If someone told you that you could have everything exactly as you want it, in all aspects of your life as long as you could paint a clear, accurate picture, incorporating symbols of everything that you want or think you need, how much effort would you put into it?
Would you trip yourself up at the outset by saying ‘I can’t paint?’
Maybe your way would be to take yourself off to research the whole history of art and artists in order to gather all the information you need to know to create a picture of your own?
Perhaps you would sign up for art classes, telling yourself that when you are highly skilled at watercolours, oil on canvas or line drawing you will start work on your personal masterpiece?
It could be that you are already adept with the paintbrush but are presently toying with different styles and not exactly sure of your genre?
And what about other people? Would they understand where you were coming from? Would they like your work? What if someone was offended by your picture and refused to speak to you ever again?
Then, of course, there’s the possibility that you would be letting everyone who looked at the picture into some of your most closely held secrets…
I’m sure there are also many additional reasons why the painting, once completed, might never see the light of day.
Of course, there are a myriad of ways to create the life you want to lead, and just as many ways, reasons, excuses we can employ to avoid the responsibility for the creation.
You actively choose where and how you live; you choose who shares your life; and how you make your money and spend your time. We all use symbols to create meaning, for example, words are symbols of communication that we use to express ourselves and create a meaningful existence in the form of relationships with others.
Although it’s rewarding when other people recognise and appreciate our symbols, we still have and constantly use our own personal symbols on a sub-conscious level, regardless of approval from others.
Conscious choice, including close attention to detail to our symbols can result in a more vivid and rewarding reality.
For me, such details as beautiful locations; quirky situations and genuine, happy people feature as some of the symbols I choose to express my chosen experience of existence.
