You Have My Permission

We were speaking at my writing group last night about whether the time was right to begin sending work "out" to a literary journal, to send a query or to write a book.

Go ahead and substitute whatever you are thinking about that matters to you that is giving you anxiety and that you are waiting for something external to you to fix, approve, compliment, orchestrate or accept.

Someone else pointed out that you can get advice and feedback from others who are knowledgeable to receive an informed opinion and that makes sense. But, they will not ultimately know when you are ready to do anything better than you will know that yourself. There is no Pick-Up Here window with a wizard handing out permission slips.

Does it make sense to wait for others to say, Yes, grasshopper, you are now ready.  Does it make sense to give them your power?

Nobody is going to give you permission. It has taken me a long time to realize this. I still often forget.

 If you want to do something then you can just choose to do it.  You have the freedom to make that choice regardless of how many resistances you put forth. You may find yourself saying things that aren't absolutely relevant.

I have no money. I have too much work. I'm afraid.  I want to look important. I don't want to look stupid. If I do that I might become a stranger to myself. If I accept that I may have to change. I may lose friends. I may have to step out of my comfort zone.

What are you not giving yourself permission to do or be? Is it conscious? Are you incapable of standing alone and recognizing your own value without the ego strokes you receive from your family, your friends, your employer, you husband, your wife? Would you think you still mattered if all that was stripped away?

Do you only have a relationship with yourself as seen through others' eyes or are you capable of standing alone and accepting the truth about who you are inside?

Why are you waiting for permission from someone or some thing external to act upon what your internal self already knows?

What are you, probably unconsciously, waiting for someone else to give you permission to be or do?

Artists in our Midst

Thanks to Colleen's suggestion, I took in some of the Artists in our Midst festival today. It's always interesting to meet artists and chat, not to mention getting the voyeuristic groove on for a peek into other people's west side houses. Yes, they had granite counter tops but alas the gnome doors, cob house crookedness and soulfulness which is so often the byproduct of eccentricity were missing. Pity!

We started off at The Lion's Den on Fraser near Kingsway for breakfast with a very boisterous restaurateur.
"Good Evening Ladies. Got a reservation?"
"Nope."
Well, good, take a seat, any seat.
It was 11 am.
I'll have whatever he's smoking.

He insisted on yelling across the tiny space to tell us how the place got its name. On a ledge up high, there's a full-sized stuffed lion looking as if it's wondering where to get its next prey.  I expected the dread locked-sporting owner to have a story about an African safari.  It came direct from a wildlife park in Cambridge, Ontario.
"My friend brought it in one day and I figured out my branding."
The place has survived for 12 years. Check it out if you haven't already.

Next we stopped into the garage/studio of Oscar Valero Saez visiting for a year from Spain.   His card says architecture and visual arts.  His lithographs are so unique and detailed.We chatted for a while and I told him about the Architectural Institute of BC which I'm convinced would be the perfect place for him to hold an exhibition because they have a great little space that's perfect for exhibits off their reception on the main floor. Then, he told us about Agnes Martin and he wondered why Canadians seem not to have heard about her. How could this be he wondered. We had to explain to him that a lack of notoriety at home was typical.
"If you're not a hockey player, you're nothin."
We were doing what we could to be good cultural ambassadors. (Sarcasm).

We also met Janet Strayer. Not only did I like her art but as a human being she is very warm and engaged which, if you're going to interact with the unwashed masses, comes in handy.

It was a decent choice of entertainment on this rainy, rainy day in May. I wonder what you got up to?