for the choosen style" content_font_font="Trebuchet MS" alignment="left"]
If you’re feeling the storms of spring deeply,
You don’t have to ride them alone.
Dance into your answers with me on June 10th in NYC:
https://danceintoyouranswers.splashthat.com/
or online on June 9th:
https://danswersonline.splashthat.com
[/feature_box]
with surrender to spring and faith in my heart,
Jess
