I am taking a few weeks to work on my jazz art series. I just finished working on a PBS show open with SuperFad.
I took a hike in the Rockefeller Park near my home yesterday. There are over thirty miles of trails in the park. I started on some trails that I normally walk on, but then decided to try a trail I had never been on. The trail winded through the woods, across streams and stone bridges... I came upon a young mother deer eating some grass. I couldn't have been more than 10ft from her. I walked slowly past, trying not to alarm her. Just as I got past her I was startled by two baby deer jumping out of their hiding place and bounding away from me.
After a while I realized that I wasn't sure where I was or what direction I was going. It was really hot out and I had finished all my water way earlier. I hiked up a long hilly trail and felt a moment of panic... Breathing hard and feeling flushed from the heat on top of not knowing exactly where I was. At the top of this hill the trail broke into three trails... I could either go right, left, or straight. I checked in with my gut and felt the way to go was straight...
I realized that this hike was a metaphor for where I am in my life today... I started the hike with trails that I already knew. Then I decided to go on a trail I had never been on. This reflects my decision to take some time off and concentrate on my art. It can get kinda scary being on new ground, not knowing the familiar course....
My gut told me to keep pushing on... to be brave... After a while the new trail linked up with a trail that I knew, that I had been on before. I felt a sense of relief and of gratitude for having such a lesson revealed to me. I saw that new trails, new directions can connect with what we know and where we've been before.