“Your life is your work of art.”

I don’t know who first said that, but it is true, isn’t it? My life is my work of art. 

An artist is a creator and all of us are creators. We have the ability to build ourselves as we wish, like self-building AI bots.

I found some quotes about this:

“What we play is life.” – Louis Armstrong

“If you want to work on your art, work on your life.” – Anton Chekhov

“All the arts we practice are apprenticeship. The big art is our life.” – M.C. Richards

So, how does one live life artfully? The easiest approach is to look for those who did what you want to do, for those who might be similar to who you want to be. If you aren’t sure, observation is always a good skill. Look for yourself.

My main tool is reading books. I find others have much to share about what worked for them as they wander their life path. How did someone else navigate their trails (and trials) and roads? What helped in their decision-making? Many have left us helpful logs of what we might encounter and what we might need to prepare for our journey. They left words of wisdom that tell us a muddy road was difficult, but traversable, that a bridge has not been repaired but can be patched enough to cross, and that stopping to talk to the farmer who nods as you walk by his fields might result in the offer of a cup of tea. 

You might think of your artful path as a video game. Your goal is to acquire wisdom. Here are your tools, here are your friends, this path is a shortcut but won’t return you to the main road. It would be a waste not to use the information you gather. Experience becomes wisdom and wisdom becomes your map. The map of your creation shows you where you are, and the paths you might take to get where you want to go. Notice what is around you. You may need that gas station that’s open 24 hours. You may meet a person who has an interesting life path. You may travel to a new city and take the leap to call someone you don’t know well and ask for a tour. (Draw a map of your journey. Include things that you’ve made up. An example is below.)

All of our choices lead to adventures and become part of our art, our life. And because there are an infinite number of choices, help is needed. Ask others, “Have you tried this before? What was the result?”

Here are wise words by others about creating an artful life:

“A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered. Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people – people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.” – E.B. White

“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.” – James Baldwin

“Life is your art. An open, aware heart is your camera. A oneness with your world is your film. Your bright eyes and easy smile is your museum.” – Ansel Adams

Until next space….