Who Am I?

Years ago when I began my spiritual journey I was introduced to a powerful question that changed my life. It's a simple question, one that seems easy enough to answer until you begin to dig a little deeper. As you may be guessing, the question is, "Who am I?"

The power lies not only in the question but how you go about answering it. Asked just once, the answer is simple, "I am Michelle." When asked again, the answer might be something like, "I am a mom, daughter, brunette, woman, friend, or cousin." Continue asking and the answers become deeper, "I am nice, a bitch, happy, angry, sad." Dig deeper and watch as the answers shift from the labels that are me to the essence that is me..."I am water that flows in the ocean, the air that lifts a birds wings, the stars that twinkle, the energy that flows throughout the universe."

It is an amazing experience to uncover and strip away the "idea" of who we are. This is the exercise I embarked on before painting this BIG painting. It is actually 4 pieces of poster board taped together so it is not just big, it is huge. It was the perfect size to answer such a big question.

It was the last painting I did for the painting class that I took called BIG. I loved, loved, loved this class. Everything that Connie did really worked so perfectly. She set us up to really form a community and I've met some amazing people through this class. We bonded in a way that I just didn't expect.

She encouraged us to explore who we are through paint, to allow our creativity to soar and to be expressed without fear and judgement. She guided us every step of the way and supported us when things got tough. She shared herself with us in a deep and vulnerable way which let us know that she understood where we were and that we were going to be OK...no, better than OK, awesome!

I am so grateful for the experience I got taking this class. It has unleashed things in me that I didn't know were there to be unleashed. It has changed me in ways I could have never expected. It is more than just painting, it is empowering and freeing and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. Go there, check it out. Dig in, sign up. Give yourself this gift.