Magoo was asked to paint a painting for a practitioner to display on his wall in the waiting room. Magoo decided to go big and he quickly painted a beautiful painting and then just stopped and left it untouched for months. Time passed and I couldn’t encourage him to finish the painting. Then we were asked if the painting was ready. I mentioned that I felt he was stuck and suggested that maybe we could hang the painting as it was and when Magoo was inspired to continue painting we would take it down and complete it. We were heading off to the ashram for a few months and I wanted him to complete the painting before we left. I know Artists can’t be rushed and that inspiration comes on its own so I needed a plan.
I thought that maybe hiring an Artist could inspire him. The Artist could give him some ideas on how to complete the painting, although I knew deep down inside he didn’t need help he was just stuck for whatever reason. The next day I’m packing the painting up to take to the office and Magoo is not happy. He asked me what I was doing with the painting. I told him that he was in the room while we had this conversation and that we were going to deliver the painting and when he felt like finishing it we would go pick it up. That was not Magoo’s plan; he said he would finish it now. So I scheduled for Magoo and the Artist to meet. She began to instruct Magoo on how he could add to his painting. I watched and tried to stay detached but as I knew I was paying by the hour and it wasn’t cheap I intervened. I said to her that I was just hoping she could inspire him to continue doing what he had planned. I was not looking for someone to teach him the right and wrong of being an Artist and how to put his ideas on canvas. When I reflect back I think that’s where I’ve really struggled raising a child like Magoo in this world who doesn’t always play by the rules.
Plan B; I asked her to stop because I didn’t want to hinder the flow of how Magoo had been expressing himself in the last few years on his own. I said that maybe I was hoping that her painting alongside him would inspire him just with her presences and he would continue with his plan. It wasn’t working out so we paid her, and thanked her and said it wasn’t a loss having her try. It was just an opportunity to teach me to have a better understanding of what I believed Magoo was capable of. So now a little bit frustrated that Magoo was on his own but he said he was going to finish the painting and as I watched indeed he did. He covered the most beautiful part of his painting up and then said he was finished. I was saddened. While trying to hide my disappointment (which is impossible with him) and with a little bit of apprehension (on my part) we delivered the painting. At the same time I was still trying to make sense of Magoo’s change in direction. The practitioner was excited to receive the painting and had his children accompany him. We had one question “who was going to decide how this painting was to be hung?” It was the oldest son who decided and to my surprise and Magoo’s pleasure he wanted it hung the way Magoo had envisioned it. So now the painting was displayed and the owner was happy with his painting.
On the other hand I had some unfinished business to take care of. As Magoo has always been my teacher I knew there was a greater lesson in this painting and my head needed to understand what my heart was feeling. Let’s backup… to the time when I felt that the painting looked finished but was unsure, and would ask Magoo and he wouldn’t answer. I felt he was stuck on making that decision or wouldn’t so I said we would take it to our friend and ask for an opinion. She was an Artist that we met in her 80s that really was in tune with Magoo’s paintings and was teaching me how to see them more clearly. Sometimes, I feel Magoo’s Art is beyond my understanding. Many times I have been told by different Artists that sometimes they themselves don’t know when to stop. She also said that it could be finished just as it was but she too felt maybe he wasn’t finished. After chatting we turned to see if Magoo would offer anything. Of course, he didn’t and the painting ended up back at home until we were asked when it was going to be done.
Now that it was finished and delivered I decided we needed to pay another visit to our friend and see if she would offer any clues to understanding why Magoo changed directions on his painting. To my surprise on the day of our appointment to the practitioner we walked into the office and there she was standing there staring at Magoo‘s painting. I love how the universe is always working with us. She too was his client. She was surprised to see us and we were excited to see her because I had questions! I explained to her that this was the same painting she had seen months earlier and he decided to finish it. What were her thoughts? The delight in her answer surprised me. She said “I want to crawl up inside this painting, as it brings me warmth. I love it!” So, I asked her to explain further and she pointed to the painting and described what she was seeing.
My mind began to explode I ran into the practitioner’s office and asked him “Have you been struggling with some decisions for awhile?” He answered yes. “Have you gotten clarity in the last little bit?” was my next question. The shock on his face told me everything! I said, “You don’t need to tell me the exact situation I just need to hear a yes or a no?” He actually went on to tell me where he was stuck in life and the decisions that he had made for two important situations. One was actually happening that same weekend. With such excitement in my heart I told him that I could probably explain everything that happened with Magoo’s painting and why he was at a standstill with it. I told him how I felt about the painting that Magoo started to paint and how he finished it. I said that I would need to put together the stages of his painting for him to understand. Eric does not offer any insight to his Art. He won’t even title his Art and I believe the reason is that it’s all in the personal experience. Everyone is different. Eric doesn’t want to limit anything he does. So I offered up “My interpretation” …when the painting began there was a very bright person shining his light but walking away from a big decision in his life. All wasn’t lost because if he “searched within himself” he would find his answer. The light is always there within him. I connected that with the decisions that he was faced with (walking away from a big cliff) and how he had to process his decisions (covered up within a cave) and “going within” was where his answers were because underneath/within that painting that hangs on the wall today is that same great soul shining his light.
Magoo started the painting of someone walking away from the cliff. He knew the story wasn’t finished so when he was being asked to complete the painting his decision was to cover it up as going within was the solution. I’m happy to report that the practitioner is thriving with his decisions and feels more inspired helping people with his gifts of compassion, gentleness and following his heart’s calling by ‘Going Within’.
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