Roof Tops and Chimney Pots

This morning while jogging in the city I found myself mesmerised by rooftops and chimneys pots. Studying the variety of shapes and colours reminded me how I was first taught to draw.

“Focus on the negative space and draw the line where the negative hits the positive.”  

It’s amazing, as just by drawing the shape of the negative, the foreground easily appears. Now as I jog I imagine drawing that line and as I do? Rooftops and chimney pots gain more clarity.

It’s a clever ploy. By focusing on the border line the mind relaxes. As our attention slips into the abstract of the creative mind all you have to do is follow the line.

I smiled realising that this is the positive of the negative. 

Always there is both a negative and a positive. As we learn to pull the positive out of the negative an interesting thing happens. We experience a subtle shift in perspective as we let go of judgement.  This helps us  –

1. Better deal with difficulty
2. Setting into motion the skill of the creative mind

If I only saw the sky I would only see its greyness. Adding fuel to my ‘fed-up-ness’ with the everyday struggle of COVID, world turmoil, Brexit, the economy…

Yes. There’s lots to add to the greyness of my mood.

But by abstracting the line between the negative and the positive I stepped out of malaise and into creative energy. Creative energy is exactly what it ‘says on the tin’. It is creative – we can make something out of nothing. In this process – judgement lies at bay, giving us that needed shift in perspective while fuelling the energy of possibility.

Also, as we reign in the negative, the positive comes easily into focus.

Suddenly ‘what is’ appears. For even in these times of great upheaval and uncertainty we are not without resources nor blessings. But when lost in the greyness of life the energy of judgement increases, dimming our link to the creative. Suddenly a life full of colour dulls into black and white. What we don’t have, lost, can’t do and fear.

But what about what do we have?

In times such as these, stepping into appreciation and gratitude offsets the enveloping grey. As we  pull out the positive from the negative the creative mind steps up to bat. Bringing clarity by not only showing us ‘what is’ but offering ideas and inspiration. By shedding rays of light into the once clouded sky those rooftops and chimney pots? Suddenly, get a lot more interesting.