We seldom think about all the restrictions we live with.

“How does one obtain such freedom?” was the inquiry that has persisted since I happened to come across Aurora’s video “Cure for Me“.

What stands out is the remarkable display of unrestricted personality; the dance, masks, use of color, especially the eccentric mannerisms.

There is certain lightness in her being, therefore the eagerness to comprehend thoroughly the source.

How much would we benefit from more expression, from the abolition of constraints we are unaware of, our crafts by fresh and bold perspectives? However, would we be better without any weight?

Answering the question

The lightness we seek to grasp is not concerned with the imitation of a flashy and extravagant personality, but with finding our unique self.

Contrary to coating ourselves with more, such expressiveness will come from stripping ourselves from the restrictions built by time, the world, memories, choices, experiences, and ourselves.

Our role should be that of a stone sculptor rather than a painter. Instead of taking a blank canvas and applying color after color, we must chisel and shape the rock according to the vision we have.

Letting go, rather than holding on.

Where do we end, and the rest begin?

In this act of unloading, we encounter a peculiar question.

How do we know the part of the stone that we should carve?

What part of ourselves is ‘authentic’?

What must we remove?

What must remain?

Restrictions

Consider restrictions as the glass that provides shape and structure to water. They incline us toward a particular behavior and way of being.

Some are given, others self-imposed.

Some conventions are favorable, others detrimental.

The latter may make us withered and negate the space for ideas to thrive. Constraints affect our results, in the same way a tree would bend its form if encountered with an obstacle while growing.

Here is when boldness is necessary because restrictions are not set in stone. We need to defy established ideas and concepts. The amount of audacity is something we must learn to adjust.

However, being chained up would prove as impractical as being so light that we can’t walk on the floor.

Pick wisely your restrictions

We are sculptors, by no means do we want to be left with a bunch of debris, nor with a solid and unrefined block of stone.

We, as much as our crafts, can relish the fresh perspectives and unheard-of ideas, likewise, we can find useful the order, procedures, structures, and conventions.

We all need to agree on some things;

letters to convey words,

words for paragraphs,

paragraphs for essays,

and essays to convey ideas,

even if such a task may prove harder than it seems despite agreeing on meaning.

Some restrictions will enhance, rather than diminish, as long as we know what we desire. Therefore, renewing our goals and clear judgment play a crucial aspect in the matter.

Our intuition, taste, standards, experiences, and choices are examples of elements that give shape to what we do, and make it unique.

However, their application, or absence, should be a deliberate decision.

Consider the shape you want to create

You have in front of you a stone block.

Would you leave it intact, raw, and natural?

Would it serve better as debris for construction material?

Should we leap and decide to unveil a shape out of it?

As happens with ourselves, our craft, and such block, our intent is what represents a compass in a sea of endless options.

We must ponder on the existence of our restrictions, choices, memories, experiences, and environment. Once we are conscious of their presence, of their weight, it falls into our reach

to defy them,

to allow them,

to play with them to obtain a shape and charm we envisioned in our mind,

and then obtain lightness.