Open hands

Two weeks ago I stood in an art gallery in Brisbane. This weekend I stood on a frisbee field in the middle of a rain cloud.


There are times when I find it very hard to write something every week. I’ve been doing it for a few years and my once a week streak has suffered this month.


The art gallery was filled with work by my dad. His first exhibition in 15 years and a real triumph to my mind. Talking a line for a walk, his new series that continues to give and give. Sharp corners and soft colours. It’s great stuff. He spoke at the opening about the creative process and open hands. He said that for years he’d been trying to clutch at creativity, to catch hold of a new idea and turn it into a work. This was not the way, he said. Recently he’d been visualising the process as waiting with open hands for the next ideas to come.


Conversely, the frisbee tournament in the rain featured 8 teams of players trying to close their hands at the exact right moment so that a disc was caught in there. This seemed to me to be the opposite strategy, waiting with open hands only serves for while, then you’ve got to take action.


I’m not completely sure what it all means for me and my weekly goal of sharing a thought here. I suppose I’ll keep my mind and hands open for now and see.