One of the huge gifts of my summer sabbatical time was that I had some larger-than-usual blocks of time to devote to my art, creating stained glass mosaics.

This allowed me to relax into more of a leisurely pace with it than my more typical ‘production mode.’

In the different rhythm, I trusted the inherent wisdom of the creative process far more than I ever have before.

In doing so, I learned something amazing that I think has direct applicability to the process of reinvention.

I learned that if I just showed up in my art studio, agenda-less, and tuned into my inner guidance, the art would show me the way.

I had a vision of what my piece was; for example, a wolf howling at a full moon, in a dark and wild vista. But I didn’t have the details of the texture, color, or translucency of the stained glass I would use to bring the vision to life. I also didn’t predetermine which areas I would develop next, or the number or shape of the glass pieces in each of the elements.

The new process was simple and elegant. At every step, I just ‘felt’ my way. This color feels right, that one doesn’t. It feels right to work on this part next. This texture feels good to me, that one doesn’t feel quite right. Intuitive and true. Vision coming to life, right before my eyes. I was the art’s hands, and it felt like the spirit of the art was moving me, showing me what was next. At every step I had a strong intuitive sense of where to go with the piece.

Until this summer, my practice was to create a very detailed design ‘document’, in color, for a mosaic. It showed each element in the piece, down to the number and shape and color of the glass pieces in each element. Then, with this detailed ‘map’ in hand, I would create the stained glass mosaic, staying faithful to the pattern I had planned.

For some reason, this summer, this process no longer worked for me. It was way too restrictive. In trying to follow my ‘map’, I would either get stuck and not be able to proceed, or I would push on through, according to plan, and the result would be stilted. It lacked creative energy and vitality.

This is the way reinventions go too, for me, anyway. I start off thinking I need a detailed map, step-by-step, of where I am going. Surely it would be foolish to embark on such a major life or work change without a plan, right?

So I construct a plan, a map, with detailed action steps in their appropriate sequence.

Then, in my determination and commitment to remain faithful to the plan, I get stuck and filled with doubts. I feel like I am forcing it. It may even make logical sense, but in my gut it doesn’t feel right. When I try to take action in the midst of feeling this way, it feels difficult and I don’t get the results I want. Definitely out of the flow.

In my current reinvention, I’m becoming a writer. I have a vision for who I am as a writer: I help midlife reinventers navigate the rapids of change. From all of my personal and professional experience, which I now want to share through writing, I offer hope, inspiration, and ‘how’ to reinventers. But I don’t have a plan, i.e., a set of action steps of how I will go about this as a writer. it’s all new to me.

Just as I do with my art, I am letting the writing show me the way. I am feeling my way into what I want to write and share next. By trusting my intuitive guidance, I can be flexible. I can offer just-in-time information to reinventers, in response to their real-time questions and concerns. It feels more alive and co-creative to me that way.

What if we allowed the reinvention that is calling us, inspired in us and working through us, to show us the way? What if we just ‘felt’ our way in each step? This way feels right, that one doesn’t. This decision feels right, that one doesn’t. It feels like it’s time to do this, not that.

It’s radical. The question for each of you is: Is it folly or wisdom? You get to decide what works for you.

If a reinvention is really about awakening more of your spirit and aliveness, becoming more aligned with the ‘true you’, then it’s really more about the journey, and who you get to be along the way, than the destination anyway.

I’ll leave it to you do play with it and decide what works best for you. How do you want to chart the course of your reinvention?

Filed under: Your Map, Your Compass, Being a Reinventer, Adventures of a Reinventer on October 11th, 2007