When I think back on how I grew up in the west coast of Scotland, I often hear the faint comments of relatives saying "you want to be an artist? You better back that up with another job you can fall back on" or "but you really have to be good, if you want to earn money with it". I remember very well, how it felt the first time I showed my Granny a drawing I was very proud of and told her I wanted to grow up and be a painter. Her face expression was one I had never seen before that day. It seemed like a mixture of disgust in the sense "what makes you think you can do that? You think you are something better". As a teenager I felt bad and wrong on that day. I decided to take a break from drawing, as I felt I was not good enough. This break lasted a long time.
After all that has been written about creativity, we should be informed that, that is the only way out of certain problems, one may have. I know allot of people that work too much and find their lives very boring. They go day in and day out to the same place and find that their life has no meaning. They become sick, depressed and lonely.
The key to get back to happiness is being creative. Write a journal, paint or start playing an instrument. I know I know, most of you would say "I am not talented at this or that" but that is unfortunately what you have been told all these years. Creativity can be found in many places. Planting flowers on the balcony, painting the kitchen cupboard or even rearranging a room is all creative work. It touches a part in you that all other work doesn`t. Our well being is very much defined through this part of our lives we always seem to neglect.
Another problem is that nowadays we are always focused on results rather than the process. When we think of writing, we think of the book cover and bestselling lists, without even having written a page. When we think about painting, we want to be in the same league as Picasso. Making music, seems to only mean something if we could hear it on the radio.
In our house art, writing and music is part of our life. There are always paints on the table and paper to grab. Instruments are all over to just pick up and play. Our kids love writing journals in the morning. When they miss a day, I notice, cause their mood is very different. Writing a journal in the morning after awaking, is like cleansing your head from all thoughts that bother you.
I encourage the arts at all times and just want to build a foundation they could always fall back on to when they are grownups.
I know that most parents draw with their kids and support their hobbies in music etc. but somehow when they get to a certain age that all becomes, "just play" cause as parents we all want to see our kids in "real" jobs. We would never tell them to study medicine and try and back it up with another job, in case being a doctor does not work out. I do think that is is our job to let our kids follow their dreams, cause only in our acceptance can they really find out what it truly is they want to do.
My only advice is, to keep the relatives bad comments out of the game.
So, go and enjoy your kids drawings, writings and their music. And you should do some of that, too. Remember you have to be the change, that you want to see in your kids.
Have a lovely day.
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