Do you ever think you might like to try something like painting but are a little intimidated by the idea, maybe you don't think you're creative or artistic enough? Do you have a hidden hunger to explore color and shapes and imagery without the fear of making a mistake or of not being good enough? Perhaps you think that if only you had more talent, skills, information, instruction, inspiration, or (fill in the blank), you might enjoy it. Or maybe you are an artist who feels as though you've lost your freedom. Maybe you're so focused on the product — that it be saleable or "showable," that it have meaning or depth or sophistication — that painting has stopped being fun or doesn't make you feel as alive as it once did.
        There is so much collective conditioning that tells us we don't have all we need inside to be able to express ourselves through painting. This conditioning reinforces the idea that we have to have "talent" to justify doing it, or that we need to produce/accomplish something so that it is not a waste of time. But what if you could just move with the life of creation, paint simply and directly, not have to get anywhere or prove anything? What if you could explore as we encourage children to explore — with dots, squiggles, a monster, a snake, a person... whatever arises? What if you understood that in that exploration, you cannot fail or even make the slightest mistake, because it's the process that is important? What makes this process so powerful is the act of giving yourself permission to paint anything in any color or proportion, to invent, to be outrageous, to be guided by your energy and your passion rather than by the expectation of a certain result.
        In a culture dominated by the duality of good/bad and right/wrong, we measure, quantify, analyze, judge, and interpret most of what we do or encounter. Creativity gives us the opportunity to respond moment to moment, very directly — to come from wherever we are at the time. It gives us a chance to respond intuitively and spontaneously, to connect with a deeper and more authentic place. When we begin to shift the focus from the outcome to the process, we stop needing to get somewhere, and this can have a profound effect. Rather than painting only from what we see in our minds, which is a very limited part of ourselves, our whole and essential being is now involved and enlivened. We discover a new (or perhaps familiar) sense of freedom and realize that anything is possible.
        Of course, it's easy to talk about freedom and creativity and aliveness, but what happens when we actually pick up the paintbrush and begin? For many people, it might not feel immediately wonderful, because in the process of uncovering our freedom, we may encounter our many layers of judgment and self-consciousness. We begin to see more clearly how, as soon as we put down those first strokes, our minds rush in to evaluate and label what we've done as childish, ugly, or meaningless. But as that awareness becomes heightened, we can also begin to develop compassion for ourselves, a curiosity about the way our minds work and the nature of fear. Instead of letting our critical voice stop us as soon as we experience discomfort, we can keep moving with the paint. Gradually, our intuition becomes stronger and the power of the "judge" is diminished. The joy of expression and exploration for its own sake is allowed to flourish. In her book "The Places That Scare You," Pema Chodron writes, "A first step is to understand that a feeling of dread or psychological discomfort might just be a sign that old habits are getting liberated, that we are moving closer to the natural open state.... When our attitude toward fear becomes more welcoming and inquisitive, there's a fundamental shift that occurs. Instead of spending our lives tensing up, as if we were in the dentist's chair, we can learn that we can connect with the freshness of the moment and relax."
        We can approach the blank paper without having to plan or think; we don't need to worry about "getting it right." When we let go of having to control the outcome, we can enter the mystery of the unknown with excitement instead of fear. We can trust the intelligence and sacredness of the creative process and allow ourselves to explore any colors and forms and imagery without projecting meaning onto them. Each of us contains the whole range of human experience inside us, from the deep, dark, and strange to the most beautiful, sacred, and profound. Painting offers us a channel through which we can move, exploring all of those places without having to make sense out of what comes or understand what it means about us. The act of creation is a gift we are all given — it stretches us in new ways and brings insight, growth, and joy.