and chanted, “I don’t get it, I don’t get it, I don’t get it, I don’t get it,” and the whole room burst into laughter. She laughed too, and said, “Okay! Now I get it!” The action of turning her frustration into a little ditty cheered her right up. It also allowed all of us to recognize, sympathize with, and participate in her feelings. I still sing Marie’s little song to myself whenever I feel like I’m being obtuse, and it takes the feeling of being dense and airless and it opens up all the windows and lets the cool breeze blow right through.
Your reaction to your 5-Minute Art may not be humorous, of course. You may discover that you are much sadder, much calmer, or much more furious than you thought. One student sent me a copy of a dark drawing she had made of a big, black bird that covered almost the whole page. She said she hadn’t realized how unhappy she was until she saw her own drawing. Recognition is the first step toward transformation.
If you’re thinking to yourself, “But, Sam, I’m not artistic,” remember that once you were a child who cheerfully drew pictures, sang songs, danced, and played with clay. You were completely unconcerned about how “good” your work was, and you simply reveled in the playful expression of your spirit. Tap into that still-existing childlike part of yourself, and you’ll be amazed at how easily the 5-Minute Art will flow right out of you.
Recognition is the first step toward transformation.
In the rest of this book, we’ll talk about how you can:
• amp up your intuition and inner knowing
• get over your fear of success
• figure out how to pick a project that’s going to be really great for you
• find a tribe or community of like-minded people who will support you, celebrate you, and cherish your involvement in their lives
All the things you keep telling yourself you want to do, be, or have are possible for you, if you are willing to take it one step at a time. No matter how long you’ve been dreaming your dreams, they are still alive, still possible. Just because they haven’t happened up to now doesn’t mean they won’t happen. And just because your life, career, or projects haven’t gone the way you may have wanted doesn’t mean they are not going well. No matter what has happened to you up to now, you have an opportunity to create a new story, beginning right now.
Take a deep breath.
Notice the good in this moment.
Because this is all you have.
Start now.
Start right where you are.
YOU KNOW THE TIMES when you have had a goal or a dream, worked hard to make it happen, and then . . . just . . .nothing? No movement. Can’t get traction. So frustrating, right?
Other times, you have a goal or a dream, and you take just very few baby steps toward it, and suddenly it feels as if the universe itself comes rushing in to support you. It seems that all you have to do is put out a little energy, and you get a big tidal wave of energy back. Maybe you have an idea in your head about moving house, and the next thing you know, the perfect place becomes available, and it’s easily affordable, and you get to just swan right in. Or maybe you’re dreaming of meeting the perfect business partner, and then, out of the blue, that person is standing right in front of you, ready and willing. It’s wonderful when that happens, isn’t it?
Ask around and you’ll hear a lot of different explanations for why sometimes you get what you want, and sometimes you don’t. People may invoke the power of a strong intention, vibration, divine timing, angels, destiny, manifestation skills, karma, luck, or happenstance. But I have a different theory — and please note that I mean theory in the sense of an interesting way to think about things, not in the scientific sense.
Imagine that you are standing in the exact center of your world: that you are the sun, the hub, the eye of the storm. Now imagine that there are lines, like spokes on a wheel, or like the individual puffs on a dandelion, extending out from you that connect you with everything else. Those lines represent your relationship with the potentiality of all things. Every opportunity, every relationship, every everything can be connected to you through those spokes. Can you see it?
Now, if you take one small step in any direction, can you imagine how those lines shift in their relationship with you? Now each line is at a slightly different angle. And so maybe there are some spokes that weren’t reaching you before that now prod you square in the chest. Or maybe the angle of one spoke has become more oblique, so that there is no longer a direct path between that thing and you. Other spokes that were right in your center are now maybe a bit off to the side.
This is why a tiny shift can cause a big difference. Can you imagine that for yourself? Right now, think of something that you want that has eluded you. Maybe it’s a new relationship, or a baby, or a creative project. Can you imagine yourself shifting just a few degrees and intersecting your energy with the potentiality of that thing? Can you imagine how easily even the unlikeliest goal might be achieved? I hear stories every day from my students and clients in which they’ve finally decided to write their book, and the next thing they know, they find themselves deep in conversation with a friendly stranger who turns out to be a literary agent. Or just when they decide they’re ready to start dating, the phone rings, and Mr. or Ms. Perfect Fabulous Person is on the line.
I’ve heard the analogy of a rocket ship to describe this, too: if the trajectory of a rocket ship to the sun is off by just one degree, its course is dramatically altered. In fact, it will end up over 1.6 million miles from its original destination. Could it be that you are just one degree away from everything you’ve ever wanted?
When you move, your perspective — the angle at which you see things — shifts. Experiment for yourself: from the position you are in right now, turn your head like an owl, and notice what you can see. For example, I’m at my desk, and if I turn my head as far as I can to the right and use as much of my peripheral vision as possible, I can see a pair of shoes on the floor (I really ought to be better about putting my shoes away) and the corner of the wooden Swedish trunk that my father handed down to me. If I turn my head all the way to the left, I can see part of my bookshelf and some of the big green chair that sits in front of the bookshelf.
Could it be that you are just one degree away from everything you’ve ever wanted?
Do this right now and note what you can see.
Now move your body a bit in any direction. Look around again, peering as far as you can to your right and left. You’ll notice that your view has changed a bit. I can now see more of the trunk and also past it, to the coffee table. Craning around to my left, I can now see all of the green chair.
So my theory in action looks like this: when you decide that you want something and you move toward it physically, emotionally, or spiritually, then your movement opens up new pathways by which things can appear in your life. Even a very small step (physical, emotional, or spiritual) can cause a radical change in your relationship to the thing you want. Even a small shift in perspective can allow you to see new opportunities.
And those times when you wished and hoped for things to change, but nothing happened? It’s because you never actually moved.
