Share and Bookmark
This article is written for Evolving Beings by guest author Lance Ekum of The Jungle of Life.
“You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul”
~ George Bernard Shaw
A beautiful piece of art, I have displayed beside my desk, from friend Brandi Reynolds.
Life is art.
Let’s think about this for a minute. Our life, here on earth. How would you describe it?
What is life?
I suppose we can think about this question from a myriad of different angles. Life is love. Life is living. Life is family. Life is hard. Life is challenging. Life is wonderful. Life is…
…an endless list of possibilities.
Our life is really a collective of all our moments. Moments that we each create in the living out of our lives. Minute by minute.
“In art, the moment is my true teacher. It is life expressing itself through me. Art, then, becomes effortless, which is the now-moment itself.” ~ Philippe Benichou
So, let’s dig into this a little further. If our life is really a collective of all these moments, and our life is what we make it – how does that look, then? At this very moment, we are each designing our own creation of us. We are choosing what this moment will be filled with (reading here, for instance). Something has compelled us to make that choice. And that choice is creating our life. Now. Just like all the choices we make, they all become our life.
Life is art.
We are art! We have created the person we each are today – by the choices we have made.
Messy one minute, beautiful the next.
Your life is what YOU put on that canvas. Or that song you sing. Or that dance you dance. It’s the life you live. Today.
Not tomorrow.
Or next week.
Or when you have x dollars in the bank.
What you have is now. And you are the only one who can create your masterpiece, who can sing your song, who can dance your dance. It matters not what the world thinks of you, it matters how you feel about you.
You are creating your life, right now. At this moment, you are adding to the tapestry that is YOU. Maybe it’s a bit messy, or maybe it looks amazing. Maybe the dance steps of your life have you fumbling with your feet, or maybe you are in a graceful sequence of beauty in motion. However you see your life, you are the artist. And the beauty of this life art that you are creating is that each moment you can start anew. Much like singing a new song, or dancing a new dance – you can choose, now, to change your life artistry, to touch more deeply upon your soul.
You have the power to choose. And you have this very moment. Now.
Your life is meant to be beautiful art. Find that song in you…it is there…
About the Author
Lance Ekum is the author at The Jungle of Life. Writing there has become much more than just words on paper for him. It’s become a part of an understanding of the journey through life. And at an even deeper level, a journey itself into soul. In his free time, Lance likes to bike, run, and coach soccer (and snack on dark chocolate).
41 Comments to “Life Is Art”
Beautiful, Lance! That is so true! Life is indeed art.
I’m reminded of the story of the African tribe who, upon hearing that a woman is pregnant, will send her and a few of her close relatives and friends into the wilderness where they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the child. They recognize that every soul has its own vibration, its own song. They sing the song a the birth of the child and at every rite of passage in his/her life, from entering school, becoming an adult and getting married. And when the soul is ready to depart, the relatives gather around and sing it into the next world. Isn’t it lovely?
Your post also reminded me of this quote, often used by Leo Buscaglia: “You have your brush, you have your colors, YOU paint paradise, then in you go.” ~ Nikos Kazantzakis
Mmmm. This is so lovely. Evita I peeked over to your site as I have been offline for the holidays and what a treat to see Lance here! Really wonderful words. I deeply believe life is art.
On a funny side, when I taught middle school, I did a lesson every spring on “Is a paper clip art” The discussion wove in and out of every day for three weeks culminating in a personal project for each student. And you know what….most concluded that everything in life is indeed art.
And so I believe too.
Well Hi Lance! Ya just never know where you pop up! haha!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this! To me, this metaphor, or whatever you want to call it, runs deep. I think of all the stages of my life (some associated with age, some just changes like marriage, kids, moving etc) and I see how my personal experiences with art have also evolved, changed – some techniques improved and other things were dropped or abandoned. I’ve explored all mediums, went thru phases of pastels only – until I became allergic to the dust – tried small paintings, huge paintings, oils (love the texture), acrylics (love/hate relationship there) and watercolors (I suck at that – I’d put that in the category of my failed marriage!).
The blank canvas is exciting! There is no limit to what you can make of it! The blank page is exciting! There is no limit of words you can string together to make something of it either! Nothing you produce in either form has to be perfect. There is no perfect! There is just the CALL – DO IT – for heaven’s sake DO SOMETHING – don’t let that blankness be who you are. And that, my dear, dear friend, is my whole life philosophy in a nutshell!
Hugs,
suZen
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately – the idea that we don’t have to reach some moment in the future in order to start living our masterpiece lives today. Often in the past I’ve let myself get stuck in that mode of thinking: that life will be masterful when… (XYZ happens). Nope, that’s just not how it works. NOW is the masterpiece moment, and right now I am a work of art unfolding. Just like you said, I can choose how much more paint to add to this canvas, or what to let dry as is, and what to alter. I can step back and admire my work of art, or keep tweaking. It’s all in what I choose RIGHT NOW.
I loved this metaphor, Lance, and appreciated its meaning in my life today.
Thank you!
Lance,
Dude I get it! My life has been very messy, yet amazing this week. I love the part about “not tomorrow or next week or when you have enough $$ in the bank.
I’m painting every moment with love, laughter and big boldness. This post is short but says so much. Thanks for the reminder that I’m on the right track even in the middle of my mess;)
Hi Lance,
It is great to see you here! Life is definitely art and how I wish more people saw that fact. We are the creators of our reality and we can create anything that we want. So often people get stuck because of fear or whatever. However, the beauty of life is that once we decide what we want to experience, it comes to us.
Wonderful post, my friend! :)
Lance, this was so lovely and poetic! And I love your bio here also, in terms of what it says writing has become for you, that is so true for me also. Thanks for an inspiring message going in the New Year, about how we can all create and appreciate the unique beauty of our lives. And thanks to Evita for hosting you, I am new to her blog, but enjoying it so far…Lisa
Hi Lance,
I perked up when I saw this because I’ve written about the very same thing with the very same title! I love your take on it.
“Messy one minute. Beautiful the next.” So simple. So true.
Thank you and happy new year!
Lance I surely did like this post. Evita thank you for arranging this guest post.
I have been thinking non-stop about healing in the New Year – this is my number one priority. Yesterday my phone nearly rang off the wall, with folks wanting me to heal their group, do such and such work, or mother’s attempting to find the best situation for their child (where are all my autistic reference materials?) Today I am working on saying NO to each and every one….some with some referrals and some just NO…It does not feel good yet.
For 32 years I have volunteered and my brush strokes have been in caring for others. I have been painting on the back of the canvas…
I need to do a new thing….find new color and form to begin…my best design yet….for pleasure and laughter.
Very nice, Lance! For what it’s worth, my email letters stand for the answer I give, being an artist, when often asked, “What is your medium?”
“Life Is The Medium” :-)
Lance,
I *love* the quote!! Then while reading your post I had an ‘ah-ha! moment’. “You use works of art to see your soul”…only in the past year since I’ve been focused on healing and growing have I begun painting, using different mediums to express myself. The interior of the boat has so much art work–paintings, photos, collages, poetry–mine and the children’s. I realize as I read this that I am allowing my soul to breathe…oh my! That’s the newfound joy that permeates my days!
What you have *is* now, and how you express that is uniquely you. And wonderful for those around you to share! Create a mess, then frame it along with all of the other masterpieces you painstakingly create. The greatest beauty is found in experimenting:)
Thank you so much! You are a gem:)
“Or that dance you dance. ”
YES. Exactly. I know you wrote that for me! We really are living, effervescent art – I love what Dr. J said “life is the medium!”
Great post, Lance! :) Loved it!
Hi Evita!
I like your site! Thank you for sharing Lance with us!
Hi Lance!
My first comment is that I love the picture you chose to accompany this post on your site. It is so vivid–and goes with your subject matter so well. Second, I want to thank you for this post so much. It is so refreshing and so free-spirited. You are right, life is art and each day can be our masterpiece. We are free to create the life we want and every day is a fresh start. My sister is a painter. She has pictures she has grown tired and I’ve watched her paint over them and create a whole new painting. I’m always thrilled by that! What a concept! Anyway, this is a super article. I’m so grateful for reading it today!!
Life- Messy, beautiful, frightening, heart opening, heart wrenching, zany, frustrating, joyful, perplexing…
=
Art-Messy, beautiful, frightening, heart opening, heart wrenching, zany, frustrating, joyful, perplexing…
You covered this canvas expertly in this post Lance
gentle steps,
laura
Hi Evita: Thanks for featuring one of my favorite bloggers (and a great friend)!
Hi Lance: I read this statement, “It matters not what the world thinks of you, it matters how you feel about you,” and these words are golden.
In the end, we can choose to paint like Picasso, or we can paint like a 2-yr old, or we can color outside the lines, or we can choose to paint with our voice. In the end, we have to be happy with our choices.
You are absolutely an evolved soul, Lance, and I consistently learn from you!
Thank you, once again, for your beautiful words.
~xo
Hi Lance.
“Art, it is life expressing itself through me.”
To express ourselves, let our life well up from inside, let it pour out from our heart that knows about connecting, oneness and love, our heart that only knows beauty.
Then whatever we do will express that beauty and love and will color everything we come into contact with.
Yes Lance, I do go with you on this one, life is art and a blank canvas.
Nicely expressed Lance, life is art, as long as we receive inspiration to be creative. If not, like a hamster, we keep spinning round and round in the same old cage. But I suppose reliving the same moment over and over again is an art form in its self. However, one may just not be getting the attendance they would like at their own personal museum when the subject matter never changes.
@HANLIE – Wow, that story you’ve shared IS lovely! What a special way to be welcomed into the world…and then have that as your “life song” throughout your days. It sure points to the artist in all of us. Here’s to each of us getting that brush out and painting our paradise.
@KATIE WEST – Hi Katie. I believe that very deeply too…and more every day, of how our life is really the artistic creation of us. So, the tiny paper clip. A piece of wire, really. Doesn’t seem like much, and doesn’t’ seem too artistic upon first glance. Oh, what you can do with that piece of wire though! Lovely lesson you shared with some lucky middle schoolers (lucky…because they had YOU!). Art is all around us, even in those things we might not typically see as such.
@SUZEN – Hi Suzen. Exploration. I think that’s a really great word to go along with this idea that our life is art. We can try things – and they may not work for us, and then we try something else. Life is what we put into it. And that’s dipping our life paintbrushes into different paints, and seeing what we get. And through it all, remembering that we can always start new…that a blank canvas is there for us. Suzen, the artist in you shines through brilliantly!
@MEGAN – Hi Megan. Right! What we have is this very moment. It can be easy to say “I’ll do this when…”. Except, “when” may never come…or we’ll just have some other new “when”. Megan, YOU are art unfolding! Beautiful art that shines joy and love in the world!
@TESS – Messy. We’ve all been there. And that is still our life, the ART of who we are. Messiness and all. Keep on painting with all the love, laughter, and boldness that shines YOU!
@NADIA – Hi Nadia. Yes, fear can hold us back from truly and fully expressing that artist within. I’ve been there. Perhaps most of us have at some point in our lives. When we can get beyond that, though, wow! What a masterpiece that is waiting!
@LISA – Hi Lisa. And it’s interesting, isn’t it, how the words we write…they can become so much more than just those words. They take on a deeper meaning, and can lead us on the journey we are on. Lisa, thanks so much for being here, and I know that the words that Evita shares are words that will connect very deeply with you.
@BELINDA – Hi Belinda. Well, I’m going to have to find that article on your site! Wow!! And what is messy to one person can be beautiful art to another. And that is perfectly okay. We are all unique! Great to see you here!
I’m not a real artist, but I imagine there are different quality tools an artist can select from.
Our life “tools” are free. It has nothing to do with what we were born into. I was using shoddy tools in the beginning and creating a subpar piece of art, but I’ve since upgraded my tools to include such things as widsom, love, patience, and laughs, and I’m now reaping the benefits of a much better piece of art.
xoxo to you Lance!
“At this very moment, we are each designing our own creation of us. We are choosing what this moment will be filled with (reading here, for instance). Something has compelled us to make that choice. And that choice is creating our life.”
I wonder what my canvas looks like at any point in time as some days I muddle through with some moments of peace, love and bliss. It might look more like an impressionist painting with each experience and choice bleeding into another. Maybe that is why I am drawn to impressionism and collage art.
What an interesting way to think. I need to mull this over and post about it! I like that at “this moment” we are adding to that canvas by choice. I like that I can change the outcome of that canvas by making another choice.
I also think that by keeping my gratitude journal, at the end of the day I choose to layer 5 more thought of gratitude over the top of that canvas for the day. Thanks!
Hi Lance and Evita .. the art of the canvas .. is to let the best bits flow gently down, to remember the best puzzle fits, each day we can add and build a bigger better canvas of life .. we can paint over where we’ve made a bloomer, we want to improve that part … if we photograph it we can quieten it for those peaceful days, we can whizz it up for brighter days .. we can add sounds .. buzzing bees .. Life is art – the canvas is ours ..
Great – good to be here .. Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
What is not joyful is something not missed. Art invites each person to be more engaged in what is happening in the moment. You have the choice to enter the canvas and create a different existence. AsLance, points out, human beings have the power to choose. Free will enables you to make themsot of where you are.
Wonderful post, Lance. It’s so true that all of us are masterpieces just waiting for the strokes of paint on our canvas. Makes me think of that song the master’s hand. Where a shabby violin becomes sought after when a maestro plays it. We have that capability within us to be masterpieces; we have that potential.
Have a great weekend!
Oh, this is such a beautiful post!
Art. Art! ART!! God made us all with eyes to see art, ears to hear it in word and song. Taste buds to sense it in wonderful food. Noses to smell it in His grand creations in nature everywhere — roses and rosemary come to mind. He gave us fingers to touch it in velvet, the bark of trees and other warm hands.
Yes!! Art is life. And what a beautiful gift we are given every day to live and create it — each one of us an artist in our own way, and as Lance so eloquently points out — WE ARE ART in constant progress. We are painted by the hand of the Divine, His brushstrokes on us constantly, his hands molding the clay.
May we continue to create ourselves and the lives around us with on-going joy!
@PATRICIA – There is certainly much good that comes from helping others, and it sounds like you have done much of this, Patricia. And it’s also important to care for yourself, too. If “no” feels like the right answer, then it is the right answer. Here’s to painting on your canvas, that which makes your heart sing (and laugh)!
@DR. J – Hey Dr. J! I love it – life IS the medium!!
@JOY – Hi Joy. Painting, as a way of expressing the artistry of your life, of life…so good! And I love the thought that this is allowing your soul to breathe. How often, I wonder, do we not let our soul breathe, do we suffocate the beauty of that breath? And for what? To withhold the joy that’s there? Keep on experimenting, Joy…and let that beautiful soul of yours touch others in the process. It does. It has.
@HAYDEN – Hayden…this IS for you. Keep on dancing, expressing the beauty of YOU. Living art…wow! What an amazing thought, when you really let it sink in…
@POSITIVELY PRESENT – Thanks much, Dani.
@JODI – Hi Jodi. That picture on my site…it really jumped out at me as our life really being art, expressed so well in that image. And what an example, your sister and her painting! Paint over the top…much like that blank canvas. Or maybe even more like our real lives, where we still have our past, it’s still with us – like the painting that has been painted over – but we can choose to put something new on top. Such a great example of really our life…in these paintings!
@LAURA HEGFIELD – So right, Laura. Life, like art…is all of that, and it’s all good. Keep painting your amazing canvas Laura!
@LORI – Lori, you are sweet and kind! Did you know that?? Because you are, and I’ll keep saying it! It’s easy to get wrapped up in thinking we’re not good enough, or fast enough, or smart enough, or artistic enough, or on and on…because we think we don’t meet some “standard”. And the truth is, we are good enough, just as we are. And especially if we are connecting with something that has real meaning for us. Lori, the artist in you shines through always…
@WILMA – Hi Wilma. That IS it! Connecting with our heart, and then letting that out! You DO express the artistry of your life so, so well Wilma. And there is a world of beauty in that, in you…in what you give out to the world!
@BERN – The hamster cage is a great example. I do suppose that is art, too. If we are indeed doing that, we are still creating our life…it’s just that not much is changing in that picture. Maybe there are moments in our life when that’s welcome. And then maybe there are moments in our life, too, when we are just “going through the motions”. And that is when it’s time for a change. To step away from the hamster wheel, if you will. So, as we go forth, if we are really listening to our heart…then that is the right place for us to be.
@YUM YUCKY – Hi Josie. I am not a real artist either. Not in the sense that I can create a great painting, or sing a tune to perfection, or dance without looking awkward. I guess maybe that’s the messy part! Which is still good and right. And I love (love!) this idea of the tools we use, much like the paintbrush of a painter – in our life artistry. And Josie, the art that you are creating is so wonderful and uniquely YOU!
@AVTCOACH – Yes, we are choosing the artistry of our lives…and even in choosing to “do nothing”, that is still a choice, and that is still adding something to our life art. So, we can always change what’s going into this life of ours, if even just in the thoughts that we have. Or, like you do so well, in keeping a gratitude journal of all the day has meant to you. Wonderful!
@HILARY – Hi Hilary. So, I love these thoughts. It’s about holding onto those parts of our life painting that bring us joy and love, and painting over those spots which have in some way have not done that. What a great way to view our life!
@LIARA – Liara, what you are really touching upon is so good…this concept of really BEing in the moment…for all the moments of our life. When we are really and fully IN those moments, we do touch more deeply upon that artistic life that is ours!
@JEWEL – And what I take from this story of the shabby violin is that we all might at some points look like that shabby violin on the outside, beat up from the frailties of life, the misfortunes, the heartache. And still, within us is still an amazing and beautiful song. Jewel, thank you so much for this today!
@JANNIE – Art is all around us, and we are art. What an amazing world we live in, surrounded by so much beauty, and being so much beauty. We are all unique, crafted in ways that no one else in this whole world is. Wow, just the thought of that is so amazing! Jannie, your words today are touching. And I see the beauty of your life artistry always, in the beautiful soul that you are…
Lance, right to the heart of the matter, as usual. LIfe as art, each of us as art. I do love it. And I love how you embrace the mess, the unfinished nature of it, right along with it. All together, it still creates a brilliant masterpiece. You have made such a masterpiece of your life by staying faithful to the creative process–and you inspire us to do so as well. Actually, I love thinking of myself as a work in progress. :-) It brings ease and peace of mind. I don’t have to be perfect. I just have to unfold.
I’ve heard the expression “life is art” before but it’s never resonated with me like it has today reading this, Lance. In particular the phrases, “Messy one minute, beautiful the next” and “Your life is what you put on that canvas”. And just like a Salvador Dali painting appealing to one person but not the other, as you’ve so beautifully said, “It matters not what the world thinks of you, it matters how you feel about you.”
Thanks Lance and Evita!
@JAN – Those words “work in progress” are ones which ring true for all of us. And they are comforting in that we don’t have to meet some standard or be perfect. As we are is perfectly okay, and when we continue to paint our life canvas with colors directly from our heart, our masterpiece is truly that…a masterpiece. Jan, you do this wonderfully!
@SAMI – So, this is really saying that “messy” is okay. And in fact, I would say that, to take that even a step further, “messy” is a really good place to be, because in that spot – it really means that we are “living”. Sami, that’s what I see from you always (not that I’m saying I see a “mess”) – you truly do “live” your life. Keep on shining “you”….
Life is art…and there is no sense in waiting. Though that was a hard lesson for me to grasp. I used to wait for “Someday” when I had enough money, enough resources. But do we ever? The only time we have is now. life is art = SPLASH! I see tons of colors tossed onto a canvas…beautiful!
STACEY,
I have been there, too…thinking if I only had {x dollars or x hours or more freedom or more knowledge or …} then I could really do what really speaks to me. Do we ever? No. And yes. No, in that there is always more we can learn, do, have, etc. Deeper than that, though – is the YES. We DO have enough resources – even if we don’t have all the resources we could have. Life IS art…now! Stacey, you shine at bringing amazing colors onto the canvas of your life…and that IS beautiful! And inspiring…
I love to think of myself as Art. Living art.
We are making choices that is creating our legacy. That legacy could be bold, creative, and loving or something we would rather not talk about.
I’m working on my living art through my blog. I hope that I can succeed in making my legacy that is sung by thousands of workers because their company thinks differently about how they treat their people.
KARL,
It’s pretty awesome, isn’t it! To think…we are art, we are our own creation, and we continue to add to that masterpiece of our life everyday. You are doing it Karl, and your blog speaks to that living art you are creating. Keep listening to your heart, and letting it all unfold beautifully…
Life is art….and…art is the expression of life.
To me, that is what makes art what it is.. so YES! Embracing the concept 110% and on board.
And taking it a step farther? Art has a vast array of Mediums. I get sad when I hear someone say…”I’m no artist” Because to me…being an artist is giving yourself permission to express the world through your own eyes in whatever medium you choose to explore.
Great post Lance, full of energy and possibilities. It makes me want to run for the paintbrushes.
WENDI,
I believe that’s exactly it – “art” can entail so many mediums, and it’s that spirit deep within us – coming out – and somehow shared with the world. And even if “the world” is just the room we are in, or seen by one other person (or even just our dog), or a stage of thousands, or whatever – when we express the voice in our heart, magic happens. Magic within… Art, and all it’s beauty. Wendi, I see you shine this so beautifully in all you share…
Hi Lance,
I just love this: You have the power to choose. And you have this very moment. Now.Your life is meant to be beautiful art. Find that song in you…it is there…
I love seeing my life as a canvas and sometimes I forget to painton my canvas because of……..
2010 is my year to really color my canvas. Reading this which I just LOVE and having made a vision board this week stir the resting creativity for my ART, thanks for awakening that
with love
Suzi
SUZIE,
Suzie, when I think of you…I DO think a beautifully colored canvas, one that has had many amazing patterns painted on with care. So, as you go forth in this new year, continue to let that paintbrush of your life paint strokes that speak deeply to you. There’s a beautiful image there already…and I know you will continue to create anew the masterpiece of YOUR life!
[...] of the Jungle of Life, then I know you didn’t miss Lance’s recent guest post called Life Is Art, at the Evolving Beings blog. In this creative, spunky, and thought-provoking post, he challenged [...]
Lance, breathtaking as always! Your words just spill out onto the medium and transform in such rich ways whoever is lucky enough to read them.
Thank you so much for your amazing contribution to Evolving Beings and for filling in so well while I was away on vacation!
You expressed so beautifully how life is truly what we choose to make it, and that in my heart and soul is priceless information. To know that we are the painters as well as the painting. We are creating each day, we are adding in as much color, or as many strokes as we choose. Let us thus always, acknowledge the amazing creators we are, and not give up the privilege of painting our own dreams!
To everyone else who commented above, I offer a huge, heart-felt thank you! Your words carried with them so much positive and inspirational energy and it was truly humbling to see the out pouring of kindness here – thank you all so much! Your comments are so very much appreciated!
Evita,
It’s an honor to have been here. You have created a very special space at Evolving Beings – one filled very much with depth, caring, and heart. Being able to write within that space has been a gift. Evita, with deep gratitude, thank you for this beautiful opportunity to share these words here.
Namaste,
Lance