Coloring Outside the Lines

A few years ago I took an online painting class from a respected art institution and was really looking forward to finally getting some formal painting instruction. The teacher asked us to create a simple set up of 3 objects so I arranged a violin, a mask similar to the Phantom of the Opera and a rose. I was very excited about my set up and could hardly wait to start painting. I took a photo of my set up, submitted it and anxiously waited for approval. When I received my reply the instructor told me that she disapproved of my set up and that I should consider 3 pieces of fruit instead. As you can imagine my heart sunk with disappointment and I felt forced to “conform,” to fit inside an academic box.

As a creative and person of destiny, I have been forced to live in a place of conformity most of my life; A place of rules and restrictions that have limited my true potential and creative expression. While I understand that some, I’ll say it again, some people, fit very well and find purpose within rules and conformity, many others, like myself, do not. Let’s try an experiment and see what happens. Are you ready? Dream, Vision, Purpose. What was your immediate response? Did you tighten up with self-doubt and hopelessness? Or if you do have a Dream, Vision, and Purpose will it fit into a conformity box?

As an educator I have seen the benefits of academics, but I have also witnessed the destruction of conformity and its ability to quietly drain the life from creative expression, dreams, vision and purpose. What would happen if we made the decision to color outside the lines? What would happen if we took one small step towards a goal or gave ourselves the grace to sit for 10 minutes to ask ourselves one question in order to discover our purpose for being here? What would happen if we challenged the status quo of our lives, the conformity we slip into by default and made the decision to color outside the lines? My suspicion is that you would look more like the YOU, you were designed to be.

Quick Challenge: It starts with a decision. “Decision: A conclusion or verdict. The opposite of incision, to cut off.” Are you willing to go to the next level, to do something different, to color outside the lines? Yes or No

Question: “But what am I deciding on?” 

Answer: Your Destiny