I've just recently started to entertain the idea,
Something I hadn't really thought of before,
That I'm lucky that I'm an artist.
And not in the sense of I get to do this as a job or a career,
But as just the fact that the way I see the world and the way the world feels to me,
I have a channel through which to express that.
And that's the luck of the artist,
That we have that creative channel where we can communicate with the world our perceptions of it and our expressions about it through poetry,
Sculpture,
Painting,
Dance,
Whatever our medium might be.
And in so many ways,
We're told about the difficulties of being an artist and how we have so many obstacles in our way and the myths around being a struggling artist,
A starving artist,
The person in pain who's expressing through their art.
And the truth is,
We're lucky that we have that channel to express from.
And whether it's a positive experience or a negative experience we're having,
We have the ability to alchemise whatever we're going through and create art from it.
We really do turn nothing into something.
We turn a blank page into art or a story and we share that.
And from that sharing,
We can connect and resonate with others.
And it's through this unspoken creative force that goes through us that we've met with and that we collaborate with.
And not everyone gets to do that.
And we can all be a bit swamped with all the negative ideas about being an artist and how much of a struggle it is.
And then we can fall prey to that and buy into it and dwell in that arena without really looking at what the art and the creativity within us brings to us and how much.
I want to say it's like gold.
It's like something very valuable and not everyone has access.
We do and we get to express it in whatever form we wish to.
And we always have that within us every single minute of every single day.
It doesn't leave us.
It doesn't abandon us.
It is with us like a companion throughout life and that we get to perceive the world slightly differently because we can see the nuances.
We might perceive things that others might not and we can communicate that through our mediums of whatever art form we choose to have.
And that is incredibly lucky,
Incredibly fortunate and a complete gift.
And even though everybody can access their creativity,
Not everybody does.
And we as artists have chosen to open the door to that creativity and work with it.
And even though there may be struggles along the way,
So I'm not denying that there are,
And it might not be the easiest path to choose,
It's positives far outweigh the negatives.
I would never want to be in this world without being an artist in it.
And I think it's one of the most precious gifts that we have to support us through our life journey and through how we see the world and how we navigate with the world.
And we as artists are fortunate enough to have that on our side and accompanying us through everything.
And so whether we're going through a real painful experience and struggling and whether we're going through a really abundant time and really joyous,
All of this can be alchemised through our art and expressed through it,
Which is incredible.
And not everyone gets that opportunity.
And we as artists do.
Whether you make your living from art,
Whether you do it as a hobby,
Whatever way you express it,
The fact that you can and you can access that is the gift.
And I think we want to dwell in that arena way more than the one that we're sold about the negatives about being an artist.
Because there are so many more positives,
But I think we need to be looking in that direction.
And it's only recently I've started looking there and thinking of how lucky I actually am and how much benefit and joy and support my own art has brought me in my life throughout and continues to.
It's a gift that keeps giving.
It doesn't just run out.
It's not,
It's reciprocal.
If we play with art and we navigate it in a reciprocal manner,
It gives back to us,
Which is amazing.
So I think if you're an artist,
Then you're lucky.
And I think it's worth dwelling in that space to really absorb how fortunate we all are to have this gift of creativity coursing through us and for us to have accepted the collaboration and that we work with and how much that aids and supports us throughout our lives.
