Spring has sprung in Georgia, and although our winter was not nearly as bad as many parts of the country, I don't think I have been this excited to see budding trees or sprouting tulips in a long time. I wrote this piece last summer, and thought it would be a good time to share it...as potential is all around us!
***
On a recent trip back home to Western New York, I spent an
afternoon with a dear friend and one of my former painting teachers. Even though we are over a decade apart in
age, we have children the same age and have both been married for about the
same amount of time. As we reminisced we
discovered that our lives have many parallels.
We talked about our families, compared notes on marriage, and
spent a long time sharing the names and paintings of artists who are inspiring
us at this stage in our Artistic growth.
We shared our struggles of wanting to be good mothers, while still being
able to feed that part of us that makes us Who We Are – our Art. The goal to always be growing – always be
improving – always be producing Art - is strong in many artists, and our lives
are often moving at too quick a pace for us to fulfill our desires to be in the
studio.
As she showed me around her home, her studio, her garden and
even her garage, one story really resonated with me. Last summer, her husband continued his
tradition of hatching cocoons for their two daughters. That year, however, one cocoon did not
thrive, and at the end of the summer her husband tucked it away on a shelf in
the garage, forgotten. (Both being
artists, neither parent could throw away what could be a subject for a later
sketch or painting!)
This summer, not realizing that she found a rejected cocoon
from the summer before and not one of the new cocoons ready for this year, she
set the cocoon up and prepared to watch it fulfill its’ destiny. Her husband pointed out that this was
probably not going to happen. Imagine
my friend’s surprise as she walked into the garage one day and discovered the
butterfly slowly emerging, damp wings curled.
She ran to get her camera as the delicate creature spread her wings,
allowed them to dry, and made her first feeble attempts to take flight. My friend witnessed the butterfly fly out of
the garage and into the sun.
There are many parts of our lives that we put upon a shelf,
tucked away for a later date, to be retrieved when there is money in the bank,
fewer items on the “to do” list, or time
on our calendar. Those parts of us that
make us happy – learning to salsa dance, taking a painting course, finally
trying out scuba diving! – are not a priority when the kids need to be fed, the
lawn has to be cut, and the laundry is piling up.
For one day, take that tucked away and forgotten bit of
potential down off the shelf, dust it off, and give it a chance to emerge and
come to life. Take a class. Learn a new skill. Go out dancing! It’s not too late, and you are never too old. Potential.
It’s one of my all-time favorite words.
Potential cannot be predicted or measured. There is no end, there is no maximum amount
to be reached. That cocoon may have been tucked up on a
shelf, but its’ potential never died.
***This article originally appeared in the Towne Laker Magazine, Woodstock, GA, in 2013
