Slow chipping away.

There is a statue of The Thinker in Pasadena at the Norton Simon. As a child, I remember being in awe of it/ When I visited the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, the Rodin sculptures elicited tears from my eyes. As of late, I am so enamored with the analogy of sculpting our lives and embracing a slow chipping away. Both in my own life and in my relationship with others.

The longest relationship I have is with myself and my mother. This year things solidified in both of those relationships. The surprise is that though it feels more solid, connected - it also feels lighter, as if some chips fell away. I thank them for their service and allow them to fall away, to expose what is beneath.

How we are in relationship is a choice. Do you think about how you are in relationship? Do you own the agency and the empowerment to sculpt your life, your experience? Do you invite those in your life to join you in this way of living?

Truthfully, this is a new way of living for me and it’s turning out to be rather creative and interesting. I am often surprised by the risks I take in communicating and engaging. Sometimes it totally falls flat and I have to apologize - aka reconcile my humanity. It turns out that those worth keeping in your life will forgive you, accept you and work with you.

I think I always knew this. I didn’t fully trust it and there are times when I still wonder if it will fail me. It might, but the risk is worth it. I have to say that my twenties were rough and taught me a lot. I didn’t know exactly what I was chipping away at, didn’t really have a vision. I felt my way through and here I am liking this odd life of mine.

What will you sculpt? Who will you collaborate with?