Have you ever watched a painter paint a beautiful landscape?
They usually start with the sky, filling the whole canvas with sweeping brush strokes, their arm movements big and exaggerated so every inch of the white is filled.
Then they move on to the prominent elements of the painting – a mountain, a forest, maybe the ocean or a river. Then more details are added, shadows, light, branches, individual clouds and waves. Things come into focus more, and you’re able to really see what the piece will look like once finished.
Then come the finishing touches, the final step of the painting. Adding color here, an extra stroke there, their brush going from one part of the painting to another as needed. No longer focusing on individual elements but looking at it as a whole and giving it the attention it needs to be deemed complete.
It’s the same with sculpting from clay. The first cuts are big, strong cuts, using both hands to get a rough form. Then each section gets attention and a shape begins to come out of it. Once it is almost fully formed, the artist steps back, taking her focus off of the individual sections and looking at the whole piece to determine what needs done, what could use another scrape, where an additional detail could go.
Today I’m that artist, because tomorrow we EMBODY!
I’m stepping back and looking at the event as a whole and making the finishing touches on what I know will be a life-changing experience for everyone there.
I’m taking all the care that a loving artist does with their work, leaving no detail unnoticed, no task undone.
Am I taking such care with these finishing touches because I want it to be perfect?
No.
I’m making these finishing touches because I want it to be MEANINGFUL.
In the end I know the extra care I give now has the capacity to touch someone in a way that I can’t even imagine.
The smallest task I do today with the intention of creating the best space possible for what will happen tomorrow, could be the one thing that speaks to someone and directs her toward her purpose.
And that is what EMBODY 2019 is about.
I hope to see you there!
Hemalayaa