Shifting boundaries

There are many joys in having a hobby. Every week I savour the few hours of art class. It is my escape from a 8-5 work week. My source of sanity.
Yes, it is suppose to be a relaxing experience. But as we as humans are, we still want to grow even during our times of relaxation. So I handed myself over to my art teacher, giving her permission to challenge me. And she does.
This week I was faced with a sketch where I hit a wall. I felt like the guy from Run Fat Boy, Run – was struck full force by a wall, the wall of my own boundaries. I knew what I was capable of. I was comfortable with what I could do. But suddenly that was not enough, I had to dig deeper. I had to go past what I believed I could do.
That is never easy. Despite that fact that we are assured that as human beings we only use about 10% of our brain capacity. Yea, right - I do fine with running on 10% capacity.
But the moment we start to stagnate I believe we even use the limited amount of brain capacity we are currently using. Because only by growing ourselves we are able to maintain what we have and also gain new abilities and insights.
Boundaries create structure. They provide us with spaces in which we attempt to drive the chaos out. They aim to guide us.
Boundaries exist in all spheres of life. In relationships, in the work place, where we socialise, in the communities we live.

They are tools. Through living within the unseen boundaries set by society we often show respect to those around us.
But there are also the boundaries we are not always aware of. The boundaries we create ourselves. Boundaries that often prevent us from meeting our full potential.

These are the boundaries within ourselves. Created by many circumstances and previous life experiences.

Every experience in our life has the potential to become a stone in the boundary wall we build within ourselves.
We are not always aware of the extent of these boundary lines. They are often built in the subconscious. Only when we are directly faced with them, experiencing the effect it has on our lives, when what we need to achieve lies beyond these lines, only then do we realise the effect it can have on our lives.
When I hit the wall in art class I knew: this boundary I have created for myself. I always believed that there were only certain pictures that I would be able to paint and now I was painfully confronted by it.
It was painful to hit the wall, but I had to push through.

I had to keep on trying. And amazingly you can push through.
Once you have pushed through that boundary stops to exist. When you look back on it you are actually so surprised, because it seizes to exist.

It is as if it becomes completely wiped from the memory.

All you are left with is the knowing that indeed we are capable of so much more than we can even grasp or think.