Wreck This Journal: Keep Reaching

Sometimes the simplest things can lead to the biggest realizations.  About halfway through Wreck This Journal, there’s page that says: Trace your hand.  I was instantly reminded of the “hand turkeys” I drew while in grade school and I thought it would be fun to make another one . . . or two.  I couldn’t resist tracing both hands!

What I didn’t expect was to see so much hiding in the silhouette I had created. The stark black outline made my hands seem so meek and insignificant, even though I knew better. They aren’t just flesh and bone, but rather a symbol of the fact that big things can come out of tiny packages.  All I need to do is believe.

A realization like this calls for something much more significant than a turkey.  So, I pulled out a box of crayons, my quote journal, and a set of stamps.  I was on a mission to make my hands look exactly how they feel to me as a writer and an (always trying) artist.  Before I knew it, the page exploded with color:

The background is supposed to be the sun on the horizon (either at sunset or sunrise, which happen to be my two favorite times of the day).  To switch things up I drew the sky onto my hands as a way to remind myself the sky’s the limit and I can put it wherever I like in my imagination.   The quotes I chose for my palms come from Langston Hughes and Vincent Van Gogh, both of whom I greatly admire. They are an amazing source of motivation to pick up that pen and keep writing, even when the inner critic is whispering in my ear.

Writing and creativity are all about reaching beyond what is possible. Giving up is not an option, even when faced with boundaries and people saying “you can’t.”  The human spirit is a powerful force . . . as long as we keep reaching.

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Previous Wreck This Journal:

Letting Go

c.b. 2011