The Blank Canvas

Life is a blank canvas, and YOU get to paint it any way you like.

Your life is your gift; a blank canvas where you get to create a piece of art that is unique to you; a true representation of your life’s journey, unlike any other in existence. As a true work of art, it takes time, contemplation, you want to get it right the first time, but it has to be built upon piece by piece. That’s where the true magic lies, in the fact that you won’t know the outcome for a very long time, and hence why the journey matters more than the destination.

You can only work with the materials you are given, but you have choices. You can leave the canvas blank, you can make something that looks like many others, you can compete with the person next to you and every time they add something to their painting, you can try to outdo them…. or you can tell yourself that this is the going to be the best, most unique painting on the planet, and you are absolutely going to love everything about it because it’s yours and you created it.

The only limit is your own imagination. You can dream as big as you want and if you truly believe, you can find a way to make it appear on your painting. It sounds way too simple, I know, but if you doubt it then you are not believing it strongly enough.

When things don’t quite go according to plan and you do something you don’t like, you can always fix it, alter it, or take a different course of action. The result may not look like what you first imagined, but things do change; you grow, you evolve, your view of the world changes. It’s ok to start again or to change colour or design. There is no right or wrong, and more importantly, there is no definition of what is normal.

Our society tries to tell us that our painting should conform to certain rules; rules that tell us we shouldn’t go out of the lines, and we shouldn’t think outside the box, that there are certain colours that represent certain things, and that we should stick to those colours.

But why blend in when you were born to stand out…

There is no ‘normal’; normal is merely an illusion. What we consider or have been told is normal is a result of society’s conditioning; man-made rules based on what society thinks it needs to function and to maintain order. But most of those rules are now becoming redundant. Anybody who has significantly contributed to this planet or to humanity, either in the past or the present, would most likely not tick any of the boxes it would take to be considered normal in our society. That’s because it takes courage, conviction, and self-belief to challenge the status quo. Anybody who has ever stood for anything will have a little bit of rebel in them; they don’t settle for what they are being told, they go out and find out for themselves. They find the solutions because they just won’t accept that certain things can’t be done. They won’t settle for a mediocre painting.

We can’t all be those people, but that doesn’t mean our artwork is any less valuable.

Others might have an opinion of your artwork; some might not like or agree with your choices. They have a right to their view and what they think is none of your business. Fortunately, they don’t need to buy your artwork; they have their own and hopefully they are as focussed on that as they should be. The only person who is required to put a value on your artwork is you.

Don’t allow the opinions and judgement of others lead you to devalue your work in any way. Stand by what you have created and love it simply because you have done your best work.

Don’t ever give up on your artwork. Not every day is a good day for painting. It takes time for paint to dry and some days you just have to sit with it and watch it from a distance. Respect it for what it is and don’t force it to be something it’s not. Don’t become obsessed with your painting either. You can shape and mould it based on your decisions, but if you try to control the outcome, you might be bitterly disappointed in the result.

You will need to dedicate time and effort to your painting, but it will all come together when it’s ready. If you tune in to who you really are and what you really feel, you will be guided to make the brushstrokes that could make all the difference. Don’t rush it, be patient, and even if at times it will seem impossible, things have a remarkable way of coming together precisely when they’re meant to. This could just be what your painting needs to take it from average to absolutely amazing.

… and when it’s all said and done, your masterpiece will be put on display for everyone to see just how creatively and colourful your journey was. When that time comes, I hope you will be proud of what you have created and have absolutely no regrets.

I hope it stands out among the rest … I won’t judge it, I promise. I will admire it for all its quirkiness and beauty and try to get a little insight into who the incredible artist was that chose to be bold and put their stamp on the world, leaving a legacy that would hang in the museum of life for all to benefit.

If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Want to change the world, there’s nothing to it” Willy Wonka