My Addiction and How to Create a Beautiful Life

I confess.

I have an addiction.

Some people are addicted to alcohol or drugs, some are addicted to shopping, gambling, or pornography.

My addiction is a little different. What is it you ask?

Collage making.

Yep, whenever I need a break, want to relax, or feel an urge to create I make a collage.

While my addiction may not actually, technically qualify as a true addiction in the most medical sense of the word, (I can stop if I want, and my collage making has never interfered with my life), still, at times I am pretty passionate about my hobby. I am a member of various groups, enter contests, and connect with collage makers all over the world.

It all started about ten years ago when I was studying art therapy and made my first collage out of paper, magazines, and pictures. All I can say was that I was hooked. I've made hundreds of collages and will most likely make thousands more.

And, now that there are online collage making sites, well, it makes it all the easier to indulge in my "addiction".

At this point I am not ready to give it up and haven't joined CMA (Collage Maker Anonymous... I'm making this organization up if you are wondering), but who knows what the future will hold?

Yesterday while engaging in my collage making activities, a thought came to me...

Life is a collage.

Let me explain.

When I make a collage, I gather pictures, symbols, designs, artwork, photography, quotes, and poetry from all over the world, and put them together in a new way, adding my own artwork and thoughts to bring forth something completely new. I build on what others have brought forth.

And, in making my collage, I add my own artwork, thoughts, and creations to the world for others to add upon.

Is this not life?

We take the information that has been gathered throughout human history, teachings from our schools and communities, ideals from our families and belief systems, and combine them into our individual minds, then we add our unique experiences, perspectives, and personality to create something new.

Then, as we live our life, we in turn bring something forth for others to add upon.

Our very lives are collages!

Now, there is a secret for creating a fabulous collage and it is the same secret to creating an incredible life.

To create a beautiful collage, I look for the most beautiful pictures I can find, the quotes that touch me deeply, the artwork that moves me. I discard the rest. Then I add my personal artwork and creativity.

Similarly, to create a beautiful life, we must seek out that which we believe will add goodness to our experience. We discard the rest. While, of course we live in the real world and can't eliminate all the ugliness and cruelty, but we can remove ourselves from some unhealthy situations and environments, we can release that which creates anxiety and destruction, and we can block or limit much of what diminishes our personal world and relationships.

Then we add our unique creativity to our experience.

Now, an important key to collage making for everyone who will attempt it: One NEVER, ever copies the work of another. It is unconscionable.

Similarly, we are not meant to be robotic clones just repeating what others require or demand. We are here to bring our unique creativity and creation to this world; to bring forth something for others to add to and build upon.

Most of us aren't going to create some new technology or write a brilliant philosophical work that will change the world, but all of us will bring something new to this world. Whether we bring forth more kindness, care, and joy, or more destruction, hatred, and violence is up to us.

We can ask ourselves, what will we embrace to create our life? What will we release?

How will we use our unique perspective and experiences to create something fabulous?

Will those who follow us have something lovely upon which to build?

Our life is a collage, the only question is, how beautiful will it be?