We often don't think about all the tools in our toolbox. Instead, we get stuck in our label boxes: a mother, a lawyer, a businessman, a loner. Yet, we're so much more than those perception boxes, the made up stories, the insecurities. We can contribute in so many ways.
My daughter started suffering from anxiety. As we're working through procedures, her guidance counselor calls me to update on what's working. She says: "Please don't laugh, but the number one thing that we see your daughter do that calms her down is draw for five minutes first thing in the morning."
As an artist, I gave her an outlet, a way to battle overwhelm in one of the simplest and overlooked ways.
Why are we staying safe? Locking ourselves up, we even rush to put our kids into those boxes. "You're too old to ride the carousel", "You're a future engineer, you're not creative enough for anything else"?
What if we encouraged kids to get their hands dirty, to try and fail, to cross pollinate their talents? How much more whole would we be, along with our future generation? What if we welcomed creativity as opposed to shy away from it? How much richer would our lives be, how much more filled would our souls be?
It's the best feeling when you work on a number of areas simultaneously and they simply sing in unison. You tune in to the relationships between, not the singular issues, and it's these layers of understanding that make it all come together in the most beautiful ways. It's the contrasts and varied points of view that enrich our lives.