One of the hardest things you will have to do in your life is walk away.

Friends, lovers, and business associates can all drain you of your positive energy like a cookie absorbs milk. The ability to identify a problem that isn’t going away and take the steps to remove it from your life not only will serve you in your pursuit of a cleaner mental headspace, but it will allow you to put yourself in positions to find better and more stable people.

I was a part of a collective of artists and we often collaborated on projects together. We were well known in our art scene and the bar scene in downtown Tucson, Arizona.

Having people tell you they love your work, know they’re spreading the word for you, and give you some money (albeit in small portions) is an amazing thing. To craft something and see it hit home and affect people in a positive light is something that not a lot of people have the opportunity to do in this life. I was mindful and very appreciative of what I had.

The situation I was in was dependent on all the artists pulling in the same direction and after what could only be described as a honeymoon period, I found myself the target of personal attacks in our shared studio. One of the other artists carried out the attacks in public.

The attacks were as varied and unpredictable as a child’s and I could never tell what action or sentence I would make might cause the next attack. This troubled me for months. As the work I was putting in started to bear fruit and the more time I would spend around this person, the more personal and viscous he became.

I would sit up nights making lists, weighing options, and trying to find a path out of the woods. The only thing I could do that would serve multiple purposes was walk away. Staying would have benefitted me greatly in my artistic life, but the pain of having to listen to the ravings of a lunatic on a day-to-day basis and allowing that poison to seep in to my core was unacceptable.

Years later, I look back on the projects I was a part of and I think about the people I left behind.  Although taking the steps to make sure I was protecting myself meant the loss of some truly amazing art, surrounding myself by positive people who care for me and have my best interests in mind allows me to elevate my game both as an artist and as a person.

Some people don’t have the courage to remove themselves from a septic situation because the money is good, because the sex is good, or because the comfort level is too good. Help those people make the right decision for themselves but don’t make it for them.

Always remember that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.