Faith vs. belief, and inspiration

In yesterday's Gita session, we discussed the difference between belief and faith.

I found myself saying that a belief was hard-edged and inflexible, and faith all-encompassing and flexible and always positive - akin to having a big-picture trust in the cosmos.

When I heard myself say "hard-edged," it made me realize how many terms and ideas are so interchangeable between the world of watercolor (art) and spirituality (life).

When edges are hard, the eye stops at each edge before it goes to the next "item." It's like stop-and-go traffic. You are making progress but it is not smooth, not a flow. When edges are soft, your eyes travel easily, from one object to the next because the divisions between the objects are blurred, and the values do the talking. It is like life, like consciousness. We are all one - not so hard-edged and separate - yet we don't know it, and bump up against one another because of our hard edges, fixed ideas and notions, prejudices and biases.

It is so insightful to come upon these nuggets that overlap various disciplines and tell me that - ultimately - all is one. The plurality is an illusion. And when I find such a nugget, I am so amazed, so speechless. Then I wonder about all the ones I haven't found yet.... and it always reminds of of this couplet by Mirza Ghalib:

sab kahan kuchh lala-o-gul mein numayaan ho gaeen
khaak mein kya suraten hongi ki pinhaan ho gaeen

Not all, only some have manifested as flowers                                                                  There must be so many more faces hidden in the dirt

I was uninspired to paint recently and didn't know what to paint. Going through watercolor books by artists whose work I enjoy really inspires me. I stopped in my tracks when I saw small value studies of urban scenes done in just three values - black, white, and grey - in Hazel Soan's book. They were so eye-catching and complete, despite not having color. I was inspired to create such studies of our little downtown. I went on my regular walk and took lots of pictures. Then I did these 4 value studies of different scenes, from near and far. And a color study based on one of the studies that I liked the most.

I have faith that I am making progress on this watercolor journey. It is not in a linear fashion, and sometimes I feel I go backwards. But I do have faith that each experience, each book I read, makes a difference and changes me ever so slightly as a person and artist. Sometimes the change is not tangible or even discernible, but over time, I see that I have evolved. All the differences add up to make a difference! Everything counts - in large amounts.