A Few Drops of Magic

I’m making progress on my butterfly project — and I’m slowly climbing up that Ladder of Success I posted recently. I’ve gone from “I don’t want to” — which is not even a rung on the ladder — to “I won’t”, and on past “I can’t”, “I don’t know how” and “I wish I could”.

While watching Tamara LaPorte’s instructional video on the “Soulful Butterfly” project, I definitely found myself wishing that I could create something as beautiful as what she was drawing and painting. She was showing me how to do it — so “I don’t know how” was no longer an excuse. All the same, I knew that my skills would never measure up to hers. Even with step by step instructions, I was still going to be saying “I wish I could”.

But then, well… I finished the second watercolor layer, and a lot of that wishful thinking went away. My butterfly wasn’t too awful, really. Maybe not the greatest, but not bad, either. That took me to the next rung on the ladder.

What is it?

Obviously, it’s a butterfly. But beyond that… well, the question “What is it?” can be applied in many different ways. Is it good? Is it acceptable? Is it a mess? Is it …? When we start questioning what we’re doing, we can get really judgmental, can’t we!

I managed to steer myself away from judgment and tried to see “what it is” in simple, straight-forward terms. It’s colorful. It’s bright. It’s symmetrical enough to make me happy. It’s also still unfinished. I’ll be working on the project again later.

For the most part I was satisfied with my second layer of watercolor, still done very loosely, allowing the colors to mix and blend a bit. But something was missing, something that kept me from fully appreciating my bright, colorful butterfly.

I glanced at Tamara’s project and realized she’d added a few paint splatters. Aha! That’s what was missing. So, I grabbed a brush, some water, some paint, and I splattered color on my butterfly. Just a little! I was afraid of over-doing it, so I proceeded with caution. And I loved the result.

Suddenly, when I looked at my butterfly, it had been transformed into something almost mystical.  I can’t explain why adding those little splatters changed my thoughts about this watercolor butterfly. I smiled and thought “I’ve just added a few drops of magic.” That’s how it seems to me.

Now, I’m excited about moving on up the Ladder of Success, and taking the next step. It’s the one that says “I think I might…” And, true enough, I think I might be able to finish this project and come away with a colorful creation that I like. At this point, there are no guarantees. I could still mess it up, but at least I’m willing to move forward now, to take a chance. Yes, I think I might be able to do this now, and it’s all because of a few drops of magic.