“It’s not easy these days making time for our creative work. Voices call us from everywhere demanding our attention, our energy, our time. And many of us, somewhere along the path, got the message that making art was self-indulgent so we relegate it to the bottom of our list. It becomes the thing we get to when the laundry is done, the kids asleep, the groceries bought and put away. We get so caught up in the flurry of our lives that we forget the essential thing about art – that the act of creating is a healing gesture, as sacred as prayer, as essential to our spirit as food to our body. It is our creative work that reveals us to ourselves, allows us to transform our experience and imagination into new forms – forms that sing back to us in a language of symbol – who we are, what we are becoming, what it is we have loved and feared. This is the alchemy of creation that as my energy fuses with the source of energy, a newness rises up in the shape of who I am and I myself am altered in the course of its release. I am never the same in the wake of this work. As I create, I come into my power and wisdom, into my deeper knowing, into that newness which becomes the gift which I share with the world. As a result of the time I spend at my work, there is more of me to give, more awareness, more joy, more depth. I become centered in the process, focused on the interior, attuned to the inner voice. Life is no longer about time, and demands, and errands. It is about the extraordinary metamorphosis of one thing into another. What begins as cocoon emerges a butterfly. What once was sorrow may now be a song.

- Jan Phillips

“What I would tell her if I knew what to say …

That’s the question given to us in Kelly Rae’s Flying Lessons. For me, the specific question I struggled with for years was “What would I do if money was not a concern?” I’ve always been creative. I’ve always been entrepreneurial. But only when I stopped obsessing about money and started focusing on what I really wanted did I get an honest, unclouded answer.

But before I could answer the what, I had to understand the why – Why would I do what I want to do? What do I believe in? What tugs at the deepest core of my heart? What drives me to action?

And the answer I got from the depths of my soul is this – I believe that the only way to live life is with passion. Passion for oneself. Passion for family. Passion for work. Passion for the Earth.

This is at the core of everything I do now. I know and encountered so many people devoid of passion – simply existing to pay the bills or to conform. I’ve been there – trapped in what others expected of me. Once I found the courage to break away from expectations and pursue what I really wanted to do (which was in itself a journey of self-discovery), I felt freer, more alive.

So what do I want to do? I want to make art. More importantly, I want to inspire. Inspire others to find their passion and pursue it. Inspire others to practice self-expression and self-exploration through creative endeavors – help them let go of the mental bonds that bind them.

“No matter where you are in life right now, no matter who you are, no matter how old you are – it is never too late to be who you are meant to be.” – Esther & Jerry Hicks

How will I do this? First and foremost by example. Then reflected through my blog, by publishing a book, through intimate creative workshops, and through my photography and artwork. These are my goals. (I’m keeping the specifics to myself for now.)

Of course there are fears and apprehensions and anxieties. The mere act of posting about this is scary for me. There’s the “Who does she think she is?” or the “I’m not good enough.” And it paralyzes me at times. But I have to keep faith and believe in myself because if I don’t, no one is going to believe in me. I have to start with myself.

So onward I go. Always moving forward, one step at a time.

“Eventually I discovered for myself the utterly simple prescription for creativity: be intensely yourself. Don’t try to be outstanding; don’t try to be a success; don’t try to do pictures for others to look at – just please yourself.”- Ralph Steiner

Wait. What about money? I still have to eat, right? And pay the bills. And support the family – although Troy is doing a pretty good job at this. And travel. And buy more art supplies – lol! Well, again, I keep faith. I know it will come. As long as I keep doing what I love doing. It also helps to have a very supportive husband. {Thanks.}

And now I ask you, “What would you do if money was no concern or if you knew you wouldn’t fail?”

I thought of Leonardo da Vinci and the concept of the “Renaissance Man” – well-educated and excels in a wide variety of fields. If I don’t want to be thought of as a jack-of-all-trades, I most certainly would embrace being a Renaissance Woman. I felt it’s time to squash my inner critic and start believing in what I can do. (It helps if you have a husband like Troy who is very encouraging and supportive.)

Everyone has an inner critic – most people call it the gremlin. Mine is monstrous. I squashed him but he’s still breathing. (Who knows when he’ll recover.) It’s time we realize that these critters in our minds are not us. When we listen to them, it manifests not only in our actions but also in our tendency to procrastinate or in our proneness for perfection. We can choose to ignore or silence them. Only then can we liberate ourselves from our fears and live a more fulfilling life.

“When we listen to our Gremlin, we become rigid and hold ourselves back restricting us from being creative, resourceful and living life to our fullest potential.” – Christie Clipper

The Renaissance, spanning 14th to 17th century, was all about the awareness of human potential and the passion for discovery. Today, in a capitalist-driven society, stimulated by rapid developments in communication and technology, we are threatened with a life devoid of passion and interconnection as we struggle with the monotony of clockwork and the burdens of day-to-day responsibilities. We need a more soulful existence that balances logic and imagination, body and mind. Only by achieving this balance in our lives can we experience more meaningful relationships with family and friends.

Hence, another cultural movement – The Modern Renaissance.

No matter how good we are in our chosen careers, we all need to nourish our creativity because creativity fuels the imagination, and without imagination, we are dangerously restricted. It is time to liberate ourselves – dismiss the preconceived notion that creativity is only inherent to the artistically-inclined and start believing that all of us can cultivate creativity through observation, study, practice, and play.

At the same time, we need to nurture our bodies because a healthy mind can only dwell in a healthy body. We need to re-educate ourselves on how to eat properly rather than caving to the seduction of take-out and processed foods. We need to understand that a good healthy meal can be easily prepared at home.

As a Modern Renaissance man or woman, it is also important that we are globally aware and environmentally conscious. We live in a society where people behave as if they own the Earth. If we just realize that all of us are interconnected and each of us have a responsibility towards nature, and act on it, we will leave a better future for our children.

Journey with me through this cultural revolution as we infuse our lives with creative play, good food, and green practices for a more passionate, well-balanced life. Let’s make our lives a work of art.

My Mind Map (You’d probably put career in yours. For now, I’m trading mine with homeschooling which helps feed my mind.)

In the movie, Anne Sullivan was getting frustrated, not at Helen, but at Helen’s parents who would rather spoil the child than deal with her tantrums and teach her manners. There was a line that Anne Sullivan said to them that’s worth remembering:

This is a very powerful statement. It not only applies to how parents should raise their children but to individuals, as well.

When I was growing up, my parents set very high standards for me and my siblings. They taught us not to settle for mediocrity. Now, as working professionals, we still continuously push ourselves, always testing the limits of our abilities. (Of course, as I mentioned before, I gave up my profession in pursuit of something more passionate and fulfilling – which is actually proof that I’ve learned not to settle.)

As a parent, and a homeschooling parent at that, this is what I want to instill in my kids – to continuously hunger and strive for self-improvement because I want them to make a difference in society when they grow up. Helen Keller’s life also serves as an inspiration to them. If a deafblind girl can learn to communicate and grow up to be a world-famous speaker and author, imagine what a person with no physical handicaps can accomplish.

Luckily, I just purchased some eucalyptus-scented candles which I’ve been burning everyday. It doesn’t heal my coughs and colds but it sure does soothe my mind.

Art Journal 2010: Slumber by Johwey Redington

In this dark place, there’s a sliver of light – where my family resides plus the fantastic virtual realities I engaged in to distract my mind and shut off the engulfing darkness. The new Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the DS was an enormous haven, and so was the Legend of the Seeker in Neftlix Instant Play.

I tossed between publishing this and not but I wanted to keep it real and share the bad together with the good. This is my tenth winter and it just doesn’t get better. I can’t imagine how other people can survive experiencing winter every year. Just the reduced amount of daylight during these months can make one go insane. How does winter and lack of enough daylight affect you?

“Live your passion. It means that when you get up for work every morning, every single morning, you are pumped because you get to do the things that interest you the most in the world. You don’t live for vacations because you don’t need a break from what you’re doing – working, playing, and relaxing are one and the same. You don’t even pay attention to how many hours you’re working because to you, it’s not really work. You’re making money, but you’d do whatever it is you’re doing for free.” – from Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk

In the book, Vaynerchuk asks “Are you living or just earning a living? You spend so much time at work, why waste it doing anything other than what you love the most.” Whenever I hear people describe their job then talk about what they do for fun, it saddens me. I always wonder – why have separate lives? Life is too short to waste time doing anything but what you love to do.

If you’re out of work, he also has a food for thought for you – “Did you jump up every morning eager to go to that job you lost? If not, why are you looking for another one just like it?” The people I admire the most are the ones that are brave enough to break out of their rut and pursue their passion – whatever it is. Passion is everything and I believe a life without passion is not worth living at all.

May all this encourage you to start the new year driven to pursue a life filled with what makes you come alive instead of just settling.

As a parting note, here’s Vaynerchuk’s three simple rules – definitely worth living by:
         1. Love your family
         2. Work superhard.
         3. Live your passion.

(Of course, if you want to know his advise on how to actually live a life you love, you’d have to read the book.)