Blossom Where You Are Planted

Over the past few years, I have felt the crunch of life being life. Yet, it seems life is constantly pushing me to improve in some way or the other. Sometimes I go down unwillingly. Other times, I come along agreeable seeing the need. All the while learning and feeling the pinch when I am resistant to learning the lesson presented. I started to see things that I became lit up about, sometimes in a storm of anger, sometimes in a flurry of this is incredible.

I began to pay attention to myself and tried to distinguish between the times of like vs. dislike. I found myself equally capable of delving into a topic with the same amount of energy if I liked the subject or not. I have heard several inspirational speakers say stay with the positive side is the most productive. For this conversation, I will agree and focus more on staying with the fun inspiration.

So I will begin here. I loved to draw as a kid; I could spend hours and hours just drawing. Then gradually, I slipped away from that or outgrew it. I would, however, people's artwork and think, wow, that is beautiful, and deep down, there would be a feeling of almost failure within me for not pursuing it and trying more. I would relinquish, however, and not want to rise to the challenge and further drive my self-esteem deeper down into a hole.

Then there came a time when I realized some unavoidable facts like our time is brief, what will be the thing or things will I be remembered for doing? So I asked myself one day, "If I were on the other side of this in the spirit world, what would I say I would have done more of or wanted to do?" That was a tricky question for someone that didn't want to deal with his mortality. So I pondered it for a few days, watched people and what they were good at, and truly enjoyed.

So I sat down and thought I have time on my hands. Maybe I should try to draw again? I did love to draw. It was a great escape, and it brought me hours of pleasure. I found old blank newspaper paper, it was thin and tore easy, I didn't care. So, I started to draw anything and everything. My friends at the time were so encouraging I loved the moments of laughing and talking. Some of them said, "I forgot how well you could draw." I had forgotten myself. I needed to have that escape that getaway.

I started to find myself growing sloppy with my work and getting frustrated. I would draw for hours and hours, not taking a break thinking this is the only way to improve. My work suffered, my art suffered, the clarity grew off somehow. I couldn't figure out what the problem was, so I pushed on. I paraded my hard work all over the place. Although people said, "Yeah, that's good," I could tell there was something wrong with their enthusiasm. It was off somehow. I was bewildered about what was wrong.

Then one day, I got sick and had to go into the hospital for a week. So, I came home and sat down to a piece of artwork I had been working on relentlessly, and all of a sudden, it jumped out at me, "The cheek is off, the shoulder is way too low, the shadow is not right" then it dawns on me I have not been taking breaks from my work.

I noticed other important things were happening to me physically, like eating right, which helps with focus and clarity. Sleeping also helps with focus and clarity and gives the body a break from one position and the mind a break from looking at the same thing too long. Then came meditation which gave my mind a break and helped me mentally step away from my work.

So, now I know to do my best; there is a balance required for me. It means I have to step up how I care for myself, and how I care for myself improves my art and my life. Sometimes, loving and caring for yourself seems like the last thing that will help you, but it's the only thing that can help you. I see so many now that get lost in simple everyday things that just a little pleasure in their lives would make a world of difference. So, I suggest taking time out to do the stuff to help yourself because you operate at your best. Then your life goes far smoother, and when your life goes smoother, you tend to want to help others' lives go smoother. So please pass it on.

After all, you are a work of art, and you are irreplaceable, and no one is more equipped to live your life than you-- Jeff Johnson