Let’s celebrate the journey

“I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh” Maya Angelou 

Sometimes I like to take a step back from the busy schedule and focus on the journey itself.

The journey is what we have, after all.

We have the daily ideas and tears and laughter and new directions that surprise us day after day.

We have the hard work that builds over time, leading us towards a dream.

We have the skills we struggle every day to learn until they finally click.

We have each other, and of course we have ourselves.

With my husband Eric, Easter 2015

My journey has not been 100% linear – artist to poet to arts administrator to history of science administrator to nutrition student to artist/entrepreneur – but looking back now I can see how each new step built upon the next.

Early 2011 marks for me the start of my adventure into entrepreneurship, even though I had no idea that was the case. Feeling particularly directionless in my life at the time, I decided to do a 3-week healthy eating program designed by the super inspiring Kris Carr.  After the program was over I was invigorated – my body and mind felt better than they had in ages – and I remember feeling a little amazed.

Did I really have more control in my life than I’d allowed myself to believe? If I could lessen physical symptoms that I’d previously taken for granted, what else could I do? I continued down the nutrition path for a little while (I even have a certification in plant-based nutrition), but before long it became clear that while I’m passionate about health, that particular path was not meant to be my life’s work.

Another little clue came as I discovered a creative business e-book by Kelly Rae Roberts. Kelly Rae is an artist and super savvy business owner who sparked something in me that I couldn’t quite define for a number of months. When I couldn’t get her story out of my mind (she discovered art at 30 after a career in social work and she’s now a full-time artist), I had to acknowledge that something bigger was going on. It took me a few more months to work up the courage to start painting, but I’m forever thankful that I stumbled across her website and felt such a sharp tug towards art once again.

If you look back at your own path, there are plenty of little building blocks and people who have helped to build up your wisdom and stamina (even if you didn’t see the significance of that help at the time). Mentors, friends. A beautiful quote that has stayed clear in your mind or the contents of a dream.

Our job is never to rush the journey, or to compare ourselves to others. Our job is simply to look for the clues, celebrating our successes and honoring our struggles until yet another piece of the puzzle clicks into place.

Celebrate the Journey, 2015. Prints and note cards to come soon.

Cue this week’s painting. I created this sweet ocean/mountain scene for my children’s collection, and am really loving how the piece reminds me of a time when exploration was second nature and full of wonder.

I am nowhere near the end of my path, but I learn more each day about how to view success as greater than simply the end result of a project or as a financial goal met. Lately I’ve been viewing success as the ability to feel gratitude and joy in the present moment, no matter what the circumstances.

Your version of success may be different, and that’s great. Regardless, let’s never stop celebrating the journey we take to get there.

Here’s to defining success on our own terms,