The Art of Enough
Are you always climbing the highest mountains? Always putting yourself into stressful situations that require all of your skill, all of your determination, all of your energy just to get over the top and back down onto level ground? And when you get back to level ground, do you quickly start the anxiety provoking climb allover again? Are you a perfectionist in some area of your life? You’re parenting, your relationships, your work, your art? Where no matter how hard you try, no matter how muchprogress you make, it just doesn’t feel like you’ve done enough?The Art of Enough is a personal, transformative art making project. The process is much like my previous works where I used a multi-disciplinary, psychology driven creative process to become aware of, and then transcend, limiting patterns of emotions and behavior. Creative process is core of my work; it’s a place where I seek freedom and spontaneity through acting, movement, voice exercises, therapeutic photography, video techniques, writing explorations and mindfulness practices.The Art of Enough resulted in a series of podcasts, photographic artworks and personal psychological and emotional change. I have been able to slow down, stop a compulsive need to always “climb the highest mountains”, and most importantly been able to find moments when I consciously decide to say “no” in situations where I previously was subconsciously driven to say “yes”. In many ways, it was about becoming more present and making more conscious choices, instead of always reacting to situations around me based on some inner voice that commanded me to “do more” or to “be better”. I have done enough and now, in many cases, if I choose to do more it is because I believe it will result in more pleasure, more freedom and more connection with those around me. http://jsullivanartist.com/
Categories: Arts, Education, Health & Fitness
Tags: art, bipolar, buddhism, creative process, dad, father, overachievers, parent, photography, Psychology, self help, therapy