Rediscover the Joy in Your Life’s Canvas
Imagine your life as a vast, white canvas. When you were young, it stretched before you, limitless and bright. Every stroke you made with your brush was an adventure, full of joy and creativity. But as time passed, your canvas became cluttered with lines, colors, and intricate details. These elements, born from experiences and expectations, created a captivating world but also obscured the boundless potential beneath.
This is, in essence, the human experience. We start with an open mind, a universe of possibilities. But as we navigate life, we paint layers of stories, judgments, and self-doubt onto our canvas. This self-constructed landscape can feel restrictive, obscuring the vibrant potential that lies beneath.
However, the good news is the original canvas, teeming with infinite possibility, is always there. We can reclaim it not by erasing our experiences but by shifting our perspective. We can learn to see through the painted layers, recognizing that the stories we tell ourselves and the limitations we believe in are just that – stories and beliefs, not absolute truths.
Imagine stepping back from your canvas, taking a deep breath, and letting go of the brush. In that quiet space beneath the layers of self-constructed meaning, a sense of vastness opens up. It’s the feeling of being limitless, unburdened by the dramas and narratives that play out on the surface. This is our true nature – the infinite potential that predates any stroke on the canvas.
Remember, you are not the painting; you are the painter. You hold the brush, the colors, and the power to choose what to create. Liberation doesn’t lie in changing the painting but in remembering who you are – the vast, unbounded canvas on which it all unfolds.
Your true nature is untouched by the stories you tell yourself. It’s the silence between the brushstrokes. You’ve lived your life forgetting the ‘I’ and seeing only what you’re painting. As Ben suggests, we become so invested in the dream that we start to believe we are tied to the forms we’re painting. This belief leads us to create layers of self-image based on others’ words and pictures, until we can’t feel ourselves anymore.
The only way out is to embrace silence, to shut up. Until you clear out your mental closet and understand what you are, you’ll struggle to make profound alterations in your experience. You are the creator, but your power is frozen in concepts. To truly embrace your role as a creator – one who has fashioned universes and cycles – you must transcend beyond petty thoughts and judgments.
As you stop painting yourself into your life’s picture, you open up to something bigger. This shift allows you to understand that you are not your thoughts, emotions, or the people in your life. You’re not even the person you’ve been painting all this time. By leaving yourself out of your painting, you open up to a new scene, one where you’re not constrained by your own limitations.
In the absence of the ‘little me’ constantly repainting itself, something larger emerges. This is a realization that everything – the dream, the dreamer, and the consciousness – is inseparable from the absolute. When the dream disappears, the absolute remains, eternal and unchanging.
Quote:
“You are not the painting, you are the painter. You hold the brush, the colors, and the power to choose what to create.” – Bentinho Massaro
Spiritual Reference:
This concept echoes a Biblical sentiment found in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” This verse speaks to the idea of transformation and the potential for new beginnings, similar to our ability to see beyond the painted layers of our life’s canvas.
John 13:34 (“A new commandment I give to you: Love one another as I have loved you.”)