Dear friend, I am sending this a day early from New York because at my normal posting time I will be in Costa Rica for a dental procedure. (Strange world we live in to have to go to the dentist by plane. 70% discount is worth the trip)
At eighteen I went to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in a different city than I went to high school. During the summer months, my parents had helped me to find a room and board and I was on my own. Looking back that was fairly young to figure out how to live alone. In the beginning, I spent all my money on train rides in weekends to be back with my family. When it became unsustainably expensive I sat in my room and made things happen.
One day I experienced a strong feeling of destiny. I was riding my bicycle in front of the palace of the queen in the crisp October air when I saw an airplane in the sky. I stopped and followed its track through the stark blue sky. That moment told me that one day I would be free like that plane.
This was not about a simple plane ride, because at that time it was already common good to many people to fly to exotic places. I experienced a deep sense of purpose, although I couldn’t put it into words yet. Deep inside me, I knew that metaphorically I would be free as a person. Free from restricted belief systems which held me captive in my neck of the woods for centuries. The cultural inheritance of paintings and sailboats; of prosperity and happiness, also restricted me personally following my own highest path and purpose. I was holding myself back in order to be accepted and protected by the community. I wanted a sense of self worth from my environment, but I was not getting it.
The definition of a free spirit is a person who does what they want with enjoyment and pleasure and does not feel limited by the usual rules of social behavior. Most people agree these individuals are extremely independent, creative, and open individuals, committed to getting the most out of their lives. A free spirit is rather alone than in bad company. They just don’t agree on doing things the way everybody else agrees on.
I also remember my accountant shaking his head when I went for a prolonged trip to the Caribbean. “How about your pension? You need to work and save and be careful with your money”, he told me. I thought, “What for? To do what I like at 65 instead of freeing myself of the burden of the rat race, at 37?”
Don’t get me wrong, it is not easy to choose freedom over convenience and comfort, but it was a conscious decision.
Here is a tour of my studio, https://vimeo.com/931512569?share=copy
Northlight studio’s, 357 Depot street, Asheville
