Venturing Beyond

journal page – 1/30/08
Comfort zone is a deceptively benign term. Although it can mean the place or state of being where one is at peace and happy, humming along at just the right speed, it can also mean a place where discomfort has become a familar, but safe feeling. How many of us stay in situations that seem comfortable, simply because we can easily predict what each day will bring? And how often is this comfortable place really a place of stagnation and resignation where complacency becomes the prevalent emotion? This complacency keeps people from moving forward and living more exciting lives, and even worse, can keep them in bad relationships, unfulfilling occupations, and unhealthy behaviors. Henry David Thoreau said that “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,” and perhaps part of that comes from cowering unaware within one’s comfort zone.

On the flip side, what does it mean to step out of that familiar place and try something you’ve always wanted to do, but have avoided out of fear? At first it might feel very uncomfortable, because usually there’s some kind of risk involved, but so often the payoff is well worth the initial discomfort. The most recent topic at Inspire Me Thursday is Expand Your Comfort Zone, and for me, it calls to mind that heady cocktail of fear and anticipation that comes before embarking on any new, initially uncomfortable situation that stretches self-imposed boundaries. It makes me think of the times I’ve listened to my inner voice telling me that those scary steps will ultimately lead me to a better place, and I’ve had the courage to listen. And that’s the trick…tuning in to that voice and mustering up the courage to expand your comfort zone.

Like a Stitch of Lightning

Spirit – 18″ x 24″ x 1″ – mixed media on wood
Poem (The spirit likes to dress up…)

The spirit
likes to dress up like this:
ten fingers,
ten toes,

shoulders, and all the rest
at night
in the black branches,
in the morning

in the blue branches
of the world.
It could float, of course,
but would rather

plumb rough matter.
Airy and shapeless thing,
it needs
the metaphor of the body,

lime and appetite,
the oceanic fluids;
it needs the body’s world,
instinct

and imagination
and the dark hug of time,
sweetness
and tangibility,

to be understood,
to be more than pure light
that burns
where no one is —

so it enters us —
in the morning
shines from brute comfort
like a stitch of lightning;

and at night
lights up the deep and wondrous
drownings of the body
like a star.

– Mary Oliver (1935 – )

I hope the world is well… I’ve been busy in the studio, busy at work, and busy at life… it’s all good!

A New Year

To my friends far and near…
my wishes for a beautiful new year,
rich in peace, love, health, and happiness.

I Want to Make the World Turn Around

I don’t want to live in a world of darkness
I want to live in a world of light
I don’t want to live in a world that’s heartless
I want to live in a world of sight
Well you know, I want to make the world turn around

Living in a world of justice
Living in a world of shame
Living in a world of freedom
Living in a world of pain
Well you know, I want to make the world turn around

Turn the darkness into light
Turn the hunger into life
Turn the wrong into right
Put an end to the strife
Turn the blindness into sight
Save a human life
Make the world turn around

I want to live in a world of gladness
I want to know what your heart is made of
Don’t want to live in a world of sadness
I want to live in a world of love
Well you know, I want to make the world turn around

Living in a world of justice
Living in a world of light
Living in a world of freedom
Living in a world of sight

I want to send a message
To every boy and girl
I want to send a message
About the world
We got to build it up
Stop tearing it down
We got to build it up
Make the world turn around

– Steve Miller (1943 – )