From lemons to lemonade

Late yesterday afternoon, after the third load of laundry, I was finally able to set aside some of my post-travel to-do list and paint.  But after only a week away it was as if I had never painted: nothing seemed to be going right and the results were incredibly frustrating. Which really shouldn't have surprised me, given that it had been well over a week since I've either meditated or painted.  I'm out of the zone, and it might take a bit to get back into that space.

Fortunately I'd spent lots of time with my camera over that week, so I could indulge my creative impulses this morning by playing with some of the blurry (and equally unsatisfying) images I'd managed to collect from a moving car. 

It was a lovely reminder: If I can just set aside what I WANTED to happen and follow the trail of instinct and possibility, the results might still be pleasing.  Of course things don't -- can't -- always happen as we've planned.  But there's almost always some alternative path to explore, with some new blessings and lessons to teach us.