Blogging and Ice Cream, a Wonderful Combo

    On my lunch break, at the Dairy Queen, equipped with pen and stenopad, I could see nothing better than having ice cream first as I wrote my blog entry.  My new job involves traveling from place to place and the good thing about this place is it is next door to a Dairy Queen!
     I am still looking at the notes from the Personal Development conference, and am reflecting back to the "Anne-Marie then".  As an exercise, we had to write all of the roles we played.  This is my list in the picture, it was 13 roles, the first of which was "Mom", the 5th was the name of my occupation, and the last, sadly, was "Artist".  After "artist" I wrote: "who am I if all roles are gone?".  Then I wrote: "a person with no purpose on earth for anything - no goals - no aspirations - depressed".
     I just shook my head.  I had not read this list until this lunch break.  All of these indispensable roles in my life!  My occupation was so high on my list, but my occupation does not define who I am, it is something I do to bring in money so I can live and have a life (to include art classes, supplies, books).  It doesn't even matter what I do, as long as it is meaningful and contributes to the good of the world in some way.  Being an artist came in last, so sad!  But back then my life was sad, so much of my life was jumbled up, filled with stress, feeling indispensable where I was not, and no time to create anything, just wishes for the future, when I have time.
     If I had to write this list over today, being an artist would be high at the top.  It is more than what I do, it is not a hobby to pass the time, it is an expression of my whole being.  My very being wants to create.  When I look at the world around me, I think in terms of color palettes, names of colors of paint ("hmmm, what color would I use to make that sky", or "look at those pinks, how could I do this? I must remember these clouds").  When I look at my surrounding world, I think about perspective, how one object relates to the other, the proportions of things if I were to measure with my pencil and thumb, and I get ideas for future art.  If I can remember, I take my camera to take pictures to save for the future.
     From my life experiences, which have a way of stopping us in our tracks sometimes, may I remember what is really important, keep my roles in order of true priority, live according to my values and always find time to create.  Should I veer off of my path ever so slightly, my audience, please let me know and gently guide me back.  Thank you for listening and reading!