Hello.... it's me. It's been a while. Like, a LONG while. I have lots of really good excuses as to why it's been so long, but does it really matter? Probably not - so I'll just begin with now.
I've been on a reading binge lately. This crazy desire to learn and develop myself as a human has hit me HARD - possibly stemmed from the responsibility of inspiring and guiding my kids to develop themselves into awesomely accountable and contributing humans (I homeschool part-time)? I was reading the book Dare Dream Do by Whitney Johnson when I had a total "ah ha!" moment. I realized that BDP hasn't been a true representation of me and what I feel I have to offer the world. I haven't been sharing my passions and I feel like there's so much more I want to say/do/explore/etc. It hasn't been deep. It hasn't been REAL. At that moment, I had this sort of intangible vision of what I wanted to create... So I stopped everything and wrote down the thoughts that were suddenly flooding my mind. This is what I jotted down:
PHOTOGRAPHY - COOKING - HOMESCHOOL - ART - MOTHERHOOD - HELPFUL TIPS/TRICKS - GARDENING - YOGA - MUSIC - FUNNY - LIFE - REAL - PARENTING - JOURNAL - GOALS - raw
What that all means, I'm not completely sure yet but I'm slowly refining and pondering on my thoughts and trying to figure out how to pull it all together. And I have a feeling it's gonna be pretty awesome.
Art is my absolute favorite thing to do with my kiddos, aside from exploring in the sunshine. It's my Happy Place and for some reason, I'm just now coming to this realization (my oldest is eleven). Watching them express themselves freely, get creative and think outside the box and then stand back and admire their work makes my heart sing. And selfishly I love doing it alongside them.
The thing about art though, is that it's MESSY. So very messy. And messes kind of stress me out. I try to be all cool and laid back, but they seriously stress me out - although you'd never guess it if you showed up at my house on any given day unannounced. So even though it truly is my Happy Place - it takes a decent amount of effort on my part to give into the mess and let it be an awesomely enjoyable experience for everyone. And so I make the effort because I can so clearly see the benefits my kids (and I) reap from being unleashed with paint and a brush.
I believe we all have an inner desire to create. When I was reading The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown (SO good. Get it now.) it solidified my feelings on this topic. She says, "The only unique contribution that we will ever make in this world will be born out of creativity. If we want to make meaning, we need to make art. Creativity, which is the expression of our originality, helps us stay mindful that what we bring to the world is completely original and cannot be compared." She goes on to list several examples of creativity (writing, cooking, rebuilding an engine, dancing, decorating...). "As long as we're creating, we're cultivating meaning."
And so that's my mission. To cultivate my creativity, which will in turn give life meaning and depth - as well as fulfill that inner desire of mine to create... and maybe even as an added bonus - inspire others to do the same?! I want to dig deep down and discover what exactly it is that I have to contribute to the world, or maybe even more importantly, what I'm supposed to contribute to the world. I'm seeing so clearly lately that time is out of our control. It flies by without a second thought and before we know it, a season has passed. A child has grown. A memory, forgotten. A chance, lost. And because of this - everything we do matters. Every single choice we make. Every precious minute.
So here's to a new year, to getting REAL, to cultivating creativity and to making every moment count!! Let's do this!!
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