New Possibilities

Today is the first day of May.

May is my favorite month.

Why?

I love the sound of the word.  And the way the letters look together.  

And when I think of May, I think of spring flowers (my favorites) and sunshine and green grass, blue skies and a gentle breeze.

Ok.  So I know it sounds like a corny commercial.  And in L.A. we don't get that many blue skies.  But it's still the picture I get when I think of May.

I think it is also because, deep down inside, I think of new beginnings, which bring new possibilities.  On a day like today, you can start life anew.

I have been visiting people's blogs and seeing the new things people have done.  I have been talking with people, via blog comments and emails.  Everywhere I see and hear the hope in people's lives, the desire to get the best out of life.

Are you an artist?

If you are like me, you struggle with the doubts.  I keep thinking I am the only one, because I keep thinking everyone else's remarkable talent helps them to breeze through it all, but from what I hear, I am not the only one.

Why do we do that?

Maybe it is because people who are artists are sharing the deepest part of their life and putting it out there for all to see.  Whatever your art, whether you paint or collage or sing or play an instrument or take photographs, that can be a scary thing to do.

I know that doing any kind of work has its insecurities, but I believe artists also have the doubts that come with the belief that what we do doesn't really matter, doesn't really count. "Why are you wasting your time with that?  Shouldn't you be doing something important?  That's not something you put your whole life into.  That's just something you do as a hobby."

Maybe you've never thought that way.  If you never have, consider yourself blessed.

As for any of us who have struggled with that, why do we have to continue?  Who says?  Who are they to say that?  Who is the world to say that what we do doesn't count?  Why can't we start a whole revolution that turns the world around so that artists are the rock stars of the world who makes tons of money and are held in awe for their remarkable talent, talent that everyone else wishes they had?

Yes, I know it's a wild thought.  

But it's not impossible.  

And you know what?  I think it starts with all of us planting a seed to make it that way.

How?

By considering our art time one of the most important and necessary parts of our day.  By not being embarrassed to show someone our work.  Hey, by making sure we never belittle our work.  By being proud to tell others that we are an artist, instead of shirking away thinking we won't say that until we reach some imposed level of "good enough."  And by thinking of our choice in life as being as important as someone who would say that they are a doctor, or an attorney or CEO of some grand company.

No, I haven't been outside sniffing the L.A. smog.

I am just tired of having spent my whole life living by other people's opinions, views, and dogma, as Steve Jobs said in his words I shared in my previous post.  I want to live my life, not someone else's.  I want to believe in my hopes and dreams, and believe they really can come true.

At least to know that I tried.

And so, on this first day of May, the first day of new possibilities, if you are an artist, I bless you with a new beginning, a belief in your hopes and dreams.  I bless you with permission to believe in you.  I bless all of us to believe that, as artists, as creators, we are linked with thee Creator of all creators.

So let's go out there, plant our seeds of Hope and Belief, and make it come true.   

Here's to you and your new life.

Always,

Carol B.