Who You Were IS Who You Are

On March 16th I posted about Self Esteem, and as a result I got several great comments, and ideas. Eddie Jones, award winning Phoenix, AZ architect sent a great re-minder in his comment.

Eddie wrote, "If only adults would remember how fearless and creative they were in kindergarten. Everyone was a great artist with crayons, finger paints and dance." I agree. It is so true. We were born without the fear to create, express, and succeed.

Somewhere along the way we were "taught" to have fear. I'm not saying someone thought, "Now, I am going to teach my child or student to have fear of success." No. More than likely it was inadvertently modeled to us in a number of ways, from a number of well meaning people who weren't even totally aware of what they were doing or how great the impact of their words would be.

Eddie suggested I re-mind you of your "lost gifts and the nobility of returning to childlike ways even if (you) fingerpaint in private." I couldn't agree more. In fact, I would advocate that you find time to finger paint, and color and dance. If you can't bring yourself to do it with others (which is great fun) then by all means do it in private. The important thing is to get back to the part of you that wasn't afraid to just do it. That part of you is still in there somewhere. Who you were is who you ARE. Just purchasing a box of crayons, fingerpaints or a tutu might be enough to get you rolling.

If you need a little nudge or you just want to "play with friends," you might consider my upcoming Creative Discovering workshop in May of this year, which uses this concept to help you get in touch with the creativity that is innate within all of us. Stay tuned to this blog for date and location of this workshop.

And, as Judy re-minded us in my post on March 24th, do this with the children in your lives. Many of them are still fearless. If so, grab a box of crayons and learn from them. If they have already lost their fearlessness then grab a box of crayons and re-experience your fearlessness together. Even if they have lost it, they are closer to it than we are, and they are incredible teachers!

Today's journal prompt:

Put down the pen or pencil and grab some crayons or those cool smelly markers and draw in your journal today. Even better - put away the journal, too and grab a big piece of plain white paper and let loose!

Life Purpose

"There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people." - Vincent Van Gogh

What a great quote. It says in one sentence what I have said to people seeking their life purpose for a long time. As an artist I originally started my career in architecture. While there were many things I loved in that field I always felt there was something missing. In the early 90's by a "good stroke of luck," I ventured into working with people and absolutely LOVED it. For years I wasn't clear how I could love this work so much when it seemed to me (and to almost everyone I met) such a far cry from what I had loved doing as an artist.

When I started working more specifically with people as a career coach I began more and more to see how creative my work actually was. As part of the process to finding a career with passion clients would list things that they love to do and look for a translation to a career. Often times people miss the clues to possible paths because we fail to look for the less "obvious" connections.

In this process I could see how easily one could assume that as an artist I would want to pursue a career in graphic design, illustration or architecture, but actually when looking at the whole person, the work I currently do is a much better fit for me. This work combines my passion for creativity, my love of working with people and my value for freedom, family and community. Truly I am blessed to have found it!

This re-minds me of the three concentric circles again. What we see on the surface is related to what is at the center, but what is at the center can translate into many different things on the surface.

Today's journalling question:

What are you translating from your core in a literal way that could be expanded? What other ways could this core part of you express in your life?

This blog post dedicated to my dad, Wayne Bartels, one of the most passionate and talented people I know, Eddie Jones, my friend and very talented curriculum writer Sheran Mattson, and my very creative friend Shaunna O'Dowd.