The Art of Finding Your Way Back to Your ‘Self’

May 8, 2013 by Filed under: ART, CREATIVITY, INSPIRATION, MOVING FORWARD, PURPOSE, SELF DISCOVERY5 Comments

While getting settled in our new home, I stumbled across a bin of memorabelia I’ve been lugging around since I left my parent’s home when I was 18.  Stuff like yearbooks, awards, pictures, letters passed in the hallway, report cards, and a few projects I did along the way were tightly packed in this time capsule.

Eventually I came across a report that I did in 4th grade on the State of New Jersey, and I immediately noticed many qualities about my work.  My cursive handwriting was impeccable, stylized and artistic.  (Ahh, the lost art of cursive writing!!)  The report had beautiful presentation, with lots of colorful, detailed drawings of various images relating to New Jersey.

Now that I have kids of my own, I could clearly see that this was impressive work for a 4th grader, and my teacher thought so too as he gave me 4 A’s on the project.   After viewing my work from the perspective of an older, wiser version of myself, what immediately came to mind was my mom telling me just a couple of years back that my elementary school had mentioned to her on several occassions that I was very artistic.  I then began to retrace the years in my mind, and realized there were so many clues along the way to validate my talents, interests and passions but for whatever reason they were not pursued.

Why didn’t I continue on a path to pursue my passion for art and presentation?  Where did I get off track?  Why did no one, myself included, pick up on the recurrence of these clues?  Instead, I went on to study Finance in college, feeling unfulfilled by a career in Financial Services.

Interestingly, since being at home raising my kids, I have ventured into several creative endeavors.  I opened a small boutique for the home in Reading, Massachusetts, and I launched Invisible Sun in November of 2011.  After having a chance to explore creative opportunities, returning to a career in Financial Services is so far off my radar at this point.

Finding this report and launching myself back to a younger version of myself shifted my perspective of myself today and how I should guide myself (career-wise) into the future.  It was an absolute validation that my passion for art, creativity and presentation was present very early in my life.

The source of our creative expression, our purpose and our passions resides in the essence of who we are, and it is my belief that the essence of who we are is in its purest form when we are children, before external factors influence our behavior, gel our limiting beliefs, taking us farther and farther away from who we are.  The exercise of making a reconnection with an earlier version of yourself can truly short-circuit you to the essence of who you are.

One way I stay connected is by keeping a picture of myself as a little girl on my desk.

ellielittlegirl

As you try to reconnect with the essence of who you are to, ask youself some questions:

  • What did I love to do as a kid?
  • What was my favorite subject in school?
  • Where did my interests gravitate?
  • Did something come along that mesmerized me?
  • What did people compliment me for?
  • Who were my friends?
  • What attracted me to those friends?
  • What what did my friends and I love to do?

As you look at your answers, ask yourself if you still feel a strong connection to yourself as a child or is there a disconnect?  If there is a disconnect, try to pinpoint the stage of your life you may have gotten off track.

If you’ve been lugging around bins of memorabilia like me, dig them out!  Reacquaint yourself with an earlier version of yourself.  It’s like coming home, and once you open up the ‘vault,’ you’ll find yourself peeling back more layers every day.  I liken the process to loosening up the soil before planting a new plant.  Sure, it takes time and energy to unearth the essence of who we are, but it’s a interesting journey worth taking.

Another great way to help unearth your ‘self’ is by listening to music you listened to as a kid because it will bring many great memories to the surface that will offer you more clues!  I’m always amazed by how I can still recall lyrics to songs I haven’t heard in decades.

Let me know how it’s going for you, and if you have any other tips about how you’ve made a reconnection with your ‘self,’ leave a comment!

 

Filed Under: ART, CREATIVITY, INSPIRATION, MOVING FORWARD, PURPOSE, SELF DISCOVERY

Welcome to Invisible Sun’s Blog!

March 25, 2013 by Filed under: ART, CREATIVITY, INSPIRATION2 Comments

I’m showing up here today to officially welcome you to my blog.

I’ve been dreaming about launching this blog for quite some time, but to be totally honest with you, it’s been somewhat of a discouraging experience observing how much I stalled and procrastinated in getting my blog off the ground.

First, a hurricane named Sandy blew through the area, swirling in with the already seemingly 24/7 demands of being a mom of three.  Then throw in my endless desire to learn ‘just one more thing’ before starting, and oh yes, I mustn’t forget the ever-present, creeping self-doubt echoing in my head.  All of these factors, while working beautifully together, worked against me and my dreams.

As I observed myself during the past few months, what I realized is that I had to take control of my life because my life was controlling me.  Living unintentionally is how we get off track, spin our wheels, lose our way and waste a lot of time.  But being conscious of our unproductive habits, distractions and behavioral patterns is the first step to getting back on track.

Thankfully, today the stars seem to be aligned in my favor and my desire to create is eclipsing any inclination for me to stall any longer. It’s officially Springtime, but I’m so grateful to have this one last day of unseasonal wintry mix blow in because it’s helping me to hunker down and get rolling! The fact that our puppy has a substantial sleep deck as a result of a weekend of non-stop play and attentive care from our 7-year old daughter is also working in my favor. Needless to say, I’ll take this rare opportunity as sign and a green light to move things forward. I feel so focused and you are now my priority!

As long as I can remember, I have been a keen observer of creative people and the journeys they take after discovering their personal form of ‘art’.  I think we are all fascinated when we see someone doing what they were born to do. We know it when we see it, right? It can be mesmerizing to observe, and as we do so, we secretly long to discover our own personal purpose, passion or talent … our art.

Because I believe the world needs more artists, people doing what they love and are passionate about, I’m excited to find and connect with a community of like-minded, creative individuals who desire to discover, nurture and share their God-given purpose with the world. It is my strong belief that as humans we desire to discover and share our God-given talents, creating something that is lasting, living on after we are gone. By doing so, we give our lives purpose and meaning.

Thanks to Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, I strongly believe that creativity is a spiritual act and when we are expressing our personal art form, we are living from the soul, our Invisible Sun. When I speak of art, I’m not necessarily referring only to traditional forms of art, such as painting, writing or music. I am referring to the unique God-given gift or talent that you possess … something that brings you great joy, something you are good at and something you desire to share with the world.

Thanks to cutting-edge ideas from the minds of inspiring leaders like Seth Godin, today’s definition of art is blown wide open and is defined by you personally.  How empowering is that?   When you have found your art, you’ll know it because you’ll feel it.  If you haven’t found it, it is my intention to help you discover it.  I also want to encourage you to develop it, and cheer you on to share it with the world. If you are someone who has already discovered your art, we need you in this community as well because you can help bring others along.

This blog will be a living example of what I’ll be blogging about because Invisible Sun is my passion project. Right after my first child was born, I felt a strong desire to write. Now that he is 13 and my other two children are in school full time, it’s time for me to put pen to paper.  No more delays.  No more distractions.  No more stalling.

Plus, I am very confident that in a year from now, I’ll be glad I started today.

Because I am new to blogging, I initially intend to post 2-3 times a week, and I’ll see where that takes me. However, if I feel inspired to post more than that, I will.  I firmly believe that if inspiration knocks, we should honor our muse and answer the call.

I am sure things will evolve as times goes on, but at this point, some of the topics that you can expect me to post about are:

• How to find your way back to your purpose
• How others found their purpose
• Optimizing productivity in our lives to make room for creativity
• Unblocking our creativity
• Spirituality’s role in creativity
• The role of positivity in nurturing a creative life
• Ideas to help children discover their purpose
• Ideas for infusing creativity into children’s lives
• Unpredictable posts with my creativity on display for your inspiration and entertainment

Again, thank you for subscribing!  I really look forward to connecting with you, learning about your art and seeing what we create together!  In fact, don’t be shy … stop by in the comments to introduce yourself.

Talk soon,

Ellie

Filed Under: ART, CREATIVITY, INSPIRATION