Joy of Expression

Mary is an organizational development specialist and writes about today's challenges.

How do we express ourselves? Each of us has a unique way pf expressing ourselves. In fact, it is only in art that expressions takes form. It posits varied incarnations, some worthwhile and some not. But the one that gives us the most joy are often the expressions that shares beauty, goodness, authenticity, angst, or what life is truly.

Expression in its Fullest

Expressing the Inner Spirit

Lately, I have been devoting time to art, and I can't tell you enough of the exhilaration of creating something of beauty, something expressing the inner spirit. It is beyond taste, beyond sight, beyond feeling. It is beyond what your senses can offer. It describes what is inside of you. It feels like something waits to be given words, painted, played, to come out and display its beauty.

On the Periphery

In the past, I have always been on the periphery. I have dawdled in the backroads of art, going to art shows, museums, and performances and was enthralled.

I did the occasional artwork mainly to support my education involvement. Still, I had not given way to fully express myself in art until recently when I plunged in after skirting around the edges, took my brushes out, and spread all the paper I had collected all these years.

The plunge was just like the first swim on the lake in late spring. With lots of hesitancy and then go, I got hooked. I even forget to eat or get bored or feel lonely. I woke up, and I got into it. I did not care if I had to clean up, which I hated to do before. It was part of it. I became more organized even with my time. I can stop and go for a walk or clean up for visitors. It has become a part of me. I am still in it.

The Big Plunge

Yes, art is an expression of me. It takes all my attention, energy, and concentration when, like a composer, I give birth to the masterpiece I have been carrying for some time.

How many years has it been? It doesn’t matter now. It has come to life.
This creation is my life, joy, and gift to the universe.

An Ode to Expression

The joy found words. It found expression in poetry. Something profound has come alive, and it is here to give pleasure.

I am sharing what my inner self expressed as I awakened early. Yes, I can't wait to wake up now and go back to creating. I'm like a baby trying to learn new things and expressing these in verses:

Life thou hast has been

In my womb forever

waiting to awaken

To the world of the keen

Life what beauty

You bring to me

On this particular day

Of my awakening to me

Gratefully I sing

The canticle t0 thee

Of art and beauty

That life does be

Gone is the hesitation

Onward I go

Lost for a long time

Now found and lo

Words of complain

That time there was none

That space can’t be found

Obstacles now are gone

To thee, I bow

To your long vigil

Till the soul awaken

And open its heart

One with Myself

The Inner Beauty

Inside each of us is an inner self wanting to come out and express itself in all its fullness. We have a glimpse of this once in a while as we get busy living. Busy I had been in the past, always going somewhere, still doing something. Busy with what is external, what I thought were the trappings of success. I entirely gave myself to it, but somehow, inside me is that nagging feeling of something wanting to come out.

Finally, I have given it expression, and the joy far surpasses all my past successes. Maybe, my success now only I can see most of the time, but this is not what matters. What matters to us? Maybe, I have to live several decades to know these. I can't claim I know these fully well, but I have an experience of it, and it has brought me joy. It also brought wholeness, a feeling that I am one with myself.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2019 Mary Norton