“How can you create, or ‘sculpt’ your present experience into something valuable, worthwhile, fulfilling? What if it was not primarily about it, but you?”
Dear <<First Name>>,
This week’s article looks at the theme of mindful-life sculpting, where you use your mind & attention to ‘sculpt’ your expereince. As a sculptor by training, its a perenially interesting theme for me.
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In the spirit of energised relaxation,
Toby
No such thing as a bad situation? – Mindful life-sculpting
No such thing as a bad sculpture
Twice in my degree in the fine arts, specializing in sculpture, I was told by one of the art tutors who taught me “Actually, after you have been making sculptures a while, one of the things that you realize is that there is no such thing as a bad sculpture.” That they meant by this is that, after a while you realize that every object has a certain quality, and that, if you can work your way around to seeing it, you can appreciate, enjoy and even value it.
Your own life from this perspective
In your own life you may have come across many experiences and situations that look a bit like a ‘bad sculpture’. By this I mean that initially you react with a strong negative judgment about it; “This is bad because”:
- It’s not what I wanted…
- It’s not what I’m used to…
- It’s not what I was expecting…
- It gets in the way of….
The reasons can go on and on. But then perhaps you have found over time that,
- It not what you wanted, but there are certain advantages to it, now I have been living with it for a couple of weeks…
- It’s not what you were used to, but now you are starting to see how what you were used to was holding you back in certain ways…
- It’s not what I was expecting, but why was I thinking that what I was expecting was going to be the best thing for me anyway?…
- It got in the way of this goal, but now there is more room for this other possibility to manifest in my life…
No such thing as a bad situation?
So then, the extension of the ‘no bad sculptures’ idea is perhaps, that there are no bad situations? And that actually it’s more a ‘mindset limitation’ that is the issue…
- Last week I discussed halving the work commitment I have toward an organization. In these uncertain times that might seem like a ‘bad’ thing, but actually I need to create space in my work schedule, as it is getting over crowded
- I tried to create room for doing some physical sculpture at the end of last year, but I wasn’t able to. Maybe this is inviting me to double down in the idea of my life as my ‘sculpture’, and that I am doing great!
- My sleep has not been fantastic over the last couple of weeks, but maybe this is helping me to see how much new capacity I have to cope and thrive in life, even when my sleep is not optimal…
What if there were no bad situations in your life?
What if it was more a matter of you seeing the value in what you are going through? If you are the most powerful creative force in your life, how can you create, or ‘sculpt’ your present experience into something valuable, worthwhile, fulfilling? What if it was not primarily about it, but you?
Related articles: Using distractions, sculpting thoughts, softening the body
Being the center of your universe
© Toby Ouvry 2026, you are welcome to use or share this article, but please cite Toby as the source and include reference to his website www.tobyouvry.com
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