Your Life Is a Sculpture. Keep Chipping Away.
Imagine your life as a giant block of stone. The stone has potential and purpose, but in its current form, it doesn’t speak to your soul.
So you get out a chisel and start chipping. You chip away bad habits. You chip away unnecessary material goods. You chip away ideals that others have tried to instill in you. You stand back and gaze at the result of your labors. The stone, while not perfect, is now more interesting, more creative, and more special. You like what you see.
So you grab your chisel and chip away some more. You chip away toxic relationships. You chip away obligations. You chip away self-doubt. Again, you take a few steps back and ponder your creation. Its shape is enticing, intoxicating, fascinating. It makes your heart race and your mind run.
You chip away some more. Only now, each stroke is more carefully chosen. Each chip is smaller, but brings your creation into ever clearer focus.
On the ground at your feet lies the detritus of an uninspired life. Rising above it is something extraordinary, unique and completely remarkable.
Will your sculpture ever be complete? Perhaps not. But one certainty remains: the more you chip away, the closer you are to having something truly beautiful.
So what you can do today to transform your life into a work of art? Pick up a chisel and take one chip at a time.
June 27th, 2008 at 1:36 am
Hi Sara,
I LOVE this post. For some reason your words resonated with me and I found it absolutely beautiful.
And you’re right. We can chip away parts of ourselves and discover the beauty that lies beneath. Awesome!
June 27th, 2008 at 2:04 am
What a thought-provoking analogy to changing life.
Michelangelo took an age to craft the statue of David, arguably one of the most beautiful sculptures ever. He painstakingly chipped little pieces of marble away until he felt he had to stop and let others enjoy what he had created.
He could have went on trying to improve David until all that was left would have been broken fragments, tweaking parts here and there until he was completely satisfied.
While he could always have made just one more alteration to make it perfect in his eyes, he realised that this would never happen.
There comes a time when we have to enjoy- and let others enjoy- the magnificent works of art we are.
June 27th, 2008 at 6:48 am
Love it!
June 27th, 2008 at 7:26 am
I enjoyed the melodic voice and slow crescendo. Beautiful imagery. This will stay with me all day. Thank you!
June 27th, 2008 at 7:51 am
Great metaphor comparing our life to a sculpture. And, I don’t think we ever finish it, it’s always a work in progress. I’ll be working on mine!
June 27th, 2008 at 11:30 am
I agree with Lance. I enjoyed the metaphor all along the article with a smile as I’m a big believer in simplicity for fulfillment and happiness.
Shilpan
June 27th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Someone already mentioned Michelangelo. I once read that he would say that when he looked at a slab of marble he would see the sculpture lying inside, all he had to do was chip away the excess marble to reveal it. You should also chip away at your ego. This was beautiful Sara, the idea and the way you wrote it.
June 28th, 2008 at 6:21 am
People who are not busy chipping away are stuck watching other creations
June 28th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Wonderful analogy. And I also liked Scott’s addendum. There might come a time when the chipping can stop, and you can just enjoy.
June 28th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
beautiful angle!
I’d first draw a draft on the paper
June 28th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Beautiful, beautiful thoughts. I love the idea that we’re creating something beautiful (hopeffully!) in the process of all these small and large struggles of building a life…. Thank you so much for sharing this.
June 28th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Sara, that was BEAUTIFUL. Very well written.
“Will your sculpture ever be complete?” I hope not. I want to always be able to improve!
June 28th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
I like the fact that you can chip away. We often time forget that in order for things to work or improve, time is needed. We must be patient with ourselves and keep chipping away.
June 28th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
That’s a great way to look at it. I love it!
June 29th, 2008 at 12:17 am
Beautiful posting! I loved the way you pointed out that as you progress in life the chisel is more carefully placed. I am certainly going through that now. I am finding myself noticing how unimportant things are in my life and that now is the time to ‘chip’ them away.
June 29th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Thank you to everyone who read this piece. It was very special to write and I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read it. And thanks so much to Emily, whose Discovering Needs Through Elimination post inspired my thoughts on this!
And you know, there’s one great thing about this being a metaphor and not reality: in life, if we chip off something that turns out to be valuable, we can just superglue it back on!
I hope I didn’t just ruin the poetry of it all, but it’s important to remember that it’s okay to make a mistake, even when you’re working on something as priceless as your happiness.
June 30th, 2008 at 2:09 am
That’s beautiful Sara - thanks. I had been thinking the same sort of thing but had not thought of putting it into the same sort of words.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Sara,
This is one of the most beautiful blog posts I have ever read and one of my all time favourites. Thank you.
July 27th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Yeah, but…what happens if you chip too much away, and it turns out to be something that belonged after all, and you can’t get it back?
July 28th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Thanks to Robin and David for the very kind compliments. I appreciate them more than you know.
Avrila, one word: Superglue. Not all things in real life can be gotten back once we get rid of them, but a surprising number of them can if we make a sincere effort.