Find what you love to do and find a way to share it with others.
—The Cheerful Monk
As some of you already know, I’ve decided to take the time to learn to draw. I’ve wanted to do it for a long time…I’m a visual thinker and words alone aren’t enough for me. So a few years ago I stopped writing in my journal and decided to do some slightly more focused writing, but with simple illustrations. I didn’t have a clue about how to do those illustrations, so I went off and did some other things for several years while I pondered the matter. It was still creative work, making short videos for the local public access TV station and also teaching Sunday school classes…activities that used my talents and let me share my efforts with other people. But it wasn’t writing and drawing.
Then I discovered blogging and Flickr, especially the pictures with a Creative Commons license, so it was back to writing with a visual component. When I have an idea for a post I spend at least as much time looking for the right picture as I do putting the words on paper.
But I can’t always find a non-copyrighted picture, and the idea of making some of my own illustrations was still tugging at me, so it was finally time to learn to draw. I could now answer the two questions that had nagged me:
Is that a completely selfish activity? Should I be doing something else that would be more of a contribution to other people?
By now the answer is clear, it’s what I’m supposed to be doing right now. It doesn’t matter if the results are any good or if anyone else is interested. It’s time to do it.
So I put what I make on Flickr, with a Creative Commons license to share with anyone who might be interested, and keep plugging away. Still, it was gratifying to receive this e-mail:
Hi,
I’m working on creating bulletin inserts to disseminate health messages to faith communities across North Carolina. This is a project of the N.C. Division of Public Health. Your drawing of a woman walking is a good image to use for our fall prevention information. I would like to use it, but want to check with you about how you want attribution for the image to appear?
Thanks!
That e-mail removed all last twinges of guilt…I’m free to be a little kid again, exploring, trying things, playing to my heart’s content and seeing what happens.
What About You?
Do you ever have a conflict between wanting to do something for the sheer joy of it and wanting to make a contribution to others?
bikehikebabe
Speaking of sharing, bikehikebabe could use some ideas for books to listen to while she’s convalescing from her hip replacement. Do you have any favorites you can suggest? Thanks!
BikehikeBabe any of the Jeeves and Wooster novels by P G Wodehouse (pronounced Woodhouse for some unknown reason) – as long as it doesn’t hurt to laugh.
I think getting clear for myself and feeling joyous means I’m better to be around. I also enjoy engaging deeply with others (so no problems with this second one).
Its great that you are able to focus on things you enjoy. I salute your committment and creativity alike. As to the books. If Bhb is looking for a good story, then I strongly suggest either “The Kite Runner” or “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseni. “Veronica Must Die” by Paulo Cohello is also pretty good.
Evan,
In Notes on How to Live in This World and Still Be Happy, Hugh Prather says being happy is the only way he knows to be kind. I find those words to be very encouraging at times. It sounds as if you’ve got that one down in your bones. Good for you!
Ashok,
I feel incredibly lucky that I can do what I love. 🙂
Thank you both for the suggestions for BHB.
Thanks Evan. Tom said many years ago that he liked G.P Wodehouse Jeeves. Ashok thanks. If our library doesn’t have them, they’ll get them for you.
I am one of the fortunate ones I suppose. I rarely if ever get into such a conflict situation. Somehow, whatever I wish to do, just naturally gives me joy and mostly brings joy to others too. At least I flatter myself that it does.
BHB, this is a new one for me. I have not had any one requesting audio books. I really do not know if what I recommend will be good to listen to. Let me ask a friend of mine who is blind and who gets someone to read for him about what I should do and revert directly to you.
Jean, thanks for giving me the opportunity to learn something about audio books!
bikehikebabe,
How about letting us know if you find some you like? At the moment I’m listening to Eat, Love, Pray by Elizabeth Gilbert.
rummuser,
Thanks for looking into this. 🙂
sorry I’ve been ‘missing’………I somehow sprained my lower back a few Saturdays ago and spent the rest of that w/end and the following week (last week) recovering!
so much for achieving a number of things during the break between the Semesters….
during last week, the flooring people were here so they had to work around me and my silly back….I would have conversations with the nice young man in my bedroom! and he actually had to move a few things that my pals had missed on the Tuesday but he did them with good humour….plus he always informed me if a ‘room would be out of action’ etc.
the stove/oven was disconnected and in my computer room along with the refrigerator which was plugged in so all meals had to constructed by the sandwich maker or the microwave.!
i’m much better now but I have an appointment with my physio friend on Friday for ‘back after care’ as I’m not confident that is won’t get problematic again…thank goodness I wasn’t in classes as I wouldn’t have been able to attend!
Uni starts again next Monday….whilst I was laid up I read a book about two people retracing The Long March/Mao Zedong/China and another book with short stories about English in the East.
One of my forthcoming papers is on Mao Zedong, the Cultural Revolution and China.
Cathy,
Sorry about your back! At least you got some reading done. Have you ever read/listened to Rivertown, Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler? He tells of his experience with the Peace Core in Fuling, a small town in the Sichuan province of China.
Books on tape? I’ve been in a non-fiction mode – Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Byron Katie. Sorry I’m not into fiction to recommend. So many books, so little time comes to mind!
I’m thrilled for you and your art! You must have been soaring from that email! Way to go! Just do it and enjoy it. Not everything we do in life must be service to others or have some grand purpose. Besides, the happiest people I know spend a lot of time in solo pursuits which gives them more love and energy when it comes time to “serve”. Balance is a good thing. Have your fun! You are doing something for YOU and it’s not selfish, it’s soul food.
suzen,
Thank you!
Eat Love Pray is a wonderful book. I read it after seeing EG on video at TED. http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html
Nineteen minutes of sheer fascination. I strongly recommend it to you and to BHB!
rummuser,
Thanks for the link. I’m now in the process of watching it. It’s clear the problem is worrying about how other people will judge what we create, our letting our egos trip us up. When we take the attitude, “It would be nice to be appreciated, but this is what I was put on earth to do so I’m doing it,” we set ourselves free.
That’s what this post is about, of course. 🙂
rummuser,
I just listened to the end of her talk. Yep, she’s talking about the age-old wisdom, “Play your part well and let go of the results.” And, implied, “Keep your ego out of it. Just do your job and (my addition) feel privileged to be able to do it.”
As I recall The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron talked about getting your ego out of the way. Our job is to show up and do the work. The results are in the hands of the gods.
Jean, you never fail to amaze me with the range of your reading. It is also quite eerie, that we seem to share some reading tastes. I have read Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way too and it is a fascinating one at that.
Bhagwat Geetha, Chapter II verses 47 and 48. Very well known verses say,
Your right is to work only,but never to the fruit thereof, Let not the fruit of action be your object, nor let your attachment be to inaction.
Established in yoga, perform your duty Oh, Dhananjaya, abandoning attachment, being even-minded in success and failure; even-mindedness is called yoga.
rummuser,
About the Bhagwat Geetha: Yes, I came across that concept when I was looking for my philosophy of life in high school. It was the only approach that made sense to me. Then my task was simply to find what my work in life was. That took a bit longer. 😉
Jean,
By reading to your replies to Rummuser, then, may I know what is the philosophy that you love the most?
tikno,
Ah, yes:
Thanks for asking. 🙂
Jean,
So beautiful! I noted it in my mind and thank you for sharing.
Jean, when I was teenagers, I likes watching a talk-show “Salam Canda” (difficult to translate, it may be “joke greets”) guided by Ebet Kadarusman. Each end of the show he always say this sentence: “It is nice to be important but… the most important is to be nice”.
Until now I still remembered it clearly and love it. But from now I will add yours. 🙂
tikno,
Thank you! I like yours too. I think most problems in human relations are caused by each person wanting to feel important and thinking that means being more important than others.