Isn't that a great thought....supporting artists and making a positive mark on the world?
What will you leave behind?
Art and Creativity are at my roots, they breathe life into me and without them I would stumble aimlessly. The excitement of new ideas hatching is at times overwhelming. There are just too many things to try, to learn, to create. Joy in the making and in the giving.
What does a person do, that doesn't create? I have no experience with that. How do you not dream, imagine, learn and make? Without those things I am a shell of who I am....I am empty. And even when I can not create something new , there are words, swirling in my mind and they find their way to paper to save my sanity.
I watched my mother make everything. She was so excited to learn something new and took great pleasure in sharing what she had learned. As a girl, I marveled at her ability to cut out a dress pattern without pins, only laying some kitchen knives on the pattern piece to keep them in place as she laid them out. Years of practice and skills---from what I could see, there was nothing that she couldn't do. Today, some people say that about me. I feel very lucky.
You see, no one ever told me that I couldn't. I was never made to feel less than. All things were possible. I don't know how to start with "beginner", I somehow forget it is not me who has the 80 years of knitting experience. Often this leads to trouble when I modify things before starting and with no knowledge about how it goes.....that doesn't matter, does it.
So here is my thought on a bit of kindness....for those of you with children, especially preteen and teens---
Find as many ways as you can, to remind them that they are Extraordinary ...because too many of them are caught in feelings that somehow who they are, isn't good enough.
In the past two months, there have been too many teens in my circle that are feeling badly about themselves. They are silently crying out to feel worthy. They are hurting themselves physically, they talk about wanting to never wake up. They feel "less than"....they feel unheard....
You might ask how they are or what is happening in their lives, but are you really listening. Are you listening when they don't talk? Are you listening to the day to day stuff, so maybe, just maybe, they'll talk about the big stuff?
Remind them of all the things they are good at...and you know, that might not be school. Maybe they are a great friend. Do they look out for their friends, do they help them when they can? That's a pretty great skill to have. Are they compassionate? Do they care deeply, sometimes to their own detriment? Still a great trait to have, maybe they just need help in filtering those feelings so they aren't overwhelmed.
So remind them, like you did when they were little, that they can do anything! That they are wonderful, strong, creative, compassionate, loving, fabulous, funny, smart, gifted, talented, amazing and a zillion other adjectives that you can dream up.
Empower your children, show them that you are now and forever will be, behind them in what they dream.
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