To be of service to others through your inner gifts, your intuition, your courage, your talents and your creativity is possible for all those who are willing to respond to the needs of others.
Earlier last month I had several ideas for blog posts and no time to write them down. None of those ideas appeal anymore. So much has happened in a short time. I spent the better part of summer preparing a house on the mainland for sale and selling the contents of 30 years of accumulation. I thought I’d write about anything related to what I have just been through these last couple of months. Then I read the above quote by Caroline Myss . . . and it made me cry. Therefore, I am choosing to share my thoughts on this because it must be important if it touched me that deeply.
To be of service to others through your inner gifts – She had me here. What one does with his or her inner gifts to be of service to others will make a difference in the world, however large or small. My neighbor and friend, Annie, gave me a ribbon 14 years ago that I had taped to my bathroom mirror that read “Who I am makes a difference.” But until now, a part of me never thought my gifts were worthy of “service to others.” I didn’t get it. I love color, drawing, observing, and putting feeling into and onto watercolor paper or canvas. I’ll be honest here – I was always afraid. Fear of the inner critic (you’re not good enough) or (who do you think you are to call yourself an artist). Oh, sure, I’ve been working as an artist, but never really feeling the part where “service to others” fits in. I felt selfish every time I’d barricade myself in my studio, not answer the phone, say “no” to a friend or organization requesting my time. I felt like I had to justify my need to create. I’d even feel guilty that I wasn’t working for someone else. Then I’d get annoyed because nobody else “got it.” The person who didn’t get it is the person who is looking in the mirror!! Hello!!!!
For so long I’ve been telling everyone else to “follow your passion.” I even had an article in the Rochester, NY, Women’s Magazine written about me with the title, “Pursuing Her Passion.” My work has sold to people from all over the globe, yet, I never considered myself worthy . . . until now.
Yes, it takes courage to follow your gut and nurture your talents. Creating pours out of all of us in different ways. Creative thinking to solve problems are as necessary in art, business, medicine, and the economy as they are to solving problems in relationships with people, animals, and the environment. Creating a new generation of human beings, creating a business plan, writing a book, creating a movie or a song . . . How often have you cried while listening to music that touches you because you feel a connection to the lyrics or the melody? Music can make us jump out of our seat and start dancing, and I LOVE listening to music when I exercise and when I paint. That’s just MUSIC we’re talking about. What if we didn’t have musicians because they were too scared to follow their intuition and courage to compose music for others?
The act of creating goes hand in hand not only with courage, but with listening to intuition. What makes you choose what you do? Why do you do it? It wasn’t until I was teaching others how to paint that I realized how personal it was with the choices we make during the process. What color to choose, technique to use, or subject to paint are some of the intuitive choices made during painting. I use my imagination to create images that may serve others in the sense that it will stir a feeling in someone. It may bring peace to someone’s heart. It may offer a symbol of someone’s love. However it touches you, it is a reminder that we are all connected in some way. If I successfully convey that feeling to others and it moves someone, then I am serving a need in them to connect with a feeling. It’s like how music may move us to sing out loud and bring on those happy feelings. Movies may help us to better understand another culture or offer a new perspective. Recently, I watched the documentary about Glenn Campbell – I’ll Be Me, which captured his last tour while his Alzheimer’s progressed. Several scenes had me laughing AND crying. Why? Because my father has dementia and I knew I wasn’t alone, nor was my family alone in this disease. We could RELATE! While it must have been difficult at times for Glenn and his family to open their hearts and home up to the public to share insight, they followed their courage, their intuition, and their talent to be of service to others by raising awareness and helping us understand a disease that affects so many families.
So, Caroline Myss, thank you for writing that one sentence that made the connection with me. It has certainly made a difference in my world. It only took 50 years to reach me, but now that it has, I look forward to seeing what happens in the next 50 years, God willing. I hope that you who are reading this are encouraged to be of service to others through your inner gifts, your intuition, your courage, your talents and your creativity if you aren’t doing so already! Most importantly, find the courage to be YOU and make no apologies.
Much love,
Christine