What If's and Why Not's?

When I head to the studio I bring two very important questions with me. I ask myself, 

What if?

(meaning, What if I try this? or What if I risk that?)

and then I answer

Why not?

(Why not try this? Why not risk that?)

These questions, when I remember to ask them, offer me tremendous freedom to try new things. It's like a hall pass for creation. Instead of feeling trapped in a certain way of creating, I give myself permission to wander at will and follow visions and ideas with abandon. I make new connections and discard old expectations. These powerful questions offer me creative liberation and when I yield them, I soar.

But that is only when I remember to ask them. 

I have to remember.

Because when I walk into the studio without them, it's too easy to fall down the rabbit hole of expectations and burdens. Without these two questions, I take the known path and follow the well-worn tracks to certainty. I begin to listen to the cruel counsel of my inner critic. Without them, inspiration vanishes and creation stagnates.

And so I am considering my life to be a creation too. I'm thinking about how I've gotten to where I am now and envisioning where I would like to be. I'm daydreaming about my future and what I want it to hold. And I'm setting an intention for who I want to be and how I want to live. 

As I was envisioning my future, I was struck by a question,

What if I bring my two studio questions to my life?

The only honest answer I could offer was

Why not try?

What if I dare to shine as brightly as a supernova?

What if I take down the facades and just be me?

What if I live and love with abandon?

What if I trust in my dreams and challenge myself to make them real?

What if I trust in my dreams and challenge myself to make them bigger?
What if I start now?

The only honest answer I can offer is

Why not try?

Why not?