Impossibility whispers
I see Kelly Rae Roberts’ art everywhere now, even in Smithers, even in Rupert. I have mixed feelings about commercialized, mass-produced art—is it really art? But I appreciate Kelly Rae and her creative nudges. On her blog this morning she talks about impossibility whispers. I’ve heard them. Have you? Lately I’ve been hearing “swim the river.” I’m ignoring that one!
For most of my life, it seemed impossible to me that I would ever want to leave Vancouver Island. Public speaking was impossible for me until my nephew asked me to emcee his wedding. Incredibly, I used to believe I was not a dog person.
In my experience, impossibility is a locked door.
Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/678375
Throw off the lock and open the door just a crack—impossibility whispers. If the murmur is too scary or too crazy (swim the river) you may slam the door shut. But if you leave it ajar and just go on about your business, sometimes the whisper builds into a call you simply can’t ignore.
Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/862358
Who knows what might happen if you risk flinging open the door?
Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/861991
Photo of swimmer is courtesy of Beacons Festival: Music and Arts in the Yorkshire Dales August 7 to 10, 2014. On the festival site the photo illustrates the short film Swimmer. Commissioned for the 2012 London Olympics, the film “follows a lone swimmer through the wild waters of the UK on a poetic and visual journey, framed by a soundtrack of seminal British music, combined with a sound tapestry of hydrophonic recordings and snippets of bankside conversations.” http://greetingsfrombeacons.com/warp-shorts-2/
5 Responses to “Impossibility whispers”
Glad to hear I’m not the only one who hears the occasional inspirational whisper in my head. It’s so easy to brush them aside as a silly thought, but there are some that just keep on returning.
So I may take Kelly’s advice to “Claim your impossibility whispers. Write them down. Release them into the universe. See what happens. And begin to see how your impossibilities are perhaps your greatest gift.”
And your suggestion to “Throw off the lock and open the door just a crack…” is a great mental image. What can it hurt to crack the door a wee bit? After all, what can it hurt to live life like it’s rigged in your favour?
Thanks for the inspiration, Leslie, and hope you are having a great summer!
I’d love to hear some of your “impossibilities,” Diana.
Our summer is going great. It’s unusually hot and dry and our new well is glorious! We’re ready for a change in weather. What about you? Are you on the Atlantic or Pacific coast?
[…] since I wondered aloud yesterday whether mass-produced art is really art, I’ve been batting the question around in my brain […]
Posts like this are like bits of yeast flying through the air, landing where they’ll do some good, make something nourishing of what might have remained doubt or uncertainty or a general “nah, maybe later” attitude. Thanks for the yeast.
I look forward to some door flinging…
Carin, I think you flung a little yeast my way. I used to only dream about being on the river, but ever since I read your post about Al Alvarez’s Pondlife I dream of being in it.