Open the door and connect the dots
Again, I’m hopelessly behind with my todo list.
Post more on social media.
Write an email welcome series.
Find a way to better describe my Big Picture sessions.
Learn to write.
I am currently taking a storytelling class. I’m also hopelessly behind with the lessons.
Every day I spend long hours at my desk, and still, the days are too short. I desperately want to find the key to the superpower that lets me connect the dots, and cross off items from my todo list.
But today I’m not working. We are going to attend a family excursion and will be visiting the town by the sea, where my husband’s family lived 25 years ago. We are having a nice lunch together. I love this family. They are much more important than my todo-list. But, to be honest, the unconnected dots are still swirling around in my head.
After lunch, we walk over to the town’s old church. I’m not religious, nor am I particularly interested in churches. It is raining, cold and windy, and I don’t really feel like going for a walk.
The ground is muddy. I wonder if the water will seep through my shoes.
The church is very small and very simple. And it is located directly on top of the cliff.
It is actually beautiful. The old church isn’t in use anymore, because a hundred years ago, the front part of the church had broken off and fallen into the sea.
The rest of the building is still standing. A new wall was built.
Now, instead of an altar, there is a simple door.
Today, the door stands open. Behind the door is - nothing. Nothing but space, sky, and sea. Stormy, grey, and stunning. It is as if nature - or, God?- had taken out the intermediary and made an opening for direct contact.
The view had a completely unexpected impact on me. When I saw the opening in the church wall, some of the swirling bits and pieces were falling into place.
The missing (non-)ingredient, the superpower iI was looking for is:
Space.
We all try to solve problems by adding stuff. Adding actions. Adding worry.
But ideas need space to unfold.
It also applies to my drawing sessions: I provide not only a defined structure, and visualization of my client’s project. Something else is happening between the lines.
While they watch their thoughts materialize on the white paper, they need to slow down, and there is space for new ideas, connections, and creativity.
While I am drawing, the door is open.