Somewhere, between the thin crevice of 17 & 18 I fell through and found myself on the paved-path to becoming a primary school teacher.
I can vaguely remember my dad saying something like....”Teaching will be ideal Jane...you’ll always have a job.. and the long holidays will be perfect for when you have children of your own”. And that was it (Flip!!)
My secret dream of going to art college and becoming a fabric designer was man-handled out of my mind and I duly did, ’the sensible thing’ (for all the right reasons, at the time).
I look back now and wonder, why did I let that door of my dreams swing shut so easily? It was almost certainly due to a serious lack of self-belief, courage and what some might call 'personal grit’, but I think it was mostly to do with something else....simply not having a plan.
Having a PLAN for your life doesn’t sound very funky or attractive. Who wants a plan for their life at 17 (too boring), so let's call it VISION.
I had NO vision for my life....
And it struck me this morning, between my first and second cuppa, that 'lack of vision’, or a considered plan, is probably the main culprit for so many LOST possibilities in life; things that nearly happened in our lives, but didn’t, because we took the easier, safer path.
The off piste adventures and the thrilling relationships that didn’t find us, the risks and challenges that we never took, the ones that would have shaped us into more courageous people.......
But the truth is, it’s never too late to wake up to life; to wake up to the plethora of possibilities that are waiting for us to grab hold of.
We simply have to get that vision out of our heads and make it reality
This week I’ve been on an art course at St Ives School of Painting with Trevor.
It’s been thrilling to take a deep dive into charcoals and printing-inks and stand for days at an easel.
We stood on the same paint-stained, weathered studios-floorboard that was home to Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth and their infamous troop of artist chums... and we smelt their creative struggles.....and gazed at the same raging sea-views....and were filled with the same awe and wonder and the drama of all things that happen without words.
And I realised that it’s never too late to seize the day... and take back your lost dreams.
- JB
“Creativity takes courage” - Henri Matisse
