A woman who works with her hands is a laborer;

A woman who works with her hands and her head is a craftsperson;

A woman who works with her hands, her head and her heart is an....

Artist.


Thursday, March 3, 2011

What Gets You Up In The Morning?

Do you ever feel like your day is nothing more than
wash, rinse, repeat?
I do.
A typical day involves an alarm going off at 6:00.
Do I listen and obey and get up or can I push it for another 15. . .20 . . . 30 minutes.
Pushing has it's consequences.
Shower, fix hair, put on make up.
Choose the "outfit of the day" while eating my portable breakfast.
Don't forget to create a lunch for the day.
Head to the day job.
Work my day job.
Go home.
Change clothes, eat dinner and then  -
the living can begin.
Not enough hours - use them wisely.

How is it that we spend the majority of our waking hours often doing something that
is not our passion.
I work in a day job and I am forever grateful for it.
Health benefits cannot be underestimated at this time in my life.
But the day job is not what gets me up in the morning.
It is not my passion.

What is your passion? Do you know?
Someone once described it to me this way -
What is the first thing you think about when you wake up in the morning?
What do you find yourself adjusting your day to get to?

I think it's pretty obvious that for me -  it is my art.
Specifically - it is painting.
I have experimented with a lot of styles of art and different art mediums.
But the paints are what I always come back to.

When I was younger - my passion was performing.
I lived to get to my rehearsals for musical theater, dance,  etc.
I still love to perform and even  miss it sometimes.
But I have come to peace with that part. 

There was a period when I was not acknowledging my passion.
I wasn't performing and I hadn't discovered my art yet.
I was a young stay at home mom with busy children.
I lived their passions with them.
Which was fine - but I also sunk into a very dark place.
When I explored my pull to art, my light started shining again.

I have come to know myself well enough to understand that I - we, as women - must learn what our passion is.
 It is imperative that we find that thing that gets us up in the morning.
When I do not make my art a priority, my world gets very dark very quickly.
This last week I have been helping out some family members. This has been a good thing, but it has changed my routine.
I have not been in my studio all week.
Last night the pressure of work, house work, family, responsibilities, etc. seem to come crashing in and it was more than I could deal with.
My husband and I had planned a mini-date to have dinner out with a gift card that I had been carrying around for several months.
We went to dinner. I was not happy. I was not chatty. I could have cared less!
The table was covered in white paper and there were 3 crayons.
New crayons.
Purple, Red and Yellow.
I started doodling.
The food came.
I kept doodling.
Nothing special - just a general theme of the restaurant where we were at.
It felt good.
My mood shifted, the light started to come back, the hope returned . . .


A little table art . . .
BTW - If anyone knows how to rotate a picture on the blog, let me know!

So - how about you . . .
What is your passion???
Have you found it?
Are you still looking for it?
Please - discuss!


PS - You leave comments and it makes me smile :)


3 comments:

  1. You did that with 3 crayons... wow! Totally get what you are saying here - you do the stuff you have to do so you can do the stuff you want to do. Sometimes I resent the stuff I have to do, which is wrong of me cos I could honestly spend most of my time creating, which isn't realistic as I do have a family and home to look after too. It's trying to find that balance - I can no longer seem to sit and do nothing which I miss sometimes - where does this NEED to create come from? Thank you for posting such honest and thought provoking words.

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  2. 3 crayons, wow good job, ha ha.

    My passion....my honey, my bunnies, my art...and animals, animals and more animals:D

    Thanks so much for hopping into my blog recently.

    Hope your having a great week.

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  3. Food. Growing it, preparing it, searching for new ways to explore it.....eating it! Sharing it!

    I'm lucky, I get to play with it all day at work too. (It doesn't pay much, but the trade-off is that I'm not miserable.)Yesterday I had the chance to "work" the produce rack almost all day. I felt so satisfied and happy.

    The weekends are spent thinking about what I want to prepare for myself and the people I'll be eating with.

    Sometimes I get burned out and I just want to go out to eat every meal.

    I literally wake up thinking about food.

    Motherhood contributes and takes away from that activity. When I'm lucky, I have the kids' help or support, when their lives take up all of my free time, I don't have the time to invest in more complicated recipes.

    Sunday night I was stressed out. I spent $30 at Fred's and combined it with some other groceries I already had at home. I made homemade chicken stock, to use in potato leek soup and the chicken and andouille gumbo I'm making later in the week. I made a pan of macaroni and cheese, and for din din that night I craved Cajun Tomato Sauce with Prawns over creamy polenta. I was exhausted, yet satisfied....and ate dinner at 10:30 pm. I didn't care. I was satisfied with how I utilized every part of the various veggies I had in my fridge and pantry,not to mention every last ounce of flavor I could coax from a $5 chicken, my knowledge of spices so I could utilize the bulk spice department, and how much better everything tastes with good cheeses and heavy cream.

    Your artwork is satisfying and beautiful. Just like a great meal. :>)
    Love you!

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