Friday, May 17, 2013

In the Right Place

I was driving home from work today and it hit me that I am in a highly creative and encouraging phase of my life.  I have always been creative.  I have always encouraged others.  That is part of my creativity really - encouraging others to be creative, take risks, dream big, ask "What if?" and "Why not?"   It feels especially creative and encouraging right now to me.   I am not sure why exactly but it feels so very right.  I am going to go with it.

18 years ago, i was preparing to graduate from college with my Bachelor of Art Education from Drake University.  I had been exposed to some incredibly talented and creative people.  I had been encouraged to push boundaries, ask questions, and pay it forward.  I was ready to go out and encourage others to do the same.  I had a daughter who had been born March 29th.  I knew touching others' lives was nothing to be taken lightly and was excited to get into a classroom.

I was a creative teacher, one who paid attention to individual needs and strengths.  I am still proud to say I am not a cookie-cutter individual or teacher.  Individuality is key to my creativity and I highly encourage it in others, even when I just have a conversation with someone.  You never know when something you say will hit the right spot and motivate them to do something really incredible so it is my opinion that one should always be positive, encouraging, open and creative.

We all have unique talents that get called into action in different phases of our lives.  We don't always know those talents are there and they sometimes surprise us.  I have been surprised by the intensity I have when it comes to encouraging others to be creative and make their own mark on this world.  Sure, I always encouraged it and always will but the INTENSITY is so strong right now.  The timing for this is right too.

When I was younger, I was so busy trying to get everything done at home and in my classroom.  I was so busy trying to be creative for different reasons that did not always resonate with me.  I was not ready to handle this kind of intense creativity and encouragement.  I was too busy and I was too scattered.  But that has changed as the years pass.  I am glad I am ready for this phase of my life!

I don't always have time to MAKE new jewelry or art but I always have time to dream up ideas, tune into the world and notice tiny details that come out in a creation down the road, and to really appreciate the talent of the people I surround myself with regularly.  Making will happen.  It always does.  But AWARENESS.... that does not always happen.  Being aware makes creativity that much more intense.

A side effect of that is the intensity I have for encouraging others to be creative and go for the big dreams, whether they are art related or not.  I pay it forward as often as possible these days because I think it is important to help others.  Someone has helped me and I need to pay the universe back for those nudges that have led to my successes.  It has now grown to include helping friends  and other artists with fundraising drives, working on "marketing" strategies, and getting more resources when they need them.

(one of those friends said that I had to set up my own fundraising drive if I was going to help him, that I could not just do something for him but HAD to do something for myself and my business too.  And as soon as this divorce is done, I know what I am going to pursue.  I am excited for it!!!)

The more I help this friend, the more excited I am for him and for the things I am learning.  I am forced to be creative to work my way through these processes and I am intensely interested in it.  I want so much for it to be a huge success because I know what great things will come from it for my friend.  All of this feeds my creativity even more.  I start thinking of more art creations, jewelry designs and what I need to make those things a reality.  It is a great cycle and I look forward to what comes from it!

I am right where I need to be and the right people are in my life for great things to happen.  This creativity COMPLETELY resonates with me and it is incredible!  I hope that you will get to have that very same feeling yourself.  Encourage others to go after their dreams and make their mark on the world.  This world needs that.