Start From Where You Are (Wisdom of the 12-Steps)

Bottom line: you always start, or take your next step, from where you are at any given moment.

Having had experiences, both as a professional working with drug addicts and alcoholics in recovery, and healing from my own childhood and military experiences of PTSD, I plan to post blogs on the theme of "Wisdom of the 12-Steps." Moreover, I'll include how I think those steps are universal to human change, need and applicability to many every day problems.

I'd pondered what to write in restarting my blog (during a six-month design of my website), particularly whether to write about the theme of “Wisdom of the 12-Steps.” Inevitably, I asked myself a litany of questions, such as, how would I start this, where should I . . . and where need I?

In spite of my trepidation, I circled back to phrases such as Dragnet’s Joe Friday’s by-line, “Just the facts, Ma'am,” “Cut to the chase” (which I understand originated in the silent movie era), and the more recent Nike logo, “Just do it,”and accepted that my “pondering process” could continue ad infinitum and ad nauseam.

Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher, is attributed with saying, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Any journey, simple or complex, long or short, out of necessity or a whim, whether mental, emotional, physical, and/or spiritual began, or begins, with the first step . . . then proceeds from there. Corrections and adjustments can be made made along the way, and are, as necessary.

Don’t get me wrong. Planning is helpful, important and essential in some cases. But, thinking, especially when stuck in fear, isn’t the same as action, and all too often thinking and planning can be used as excuses, thus an avoidance of committing to the journey.

So, in the vein of the 12-Steps of Recovery, I needed to “Suit up and show up,” (a common encouragement in 12-Step meetings), take the next step, in spite of the risks, and thus arrived at this post, which I remind myself may not be “perfect,” though doesn’t need to be . . . because without this "first step" (or next step), I wasn't going anywhere, except in my head.

Photo Credit: drbigtoe - imgur.com

Totem Mask

Working with my hands, in this case, creating art from clay, "mud," helps me focus on the "here and now," while gaining satisfaction through the act of creation.

I've enjoyed the hands-on experience of ceramics at my local City College "Lifelong Learning" enrichment classes.

For my project in a class challenge assignment, and as a result of my attraction to American Indian spirituality, I created this "mask," modeled after designs of those of Northwest American Indians.

Fashioned from a medium bodied clay (containing a moderate amount of sand), this mask was bisque fired, then highlighted with enamel paint.

Bottom line: we all possess a unique ability to express ourselves.

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* This post updated from its original which appeared on Primate's Big Adventures.

Photo Credit: Connard Hogan

Moon Squared

I've found the creative act of drawing to be soothing, as well as rewarding. I don't expect to rival Van Gogh, though I do find satisfaction from expressing myself in this way.

A few years ago, when examining an aerial photo of an abandoned Indian village along a dry river bank (Anasazi, perhaps), the remaining building walls formed a grouping of rough squares, and an idea emerged.

What if all we could see were the walls from above? Since that time I've created a number of drawings using that theme.

This moon drawing is eighth in the "Moon Squared" series. If you've not seen one of my "squared" drawings before, look for the pun!

Hint: I have an engineering bent.

Bottom line: You possess the ability to create, too. (We humans are hard-wired that way.)

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* This post updated from its original which appeared on Primate's Big Adventures.

Photo Credit: Connard Hogan