I love looking at nature up close. It is what my visual art practice is mostly based on, not to mention the fact that it is endlessly intriguing and filled with wisdom. When I look at the cross section of a tree, I am in awe of the layers that it took to make the tree as wide and as tall as it was at one time. Each layer showing a year in the life of the tree. You can count the lines to see how much life was lived before the tree was, for whatever reason, cut down. Sometimes you notice a knot or irregularity in the pattern, showing as evidence to some force pushing against the tree. But the amazing thing about a tree is, it will keep growing. The force of life is so great that it will grow around fences or push up cement sidewalks to make way for stronger roots. The tree finds a way to adjust and keep going. Many of those in my community are going through life changes, career changes, career crisis, boredom, over-excitement and potential exhaustion. It is times like these when we think to ourselves that we have no time for creativity. We have no time to engage in our art. Perhaps every ounce of our lives feels taken up with stuff: worry, work, busy-ness, changes, adjustments, activity, etc. It is these times that taking a step back, nurturing ourselves and our creativity can give us new and clearer direction. Sometimes nurturing ourselves and our creativity can bring about a season of this type of harried activity, because through our creative processes we realize we want to make some changes. Our world is different now and it is rare to see someone stay with a company for 20-30 years and retire. Many people by the age of 36 have gone through 10 or so jobs and this is completely normal! Many people decide that the company life is not for them and choose to go out on their own and start a business or become a freelancer or independent contractor. Sometimes entertaining creative possibility in our lives leads us to a place of knowing we must move and move on... but to where? We may not know. I went through a serious case of creativity and career crisis a few years ago, as I have shared many times before, as this was the impetus for my beginning Art Nurture. I was looking for resources in so many different areas of my life. One resource that I found was Dan Miller and his 48 Days Podcast. This free weekly podcast is where Dan shares his expertise on finding or creating meaningful work. He answers listeners questions and shares his own life stories regarding education, finding a job and his successful businesses and times when certain businesses were not so successful. He has had an amazing career as a coach helping people transition from jobs they are not a good fit for into careers in which they are fulfilled. I am still an avid 48 Days Podcast listener and have since read a couple of Dan's other books: I wanted to share these resources with you because I know so many people are trying to adjust to the changes in our world regarding career and life and work. Often times we are looking for creative solutions but don't know how to flesh them out and bring them into a reality. Since these resources have been immensely helpful to me over the last three years, I thought it would be beneficial to share them.
We are all just out there, trying to grow, creating our interesting rings each year. Some years are more challenging than others, where we have to push through some barriers or deal with some changes in our environments and lives, hopefully we use those times as an opportunity for wisdom.
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