Unfold

Rainer Maria Rilke’s words grabbed my heart when I stumbled across them:

“I want to unfold. Let no place in me hold itself closed. For where I am closed I am false.“

An image emerged for me to play with: a rose and Rilke’s words.

I took out my magazines and started cutting out pinks and creams.
I made a rough sketch of a rose and started laying down scraps of color.
I didn’t get very far into the process before I froze with anxiety. Chest tight. Self-Doubt loudly declaring: “I don’t know what I’m doing!” “I don’t think I can do this!”

And then came a gentle reminder:
Breathe, dear.
You are playing.
No one cares whether you can do this or not.
This is collage. You don’t need to know.
Remember the words you are working with?
Trust the unfolding.

Gather your materials.
You have what you need.
Trust the process.

Breathing deeply and slowly, I returned to cutting and layering and gluing. And I found joy in playing and delight as a rose took shape. I made something I loved.

The invitation to unfold remains. But what I return to repeatedly is this moment of seizing up with anxiety when I don’t know what I am doing. My heart closes up when self-doubt gets loud.

Almost daily, I return to the image of the rose and this invitation to breathe, trust the process, and unfold.

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I have 4 x 6 cards available for each of these images.They are available in packs of 5 for $10. You can choose which cards you would like in each pack. If you are interested in cards, feel free to let me know.