Practicing Letting Go

I got a phone call a couple weeks back from my brother-in-law Gabe. He invited me to participate in a street art event called the KC Chalk Walk. I arrived to find that we had a 16'x16' section that had been reserved for us to create something in. Gabe and his friend Long had already gotten started on a freehand drawing of a geisha, so I jumped right in and it was off to the races. With no real plan in mind and making it up as we went along we spent the beautiful afternoon pressing chalk to pavement. We would take breaks every now and then to toss the frisbee and then get back down to business. 5 hours and 4 large boxes of sidewalk chalk later, we deemed it "finished" and stepped back to admire our collaborative piece. After stretching and momentarily admiring our work, we all departed, leaving behind our geisha. I love the process involved in creating something, but I love even more the act of letting go of what you created. Nothing is permanent and chalk art is the perfect medium to train you that it's all about the moment and the creation, not the glory of the finish. That night, rain was in the forecast and I smiled, knowing that for an afternoon, a simple patch of concrete had been our canvas for a truly beautiful experience. See photos on Flickr.