Tell That Inner Voice to Pipe Down!
“If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” Vincent Van Gogh
Have you been to the Van Gogh Immersive Experience which is touring the country (and the world) at the moment? If not, then you should! (vangoghexpo.com)
I’m not an art gallery or museum person. Those of you who follow me on Social Media or know me well, will know that I’m a mountains a lakes person, a get out in nature girl, not someone who spends time in towns or cities. When I have time off, I run to the hills with my dogs, my tent and a map, and usually I’m inspired by people who adventure or head out on expeditions which challenge them physically. I can’t remember the last time I went to an exhibition or museum.
However, for some reason the Van Gogh Immersive Experience piqued my interest when it came to Birmingham, and because I looked at it, it then kept popping up on my Instagram and Facebook accounts, so it was hard to ignore! It was also time for an adventure of some kind, so when it came to Bristol, I grabbed a few like-minded friends, and planned a day out , sticking a swim at Clevedon Marine Lake after the exhibition to entice them along!
Well, we weren’t disappointed! It was fab! The way it is put together taught me loads of stuff about the artist which I didn’t know, but in a way which I remember - unusual for me, as not being an exhibition or museum person, I find it hard to focus on written plaques under paintings or displays of historical artefacts. To be honest, it bores me senseless, and I can’t remember anything I’ve read after I leave the building!
But this was different. I’m not going to spoil it for you - just book it and go - but it leads in nicely to something I’ve been meaning to blog about for some time.
Van Gogh said “If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced”. And I’m now seriously thinking of getting some paper and paints and having a go. But I would also say “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot run,’ then by all means run, and that voice too will be silenced”.
One of the friends who came with me to Bristol started out as a client who said she couldn’t run. She now runs regularly on The Malverns and she has done several half trail marathons and canicross events. (I hate to admit it, but she is faster than me!!) When I first met another of the ladies who came with me, she only ran on roads and “didn’t run hills”. She now runs regularly on The Malverns and loves it! A third client (who didn’t come with us to Bristol) said when I first met her, “I don’t run” and insisted that any training programme in the gym didn’t involve any running on the treadmill. She wouldn’t run outside. She would use the exercise bike and the cross trainer. She would walk on the treadmill but never run. But when Lockdown hit and we couldn’t use the gym, she started training outside with me, and came to my outdoor group fitness sessions regularly over the last couple of years, and in the last month, she ran 3 miles! Not only did she run 3 miles, but she ran 3 miles on The Malverns. AND on one of our outdoor group fitness sessions, she made it to the top of a hill without stopping on the second attempt after setting herself that as a goal! Just brilliant!
This morning, a lady who thought she wasn’t fit enough, came to try my outdoor group fitness session. She was nervous we would all be fitter than her and she wouldn’t be able to do it. But guess what? She’s just signed up for August. She loved it! And she’s not the first to have that inner voice tell her she isn’t good enough! Mine tells me all the time that I’m not good enough, fast enough, thin enough, organised enough. That I don’t do enough cleaning, that I don’t know enough or that I’m not as good as my sisters or other personal trainers.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is that even if you haven’t done it before, anything is possible! Your inner voice can be annoying, (God, mine really is!) but it can also be restrictive, stopping you doing things which may turn into lifetime hobbies or introduce you to new people who turn into lifelong friends, or make you feel amazing! So I’m going to get some paper and paints, and damn it, I’m going to paint! Already when I went for a run on the hills yesterday I started looking at the colours around me differently. It doesn’t matter how it turns out, what matters is quieting that annoying inner voice and having a go! Who knows, I might be the next Van Gogh!
What are you going to have a go at today? Whatever it is, just have fun! Life is too short to not give it a go!
(Incidentally Clevedon Marine Lake is a great place for a swim too!)
#onehealth.