"The graveyard is filled with indispensable people"

     In preparing my blog entry, I decided to designate a stenopad that had been tucked away in a drawer as the place to jot down blog thoughts.  Upon opening this pad, I found notes from a weekend conference that I attended, the topic: Personal Development.  One important quote I wrote down, but did not expound upon, was: "The graveyard is filled with indispensable people".
     With the wonders of the internet, I "googled" this phrase and discovered many references.  Charles DeGaulle, a former leader of France, has been given credit for this quote, explaining how so many people in history who believed themselves to be indispensable have died and the world goes on without them.  In truth, none of us is indispensable, which actually is a freeing thought.
     I discovered this fact over one year ago when I suddenly found my position for 16 years was eliminated and I would join the ranks of "the unemployed".  While working, my values included loyalty, dedication and feeling indispensable.  Although it was shocking and I experienced all of the stages of grief and mourning, I found myself completely free.  The whole world was open to me!
     At that time my true artistic voice began to speak.  My prayer of:  "when will I ever go back to the Woodstock School of Art and study with HongNian Zhang again??!!" that would scream in my head (a major frustration of not having time to do anything my heart yearned for) would be answered.
     I learned that I am dispensable, the world does go on without me, and I am a better person for this.  I never want to consider myself indispensable again, and I want to pursue my art freely.  Let my artistic voice be heard!