I just returned from an all too quick trip to Los Angeles/Anaheim with my oldest daughter. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate her 18th birthday than to have some Mother-Daughter time in the happiest place on earth! Despite complaints about the "cool weather" from the locals, we had an awesome time! (And a nice diversion from some real winter weather!)
Having spent a year as a family in the Pasadena area, both myself and Favorite Daughter #1, looked forward to re-visiting all of our beloved Disney attractions. It was a blessing in disguise that Monday's rain had prevented us from enjoying some of the things we looked forward to . . . and instead, required us to have a different Disney experience.
We ended up in the Animation Studio, and much to our surprise, went back again and again to draw some of the classic Disney characters.
It was quickly pointed out to us that our pencils had no erasers.
This is because sketch artists need to learn to work quickly and in broad, sweeping motions, we were told. It is more about concept, they said. When the picture starts to emerge near the end of the sketching process, that is when you can go back and darken in the lines that you want to keep. All the construction lines then fade into the background.
Well, we diligently followed their steps, making circles with our whole arms hovering above the paper, feeling a little shy to put that first mark on the still perfectly clean sheet. But once we committed to the activity, we got lost in the "creative" process. And true to the Disney artist's promise, we eventually did find lines worth keeping, producing some decent renderings of those cute Disney characters. We were hooked!
In reflecting on our day, we both had the same thoughts . . . sketching is a lot like life. You have a pencil, but no eraser. Every mark you make on that bright, white sheet of life, is recorded. Some marks will turn out to be winners; others, look as wrong as they felt when the pencil hit the paper. But the more you try to "fix" that wrong turn of the pencil, the bigger mess you make. You can try to rub it out, but all you get is a great big black smudge that becomes even more noticeable.
We discovered the best way to handle those errant pencil lines, was to just keep going to find a better path.
And so it is with life . . . the more we try to hide our mistakes and keep others from seeing them, often the bigger mess we make.
Instead, be open to the possibility that the "mistakes" you made can actually help you know where to put the pencil the next time. Those less than perfect lines are meant to be a teacher and a guide.
Only then, can you darken in the lines that do work and make those shine above the rest. Those are the lines that others will see first, and for which you will be remembered.
Express your regret, and move on. The people in our lives will allow us the grace to be ourselves and make a few mistakes along the way when we also continue on a better path. Just darken in the lines that work with them to create a surprisingly beautiful rendering in spite of it all!
It is when we are too afraid to make any marks at all that we truly deprive ourselves and others of all that we have to offer. Our "tools" . . . gifts . . . were meant to be used. Practice may not make for "perfection", but it sure does help us get better!
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