Grace For Your Pace
Thank God our plans don’t always turn out the way we have strategized, because they always leave out one of the greatest joys of life….
The artist Tom Sachs last rule in his 7 Rules for Creative Living is Make Your Own Lists.
I don’t know if I got the idea from him, or this creative rule corroborated a practice I already had, but in my bag currently are five folded pieces of paper that contain lists.
I make lists everyday. I scribble off the accomplished to-do’s, make extra addendums to prescribed accomplishments, and eventually consolidate everything on a new piece of paper which then is promptly crumbled up in my pocket and accompanying me wherever I’m off too.
Lists help me stay grounded. I’m often in my head of ideas and wonder and I can lose myself in daydreaming… which there are many moments for… but as a self employed artist, no one is keeping tabs on my deadlines except for me.
Me… who made up the deadlines.
Me… who’s making it all up as he’s going along.
Me… who has moments of panic wondering if all the making it up is not enough.
It’s in this panic that I can come back to the list and be offered at least the next step on the unforeseen path of life. List are comforting. They offer me the next step.
But in all this celebration of list making, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the dark side of the list… which for me is the feeling like I’m never going to get “there”.
What “there” is, I’m not really sure. Is it a time in my life where I don’t have any responsibilities? Is it the plateau of not having to worry anymore about my financial needs? Is it the imagined space of being free from annoying tasks so I can finally get to all the fulfilling painting and art making projects that I day dream about while shuttling children around to school and sports activities?
What I’m saying is most days I’m plagued by an invented timeline of accomplishment. A timeline completely invented, based on so many unrealistic perceived achievements with false offerings of contentment, that I never seem to accomplish. And my lists can remind me of that.
Maybe you feel the same way?
Last year I made humorous self portrait on my birthday to post on Instagram speaking to my feeling of never getting “there”.
I enjoyed the contrast of fast and slow so much that I spent time fleshing out some other images that speak to the desire of quick accomplishment juxtaposed with just how frickin long anything worth doing really takes.
What emerged in these visual ponderings was the phrase…
GRACE FOR YOUR PACE
… which has become one of my favorite blessings over my life and others, surprisingly.
It does two things for me.
1. The only way is the vulnerable way.
A bit from my show and book Say Yes is that the difference between a dream and a desire is that a dream is a version of your life that you imagined that you didn’t bring your vulnerabilities too. Dreams often die because it’s a version of your life that has no weaknesses of limitations, which is impossible for a human life. Vulnerability is not necessarily our weaknesses and limitations themselves, but more our relationship with them. Do we believe they are in the way? Or, and I believe this is the deeply spiritual path, do we believe they are THE WAY?
GRACE FOR YOUR PACE is an invitation to your vulnerable way. It reminds you that you don’t have to be the image of perfection to get where you hope to go, only the glorious version of yourself that exists today. It reminds me of the first few lines of Mary Olivers poem Wild Geese….
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves….
It would behoove you to spend time with this poem today….
2. Leaving room for Serendipity
Thank God our plans don’t always turn out the way we have strategized, because they always leave out one of the greatest joys of life….
Holy Surprise.
The surprise that comes in the help from a stranger.
The surprise that comes in an unexpected collaboration.
The surprise that comes in finding the missing piece you’ve been looking for for so long in the detour you reluctantly had to take.
The surprise of what you notice when you slow down.
The surprising strength found in limitation.
The surprise in awakening to Divine Intention.
The Almighty rarely shows up in our idealized accomplishments and invented meritocracy. Grace, by definition, is never an accomplishment. But it is always a surprise.
May you receive the surprise awaiting in your pace.
Thank you for reading Image Pilgrimage. Doing creative work in the world is impossible without the interest, care, and support of others. I’m so glad you’re here. I get asked all the time how I can be supported as an artist. One of the ways is paying for for a subscription here. Easy, huh?
…and if a paid subscription isn’t for you just shoot me a request at artforstory@gmail.com and I’ll hook you up for free!
Do you know someone who needs a little Grace for their Pace?
FROM SCREENS TO DREAMS
Speaking of surprises, an unforeseen set of Say Yes shows has come together at the end of the year. If you’re not familiar with my show, Say Yes is a multi-media storytelling comedy art show about the Voice of Giving Up in our lives and the mental health and spiritual practices I embrace to move through these arguments. It’s funny, deep, and nothing you’ve ever experienced.
Click here for info and tickets
If it’s in your area, would love to meet you! Also, as a thank you for subscribing, use promo code FRIENDSFOREVER at check out of a significant discount on your ticket!
This medium is working so well in diving into the meaning of your work. This post has felt particularly powerful thus far. The holy surprises are what I live for in my art! It’s wild when they appear and lead me into places I could never have imagined at the start. The people I begin to connect with, the illuminations of self and story. And their pace is never under my control of course - arg lol. Thanks for doing what you’re doing!