One of my best friends gave me a bookshelf and helped me set it up. When I put it up, I realized that we had made a mistake with the back of it. The wrong side was facing us. Instead of being disappointed, upset, or even angry with myself for not realizing this minor mishap sooner, I saw it as an opportunity. I saw that silver panel as a blank canvas. I realized I could have the opportunity to create a huge painting.
So, I laid it back on the floor and I painted, and painted, and painted. You can see how it looks like in the picture within this post. I didn’t have much of a plan for it. I only knew that the sky was going to be blue. I started there. Then, I decided to paint mountains, in honor of my hometown as well as my trip to Peru. Then I painted the sun and some flowers, trees, and other details. A few days later I painted the bottom part, the attempt was to paint the beach and ocean, and probably only I or someone with a very creative mind can recognize it, and that's OK… ; )
It was a really fun project, because I was not concerned about the outcome. It is going to be behind books after all. But I will know that behind the books, there is a hidden treasure, a heaven, a peaceful place I painted. And I can assure you that no one else has or will ever have a bookshelf like this one, unless when I’m ready to give it away.
Here are some questions for you to consider as you uncover ways to transform your own mishaps into opportunities:
- What can you make it into an opportunity in your life right now?
- How can you look at a mishap or a problem upside down or backwards to help you shift your energy and find a creative solution?
- How can you allow yourself to be fully creative, letting go of perfectionism, or the perfect outcome, or even a certain outcome, period?
I recommend that you come up with something fun to do: paint, dance, laugh, sing, write, hang out with friends, listen to your favorite songs, as you put your mishap on hold, and allow inspiration to flow through you. Then, trust yourself and when you least expect it, you will smile and you will know what to do. I can tell you that painting the bookshelf was very healing, which is a bonus. 😉
Feel free to share the opportunities you come up with here.