“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed," (2 Corinthians 4:8).
The life of a creative can be very complex. As a basis to the spectrum, creatives continually deal with being visionaries; seeing something that isn’t and engineering ways to bring it to fruition. They are much like inventors.
Probably also like inventors, they are continually having their work judged, criticized, rejected. And bonus, sometimes their work gets through only to have the new owner say “See you later” and reject them.
There are many voices internal and external that creatives, especially, deal with. Course, you may be the furthest from a creative and struggle in the same ways, days in and out. It happens to everyone. It even happens to my dogs.
Without fail, whenever we go on a walk, there are bigger, meaner dogs, barking their heads off at my pups. I watch my dogs shrink up and stiffen, wanting to freeze and return home NOW.
However, I gently say: “Just keep walking. Come on, you can do it.” As little as they are, I see their bodies buck up, grit their teeth, and they walk on. But if they look over at the mean madness while passing, they’ll shrink up again until I instruct them once more to just keep walking. They get past the loudness time over time.
But even still, I gotta say that one of these dogs has a bark that is, in particular, LOUD. I almost can’t even hear myself think. And it occurred to me yet again today that this is the world in which we all live.
A world where a loud bark can rip away at our souls, paralyzing us from where we should be going. Do you have a loud bark in your life?
Keep in mind, that these barks could be your very own thoughts. Sometimes the criticism that hurts the worst is our own. Then, we tend to project that feeling, whatever it may be, onto someone else (likely those we love) manifesting it in one way or another. Catch yourself one time and you’ll see.
The Bible instructs us in "bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ," (2 Cor. 10:5). There are many reasons for this. But, for today, capture the very thought you are thinking right now and ask yourself: Does it line up to what Christ says about you? If not, chuck it out.
Ask again. Does this thought line up with any of the promises of God? If not, you know where it goes.
Ask again and again. If the thought is anything counter to Christ you know it’s outcome. It’s gotta go.
Then, it is almost like you are released, to go where you need to go. At least, one thought at a time.
Here's one reason why:
“We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body,” (2 Cor. 4:9).
Just as we crucify the thoughts that are not of Him, what wells up in us is all that He promised us: new life.
Richard Bass known as "Dick Bass", chose hiking as a means to get away from the loud barks. At age 52, he was the first ever to summit the seven highest mountains throughout the world. He was also the founder of Snowbird, a ski resort in Utah. Interestingly enough, in his book, “Seven Summits,” it is chronicled how even he was constantly battling potential failures and an overwhelming amount of naysayers. Ironic that he climbs the tallest peaks of planet specifically to get away from it all.
When asked in an article in Forbes magazine, if he hiked professionally, his answer is enlightening.
“All I did was put one foot in front of the other until I got there with a big pack on my back, reciting poems,” he said.
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Amazing.
This summer, I lived out these very words before ever reading them on these sites or in his book. My husband and I traveled to Montana and climbed to the top of Grinnell Glacier, six miles high. It’s no Everest, but it’s the highest peak I’ve ever climbed (and, we still had to travel 6 miles back down the mountain.)
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| http://www.glacier-national-park-travel-guide.com/grinnell-glacier.html |
Good grief, a 12 mile hike was nothing short of tough. We walked through different terrains, climates, in and out of rain, through waterfalls, up the rocks, back down the rocks and around plenty of switchbacks (which I’ve decided I don’t really like. Kind of like those zig zag lines at a place you really want to go. UGH! Just get me there, please.)
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| ©Candice Irion. All Rights Reserved. |
Trekking up, I quoted Scripture to myself, I counted numbers, I huffed and puffed and sometimes my exhaustion would puff out a poor attitude to my sweet husband. No bueno. But, aside from those couple of missteps, I did everything I could. It seemingly took forever! At some points, I just closed my eyes and put one foot in front of the other. And it was in this action when I realized…
that’s all it took.
The force to just place one exhausted leg in front of the other combined with the determination not to give up was what got me up that mountain. Granted, my strength was not my own, but the Lord’s for sure, because little ol’ Candice could never get herself up that mountain.
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| ©Candice Irion. All Rights Reserved. The best cold water ever! My summit on Grinnell Glacier. |
I believe the same is true for what you want to accomplish and for what you battle every single day. With God’s strength, you too, can make it. Just keep walking.
Not to say that whoosh! all fear and timidity in doing so will evaporate. No, not at all. In fact, if you hop over to one of my previous blogs, you’ll see, sometimes, you just have to do it afraid. You can also check out 1 Corinthians 2 where Paul attests to the same.
Like Dick Bass, I truly admire people who just go forth and do it, despite their fear, despite the loud barks and accomplish such enormous heights in their life. People like him set out to do the impossible…
Just like all the creatives who see the vision and table all the “don’t quit your day job” remarks, rejection and self loathing to get the piece made, the film produced, the painting drawn.
So, as a fellow creative, here’s what I deduce:
Art demands to be born. It shouts for freedom and won’t release you until you give it wings, then let it go.
So just keep walking, drawing, painting, producing, day in and day out. Ignore the big mean dogs and capture each thought and hold it up to Christ. See if it is even truth.
Then base your beginning on what is truth and just keep walking, placing one foot in front of the other, with the strength from on High.
And you too, might just summit your Everest.
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| Summiting his mountain. |
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| ©Candice Irion. All Rights Reserved. Me summiting mine. |
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| Bass said he felt blessed to have developed Snowbird "in a fantastic piece of God's creation". |
Godspeed to you friend!
All the best,
Candice
This blog is written in part as a tribute to Dick Bass, a dear family member who just passed away. As accomplished as he was, Dick was always humble, kind and loved to share relative stories, if not, his poems. But, maybe it was his outlook that is his greatest accomplishment. For he continued day in and out in stride, always trying harder, envisioning the greater, and never giving up in life. Not even when he died. He is a man who lived fully, loved hard and one who could always put a smile on your face. I know he did mine. Every. Single. Time. And if there is no greater gift an interaction could hold, it is the exchange of good cheer, a reflection of our Creator and a smile with which to face the day. Thanks Dick! I'll miss you always.
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Another note... if you want to see a story about another person who was inspired by Dick Bass, check out the upcoming movie, Everest, about a man (Beck Weathers) who climbed insurmountable odds and achieved his dream. He and Dick knew each other and Beck credits Dick as his inspiration. For more on the life of Dick Bass, click here. Here is a photo tribute from Snowbird.
Forbes Online Magazine, July 27, 2015, Jim Clash
#dickbass, #dickbassisawesome, #onefootinfrontoftheother, #everest, #everestmovie, #sevensummitts, #facebookeverestmovie
