The Cage of ‘Arriving’

Jan 21

I'm happy to be back to this series after unexpected events took me away from work for quite a number of weeks. The timing of this next subject, the Cage of Arriving, is quite perfect, really.

I always find myself thinking that life will slow down, or smooth out, or become manageable, or that certain endeavors or situations will ‘come together’ into some sort of culmination. Without realizing, I find that I'm assuming that, at some point, I will ‘arrive’ at something.

This isn't an unrealistic idea, as there are many conclusions, outcomes, and culminations in our experience of life. But as a rule, when you really take notice, life is predominantly an ongoing process of evolution. Our birth is a definite event, as will be our death, but in between there's just one stage flowing into the next. Like clouds in the sky that appear to be solid and stable, when you really observe closely, they are made of vapors and in a constant state of change and movement; quite the opposite of solid or stable.

It doesn't always lend itself to a feeling of security, but I have to admit that my assumption that I will ‘arrive’ at anything and be done with that subject is largely, if not completely, false.

As this relates to art, the cage of ‘Arriving’ is alive and well in most of us. For instance, I can clearly see that striving for some sort of culmination to my development or work is not only futile, but can greatly inhibit my ability to stay in the moment with the work as it is, be in flux, and allow my craft to be honed by my experiences.

How many times do we feel that if we could just learn ________, then we'd have it all figured out?

Or if we could just get in a gallery, or a show, or make work as beautiful as this other artist, then we would have finally stepped into our own?

Or possibly more crippling, how many times do we notice that we aren't reaching these ‘arrivals’ and conclude that it's because we just don't have the talent, will, or creativity to be a real artist?

It does seem that we are comforted by these false ideas that we will one day arrive and ‘be’ the artist we've always wanted to be, but I'm finally at the place where I truly want to end this expectation and simply develop instead.

When I was younger, I looked at people the age I am now and thought that they had it figured out--they had raised their children, gotten out of the rat race and finally settled into the calm present, enjoying and appreciating the moment. But now that I'm here, I realize how naive that was. The demands life was putting on me to grow and mature when I was younger are no less today. It never ends. There is no ‘arrival’ at calm presence; it is what it has always been--you either figure it out as you go, do the work to create calm and presence in the moment, and embrace your own evolution. Or keep chasing the dream of ‘arriving’.

Now that I can see this clearly, I can begin the journey of accepting this about life, possibly even grieve the naive dream that I can achieve some sort of completion, and I can begin exploring what life could look and feel like when I'm not waiting to arrive. I can fully participate in this ongoing, never-ending dance of figuring something out and having it immediately open up into new terrains to explore.

If you're wondering what this has to do with a healthy art practice, my response is that I was talking about art practice this entire time. At this stage of life, my art practice is so instrumental in helping me see my patterns, my misperceptions, my obstacles; it's showing me in tangible ways how to engage with them and begin to open them up, and learn to do things differently.

I can't quite see where my art practice ends and my personal evolution begins. They overlap in so many areas that I have come to see it as my path; a path without destination or end, the way to more--more understanding, more self-compassion, more authenticity and work that reflects this process in a progressively satisfying way.

Here are the interesting ways that stepping out of the cage of Arrival can show up in your practice:

• you find more satisfaction in the learning process and less in demands for good outcomes

• the discovery of patterns that have hindered your process for years feels like progress itself

• learning new ways to think and react around those patterns results in more confidence, bold new marks, and ideas

• a new tolerance for being ‘in process’ begins to show up, and with it, a sense of joy from being in the process instead of always looking for the end

Have you also experienced this cage of Arriving? How has it affected you and your practice? What has it looked like? Just hit ‘reply’ if you'd like to share--because I'd love to hear about it.

Want to start the new year with a truly expansive creative experience?

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