Recently I approached a blank canvas a little differently than usual. Normally I start an abstract painting without any preconceived notions, but occasionally I will loosely sketch something first to serve as a guide. I may also consider the colors I want to play with.
I sketched out my design and began to paint. Within the first ten minutes, the painting went in a different direction. By the time I was done with the piece, I was inspired by a few lessons.
When doing abstract art, I have to remember it's art! I can't dictate the process and it's insane for me to keep trying if I'm expecting that to actually work. Any time I have tried to recreate a piece I've done before or otherwise follow a premeditated plan, something totally different emerges.
Art is art and life is life. Guess what, we can’t control everything that happens no matter how hard we try. However, having a plan and being excited is a great way to start anything as long as we stay open-minded to new developments along the way.
How many of us are exactly where we set out to be ten, twenty or thirty years ago? I'm certainly not. I could never have predicted the life I live now. I should have stayed in sales until I retired. That was my plan but a series of happy accidents (several that didn't feel so happy at the time) rerouted me to where I am today.
Planning and setting goals is a wonderful strategy to life, business, health—anything really. We can think we know what's best for us, but when we approach each blank canvas, each new chapter we face in life with a willingness to trust and follow the happy accidents, we will be led to a life greater than anything we could have imagined or planned for ourselves.
I couldn't or wouldn’t have set out to do this particular painting. Some of what is beautiful to me came as a result of scraping away paint that I deemed to be a mistake. And surprise! What was revealed under the "mistake" was intriguing and couldn't have happened any other way. In fact, the "mistake" is now a prominent focus in this painting. (A photo of Happy Accidents is below.)
When we embrace the philosophy of Finding the Gift, we accept that there are no mistakes in life. We grow and learn from everything and everyone and it all adds up to our beautiful lives.
Congratulations on your happy accidents too. We all have many to give thanks for.
