ART - Permission to be just ok at it.

Welcome to my Monday Morning Message

Today I taught my Nia dance class with my sister Cheryl, and once again I was reminded how much I love it. So many incredible women moving and laughing and being in community.

There’s something about moving to music, creating a class, and sharing it with other people that brings me so much joy. I like to think that Nia is the way I make art.

How do you make art? It might be knitting, sewing, surfing, calligraphy, gardening, singing, writing, learning to tango or leading sound baths. It might be something you haven’t discovered yet.

I believe we all have something inside us that wants to pop out. It doesn’t have to be perfect or turned into a business. Just expressed.

And… we have to be willing to be beginners.

After I became certified to teach Nia, it took me an entire year to teach my first full class. I was so afraid of making a mistake. I didn’t feel ready. I worried I wouldn’t be perfect.

Now, 20 years later, I would happily teach a class every day, and I still make mistakes regularly. No one seems to mind.

Imagine if I had let the fear of being a beginner make that decision for me. All that lost joy.

Your art doesn’t ask you to be impressive. It doesn’t need to be displayed, performed, or even seen by anyone else.

Its value may simply be in what happens to you while you’re doing it. The way your nervous system settles down. The way your body feels alive.

Maybe we don’t make art because we’re already good at it. Maybe we make it because some part of us needs to come out.

So what is your art? Is there a new type of art you want to try?

And could you give yourself permission to be just okay at it?

Art is a great conversation starter too. Ask someone what their creative outlet is. You might be totally surprised!

Warmly,

Colette