"As artists, we are often in the ugly-ducking position.We have been born into families that regard us as 'odd'- and we come to regard ourselves that way. (Sometimes our families are supportive, but our culture, as a whole, is not).
"Our desire to make things and to make something of ourselves in the arts is often reflected back to us as 'Who do you think you are?' I call this 'growing up in the fun house' where our soul's aspirations are mirrored back to us in a distorted and distorting fashion that makes them appear egotistical and unrealistic: 'Don't get too big for your britches,' 'Who do you think you are?'
"We often don't really know the answer to that. We know something along the lines of 'I think I might be...' When we are surrounded by people who either cannot see us or cannot acknowledge what they see, our image blurs. We begin to feel both a certain self-doubt and a certain stubborn inner knowing that we may then dismiss as crazy. Part of us knows we're more than they see, part of us fears we're less than we hope. This inner friction is painful. As artists, when a shoe doesn't fit us, we may try to walk in it anyway. If we are told that it fits, we may start to use our excellent creative imagination to imagine that it fits.
"We may further tell ourselves that our own discomfort at the pinching and the pain of a wrong shoe- and a wrong personal and creative identity- is just our 'ego.' And, we might add, just our 'grandiosity.' For many of us, declaring ourselves an artist is a 'coming-out' process. 'I think I am, I think I might be, i really identify with... oh, dear God, I think I am.' Like any coming-out process, this is turbulent." (p. 258)
"All of us need and require accurate Believing Mirrors. Believing Mirrors reflect us as large and competent creatively. They mirror possibility, not improbability. They ignore 'the odds' against us. These mirrors are held by people large enough and expansive enough spiritually not to be threatened by the size and grandeur of another artist shaking out his sizable wings." (p. 259)
Thoughts: Who are the BELIEVING MIRRORS in my life, your life? How can I/you be a believing mirror for others?
Learn more about the book Walking in the World by clicking HERE.
©2009 \\ COSMIC \\
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