Watercolor as a Metaphor for New Beginnings

"The only constant in life is change".
 - The Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus

Many people consider change to be “scary,” and it can be. We become very comfortable with our surroundings and routines. The unpredictable is often seen as undesirable. But without change, there is no growth. There is no journey. What’s that old saying? “Life’s about the journey, not the destination.” This is true because we all end up in the same place. Everyone’s life ends eventually. It’s what we do with it up to that point that matters.

Take watercolor, for instance.

Watercolor is all about movement. It’s all about experimenting. It’s all about what you can and can’t control. It’s about knowing our limitations and that of the medium. People often tell me that watercolor is HARD. They tell me they feel they lack control. Watercolor IS hard if you’re trying to control it, rather than leaning into its nature and becoming curious about the process and outcomes. The same is true of life.

In watercolor you can control many things. You can choose your pallet. You choose the consistency of your paint. You choose the placement of different elements in your composition. You choose the size of the piece. You choose the brush and paper you use. You choose the consistency of the washes you use. You choose the number of layers you create. Life is like this too.

Every day we wake up with choices. What do we want to do? Where do we want to go? How will we get there? What will we wear? What kind of work do we want to do? Do we want to engage with people or find solitude? Naturally, we don’t all have these luxuries all of the time. Some of us have children and that changes the choices available to us. Some have partners and they come into the equation. This is all very true. Something to point out is that in most cases, outside of abuse and neglect, these are all outcomes of choices we made.

Watercolor does have a nature of unpredictability. We can learn and begin to predict what will happen when we put an area with more water touching an area with more pigment. It might cause a bloom, a bleed, a cauliflower. With practice, we can begin to control these outcomes for the most part. But that’s not where the beauty of watercolor lies. This is not the essence. The essence lies in the moments we get to observe the pigment and water doing a dance all their own. We get to watch in wonder how the pigments blend and merge and seemingly create a life all its own where before there was nothing. We get to be the viewer of this wonder and the paper keeps the score of the event long after it has happened.

If we can learn to release our grasp of our experiences just a little and become curious about the layers of life as they present themselves, we can find a great deal of comfort. Of awareness. Of awe. Each change in life is part of the journey. Each new experience an experiment in our existence. Sure we can practice different behaviors to increase the chances of a certain outcome, but ultimately understanding that we aren’t in control can set us free.

Let each new day be like a wash of color. Play with the way they overlap as the days go on. Delight in the unknown and become curious. Predictability and being static is not our nature. People and life are dynamic- ever-changing. Let life unfold for you and embrace each new beginning. Or fight it and be miserable. You are at choice.

I invite you to try painting washes and layering them. I invite you to splatter paint into wet and dry areas. I invite you to play. And let go a little.