I believe in magic! Do you?
I find the concept of creativity intriguing. When I am not creating I am thinking about creating... sometimes the thinking takes me away from the act and I wonder if there is something holding me back...
Elizabeth Gilbert's New York Times Bestseller, BIG MAGIC Creative Living Beyond Fear was an enlightening read for me and really did change my way of thinking and living... I read her book about two years ago and it was "magic for me". This book jumped off the shelf at Indigo and made an instant impression on me. Its what I needed to read - right at the perfect time in my life, I was open to hear the message and I'm better for it in many ways. Since then I've reinvented myself and adjusted my attitudes. I feel less fear about dying before I can finish my lifes work... create the masterpiece or getting too old and not having time to enjoy my art... I thought I needed to stop work at my paying job and jump into my life of creativity headlong!.. I was a chicken and didn't believe in myself enough to trust ... if I make it "they will buy it"
When I went home and curled up in bed to read my new book - I felt sure I would learn what Big Magic is and how to let go of this paralyzing fear and quit my job and get working on my creative life and art. As I read I discovered hidden in the pages a message just for me... " stop fretting and worrying about what may happen". The future is now and I've heard this and read this countless times before - learn to live in the moment for today. Something clicked and living in the moment meant - being creative and trusting in that every day. Right away I started to work in my studio in the evenings and on weekends. I was challenging myself to create something... and stop makeing excuses. I'm too tired I need material, I need to clean up or make dinner or whatever...
I often remind myself of something a teacher once said in a workshop I attended. Her name is Sharra Frank an amazing artist and teacher, she said, paraphrasing here: " whenever she had an idea that she decided to run with and she worked really really hard on it - she found she was paid back in spades but sometimes not in ways she expected. https://sharrafrank.com/ . In a nutshell, work hard and you'll be rewarded... for me - this usually means working long hours with no pats on the back or encouragement... and yes I have been rewarded, sometimes financially but usually in other ways and always significantly.
