So here we are: already on the other side of the midyear mark and the summer unfolds its golds, ochres and tans all over the hills in beautiful Marin County… I realized a few days ago that I had let June go without posting anything and that July was on its way out ! Time for a pause and coming up for air… because it feels like the last 6 months have spun themselves in a blur with me running along and demonstrating Kali-like multitasking skills…
A little more than half a year passed manning the Blissful Gallery, creating events, painting new canvasses and relentlessly learning the diverse loops and hoops of online visibility, network presence, platforms, membership renewals, advertisement, contracts… It’s been a sharp learning curve so far and I am looking forward to a gentler cruising in the remaining of the year to dedicate more time to my easel and less to my keyboard…
But there is no sidestepping option if I want to put the Blissful Gallery as well as myself, in the right light to become a local beacon in Fine Art. And that is exactly what I mean to do. Of course it encompasses a lot of numbers crunching, copy writing, material reading, phoning, Googling and what not… but it also takes sustaining a clear ongoing vision of the overall direction and higher means involved in the original idea that drove me to take the first step.
And what was the first step really ? Was it when my artist studio started feeling very cramped and inadequate to public traffic ? Or was it when I got frustrated with my first deceptive dealings with existing galleries, many years ago ? I’m not sure, but one day I was day dreaming about a very special space that would be the perfect surroundings to meaningful, whimsical and uplifting Art and next thing you know, I am dealing with lease papers, insurance, artist contracts and a thousand more tangible proofs of the real thing! By now, a semester later, it seems that everything in my life just grew bigger, faster and more promising, and I really truly enjoy the feeling… but I can see how much more vigilance and awareness it’s also requiring now for me to balance out this intense entrepreneurial daily life and my fundamental need for equilibrium, spaciousness, fluidity and freedom…
So when is it time to stop and breathe and not give a thought to whatever has not been accomplished, framed, posted, payed for, ordered, displayed or connected ? When is it absolutely essential to shut the door, turn off the computer screen, close the studio, end the conversation or call it a day ? Well, for me it’s when I forget the core meaning of what it’s all about. For instance right here and now, it’s about Bliss, as in Blissful Gallery. If I loose sight of the bliss factor, then I am off track. What is the point of going frantic to accomplish any of it, if it does not carry its own essence along each step ?
When needed, I have to delegate, procrastinate, delay or even cancel what would take the bliss out of my venture.
Because congruency is finally the best indicator of being in balance with one’s desire or dream is it not ?
There are days where letting go, cleansing, replenishing and dawdling is just the cleverest things you can do even if it feels counter productive… There are days where not doing is serving betterness. Days where contemplating is better than solving, dreaming better than acting and sauntering the best way to go nowhere in particular.
Today is a day for pause, for breathing and looking at the sky… a day for sitting in a garden or for a trip to the library, sipping a chai and smelling jasmine on the way there…
It might be a day of small things, but if it permits me to attune and reconnect with my core energy, it’s a perfect day, indeed.
Off for smaller doings… or nothing at all.
More later…