Friday, July 4, 2008
As I sit here in a Pismo Beach coffee shop, on the second-to-last day of our vacation, I find myself surrounded by several quaint-looking mugs that host a myriad of inspiring, energizing quotes that are meant to expand the boundaries of possibility within my own mind.
While many of these passages have the potential to make their readers think deeply about life, there is one saying that has especially embedded itself in my imagination:
What would I do? What would I attempt? If I knew I could not fail?
The first thing that comes to my limited mind is the idea that I would attempt all of the arts that I have always told myself that I cannot do. Expressions of beauty beyond what words can capture. I think that I would gravitate towards watercolors, oils, canvases, throwing wheels, and dark rooms.
Next I find myself drifting off in imagination toward the art of music. Piano. Guitar. Drums. But especially piano. Oh to be able to express emotion and wonder and power through a medium that transcends language, culture, age, and gender.
But is this really a question of what I would attempt if I knew I could not fail? Or is this more a question of what would I attempt if I had the opportunity to do anything in the world? Maybe it is a little bit of both.
There is something deep within me that longs to burst through my chest when I am surrounded by artistic beauty, as if to remind me that, even though I don’t feed it too often, yes, it does still exist. Oil canvases, ballet performances, and coffee shop solos. Old world photographs, uniquely thrown and glazed clay, and the melodic striking of black and white keys. Expressions of life and beauty that are created to be appreciated.
That is what I would do, if I knew I could not fail.
What about you?
