Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas
Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today. James Dean
Last night we did some fun improv exercises in the course I am taking. We told a story each person adding a new line. For another exercise, we either said fortunately or unfortunately before our line. In a story, this is a great way to think about what happens next. It may even be a good way to look at our lives because whether we have fortunate things happening or unfortunate things happening they are changing and fortunate may go to unfortunate and unfortunate may go to fortunate. Life is a series of events and how we look at them will determine our life. It isn’t always that things are good or bad but in our minds, we make them one or the other depending on how we see life.
Jim Rohn tells us, “Don’t wish for things to be easier, wish for you to be better.” Often we don’t know what we can achieve until we start doing things. We like our novels complicated but not our lives. When we look back on our lives many of the times we enjoyed were very busy, complicated, and active. We need to be careful that we have something left after the busy time of raising children is over, so the rest of our life is still filled with adventure, goals, and achievement.
When I was offered the opportunity to take this course I didn’t think, “Oh wow I’d love to do it.” But, that is what I should have thought. The class coordinator has done such a good job of making it interesting, and we are looking at things differently. Each class has someone leading it who gives us exercises that expand our minds and our way of looking at creativity.
In many ways, I have led an insular life with work and family being so busy with both that I didn’t get out into the wider community. Joining groups and taking this class are widening my horizons.
At the end of our lives, we all ask, “Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter? Brendan Burchard
I am definitely a late bloomer in writing and art and I am meeting others that are the same. Coming to writing and art later in life may be the best time to come to it because many of us will not be able to survive on the proceeds of our art, but what we did before can provide for our needs, and art and writing can provide the excitement of discovering our artistic side.
Creativity is not for a certain group of individuals who take our breath away with what they can do. It is for all of us. My husband said the other day, “You always see the bad dancers get on the dance floor first.” I think we should dance to enjoy not impressing others with our ability. Are we standing by the sidelines because we don’t think we are good enough at dancing, writing, singing, drawing, or painting to enjoy expressing ourselves. When birds sing they have their own song. We need to have our own expression as well and not think our expression should be like someone else’s.
This is easier said than done. A member of my writer’s group just finished her novel. What she posted on FaceBook makes me think it will be a much better novel than mine. I’ve heard her spoken word, she’s fabulous. I can’t let my own sense of inadequacy keep me from expressing what is in me to express even if it is not as good as what she expresses. We don’t only want to read the best book. We want to read different books, with different points of view. We don’t only want to gaze at one painting or hear only the best song.
We are often our own worst critics but we will meet critics along the way and we have to overlook their criticism or use it to make ourselves better. Stopping because we are intimidated by what others are doing will not move our own work along. In Toastmasters we are evaluated and the evaluator is supposed to give two positives for every negative comment. An evaluator will point out areas of improvement we can bring to our work that elevates it. If we have no room for improvement then why would we bother with the next project?
Often we look at someone else’s strengths and compare them to our weaknesses and of course, we find ourselves wanting. Life is in many ways, not a team sport. We team up with people but much of our journey is solitary. We develop our own character, beliefs, and self-expression. What we do to stay healthy is individual. How many spouses wish eating healthier themselves would impact their spouse or going to the gym themselves would make their spouse fitter?
We can work on ourselves and everyone else has to work on themselves. We can spend too much time and energy looking at how everyone else should improve their lives instead of improving our own. If we are living our best life we might inspire others to live their best life. Others will inspire us. When people try to direct us on how to live a better life we often dig in our heels and we won’t do what we know is actually in our best interest because we don’t want to be controlled, we want to do it our self.
Are we living life to the fullest? Are we developing our creativity and discovering our unique view of the world? Are we singing our own song?
All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. Ralph Waldo Emerson
If you want something you’ve never had, then you’ve got to do something you’ve never done. Unknown
If you feel like there’s something out there that you’re supposed to be doing, if you have a passion for it, then stop wishing and just do it. Wanda Sykes
Thank you for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you will come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.
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