Let life lead the way..
We are always in the flow of life, whether we think we are or whether we think we are not.
It is not uncommon for us humans to fall for the illusion that somehow we are in control, that we make all the big decisions and that life is our creation. Of course we have our feet in the game, we set intentions, we get to choose how we show up and how we respond to what shows up - but other than that we are essentially driving without our hands on the wheel.
Why is it important to have a sense of this?
Because if we don’t, and we think we are the sole architects of our lives, we can get buffeted by the unexpected gales that blow through from time to time, or derailed but the sudden diversions that inevitably arise from being a human in the world at this time. If we know that this is a fundamental design feature of life as it evolves, then we ultimately navigate with much more ease and find new harbours of opportunity when we have to take a detour!
I have been reflecting of late, on the balance between having plans and being organised versus embracing the unexpected and spontaneous. (funny this has also been showing up in my art through different mark making, the geometric and the organic. I love how our musings come through unconsciously in our work and we don’t see it until later).
If you ask people where they most comfortably sit on this spectrum they will have a clear view. You will hear phrases like “I like to go with the flow”, “I’m not very organised but I get stuff done” to “I always have a list and a plan, I don’t function without a list” and “I like to know what I am doing and when”. I wonder where you sit along this line?
From my own experience I realise now that my answer is “It depends”. This is because I know that in some areas of my life I am super organised, I prep in advance and make sure I have everything I need. In other areas of life I really like to leave things alone, to trust that life is working as it should and that I will always have what I need in the moment. (yep, coming through in the art!)
In reality the latter is true all the time, but as human beings with the capacity to think ahead we can’t seem to help ourselves, and whilst it is true that being prepared and having a plan can be really helpful and potentially life saving, there are also limits to its use.
So for instance we would not set out to hike in Snowdonia in winter without some pretty essential preparation and planning; knowing when not to go, what to take with us, appropriate clothing and emergency kit etc. Not having that when the unexpected happens could be the difference between life and death. AND in the moment when something does happen, our first response will be from somewhere other than our kit or preparation. Because in the moment we are designed to respond to what is present and that is more likely to help us than just scanning our kit bag for clues.
Now I get that this is an extreme example but if we look closer, this is how it works everywhere, it just doesn’t always look like that to us. I am really interested in the diversions, the events that happen beyond our control that take us off in other directions, often away from the things we had planned or indeed that we were excited to be doing.
Like lots of people, with multiple projects on the go, if I am not organised things tend to get a bit wobbly! I also have aspects of my life that are hugely variable and unpredictable. These things happen last minute and short notice and I am called to respond in that moment. What I realise in these diversions is that there is always something deeper going on.
On the surface at times it looks like an inconvenience or that life is conspiring to keep me from things I would love to do, but over time I have seen that the opposite is true. Life is in autocorrect, keeping me on the right path and pointing me to see something new that wasn’t present before, or to see something more deeply, or an old insight more profoundly.
This new direction is often something really simple and elementary, a chance to slow down, an opportunity to play, a signal to really focus on what is important. The diversion is always universally helpful and brings something rich and fresh to life beyond what I imagined it would be during that time. (and yes it looks to me like these principles are at work in our art making too)
Isn’t it great to see that? Even the most difficult of diversions, like health or family issues, they are a message from our higher selves gently prompting us to not stray too far from the essence of life, to accompany ourselves more consciously on our path forward and appreciate the diversity of experience and opportunity that is available to us.
I see this now as a prompt for us to recognise that there are a million different diversions available in every moment. We may consciously only hold a couple of options in our mind, but the field of opportunity available to us is vast and infinite and sometimes life likes to tap us on the shoulder and show us that in real time.