What a Painting of Goldfish Taught Me…About Me

I want to tell you about a painting that opened me up to something bigger than myself— not because it was beautiful, but because of what it said to me.

It started simply enough. In an online intuition painting class with a small group of women, I found myself drawing goldfish. Just a few, swimming. In the next session they grew more vibrant, more individual. One in particular began to stand out — quirky body, bright colors, full of life.

Then, over the following sessions, something shifted. The school of goldfish became trapped under a net. The one special fish — little Goldie — broke free and swam on her own. I felt like I was connecting with my own sense of growing beyond the opinions and restrictions that people in my life had for me. I was finally free of all that.

My story maker tried to connect her to another fish, because I “knew” I wasn’t really alone.. I have many people who love and care for me and my best interests, so I began “trying” to connect her to another fish at the top of the paper. But the painting had other ideas and the movement of my brush just, well, took over. A circular motion began moving my arm around and around until it covered all the fish, me, the others and everything else too. What emerged at the end of that session was an earth-like globe — stressed, muddy, burdened, with a little winking eye looking right at me.

At the end of that session, a message came through clearly: “It's not always just about you.”

I had to laugh. The little goldfish — so clearly me — was just a tiny part of a much bigger picture.

In the final session, even the globe disappeared and an abstract landscape emerged, shimmering, with one quiet message: Look for the beauty in the world, and you will find it.

That's what Intuition Painting does. The brush doesn't always go where you plan. And the places it takes you instead are exactly where you needed to go.

What has surprised you lately — in the best possible way?