Rumi always applies

Tonight, at the beginning of my Artist's Way class, our teacher read a Rumi poem.

"The way of love is not 
a subtle argument. 

The door there 
is devastation. 

Birds make great sky-circles 
of their freedom. 
How do they learn it? 

They fall, and falling, 
they're given wings." 
— Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi


We were discussing creative blocks this evening. I thought through my many struggles with creative blocks, as well as my current ones, the inability to... what is that word? Oh, yes... finish... The inability to finish any work. 

I am an amazing starter. I have half finished projects littering my studio. I have half-formed ideas and far off dreams. Yes, a self-starter, through and through, that is me. But a self-finisher? Yet to be determined. Perhaps the "door there is devastation" and the only way I will "learn it" is to fall. 

Rumi says, "They fall, and falling, they're given wings." I guess my current "falling" is my lack of finish. Luckily, though, I did learn an important lesson: Rumi always applies. 

I checked out some more of the ancient poet's words and found a lot of resonating thoughts with my current feelings about my art work. 

"Let Yourself Be Silently Drawn By the Stronger Pull Of That Which You Really Love." 
— Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi

"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." 
— Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi


I could go on and on, but perhaps I should find all the barriers between me and my love and be drawn silently to my easel. 


In an effort to nourish my creativity, perhaps I will try to be more poetic. Here goes:

Good nights are filled with the beauty of creation. The sweet joy of paint on canvas and moonlight shining in my studio window. Beautiful night.