Seeing Rainbows Where Others Only See Rain ....

First a moment of gratitude ….

Of late I have received a number of comments regarding my various posts, and each time I find I am almost moved to tears. When someone such as me who is still struggling to find her niche in life so that I might leave my indelible mark, oftentimes it can feel as if the battle is bigger than the soldier, but your words of encouragement serve to add fuel to my fire, thereby propelling me forward. Whatever small gift I have given you please know you have given me so much more in return. Therefore, it is with simple gratitude I’d like to offer my heartfelt “thanks”.

Seeing Rainbows ….

I speak a lot about the need to pursue dreams as well as the need to define goals and ambitions for yourself even in the face of those who oppose you due to their lack of understanding. However, this is where it gets a little tricky, even for a typically driven personality such as mine.

A dream can be like an embryo …. hardly visible to the naked eye, it lacks form and function, as well as the definition that will one day come to define it, but that doesn’t mean it fails to possess a life of its own as it struggles to grow and take shape until it can exist independently of its host. Until that time however, it is fully dependent upon you to care for it and nurture it on a daily basis in order that it might continue to thrive.

Once you do give birth to your idea, effectively putting it out there for the entire world to see and judge for themselves, it is nothing short of a scary prospect as your vulnerabilities are at once exposed, thereby placing you in a weakened position while you wait for a nod of approval …. something, anything that will signal you’re on the right track. If it fails to come immediately, you hopelessly begin to question yourself and your ambitions to the point you start to believe it would be easier just to give it all up …. but don’t.

Here’s where I like to figuratively press the pause button instead. For me that usually takes the form of backing away from my laptop and other handheld devices in order to give my mind and body some much-needed R&R. Most of the time there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you or your dreams …. they just haven’t had ample time to develop and mature to the point your talents are easily recognizable to others. Speaking only for myself, sometimes they just need a little renovation.

To explain, I’ve known since I was very young that I wanted to become a writer. Same as those with a God-given voice feel they must sing, I had a voice inside me begging to get out, at least in the form of articulation as opposed to some other form of artistic expression. In the beginning, I made my own assumption that my talent must take the form of a novelist so during my mid-thirties – despite having schooled in design and economics – I began the painstaking process of writing a book. I developed a storyline with characters to support it and began spinning my yarn as if creating a unique tapestry the world had never seen before then.

In a manner of speaking, the journey became a form of self-discovery in terms of my own belief systems and how I might explain them to others. I adored how the creative process equated to my having my own minion, and how I was suddenly the Master of my own Domain. I was able to control every single aspect of the world I slipped into whenever I sat down to write. However, I hated endless editing, which led to a bounty of re-writes and always ending up feeling as if it wasn’t good enough. But what I hated even more was all the efforts at shameless self-promotion. I’d have just as soon put it out there and have someone else worry about the numbers.

So once again I hit the pause button by asking myself, “What’s wrong with this picture?” I was writing, which was something I’d always wanted to do, but I had limited myself due to my own preconceived notions about what it meant to become a writer. Thinking it through, I decided I was far better equipped to deal with my craft like a continuing episode with no real beginning, middle or end. This way I could get my voice out there in a neat, tidy package that I could start, finish and publish online within the course of an afternoon. Of course this went on to spawn other ideas as my thoughts have developed a sort of sophistication in terms of my efforts to help the world at large live happier, gentler lives through creating ‘balance’ within and then passing that message on to others.

Thus continuing along this thread, I’d like to personally extend an invitation for you to view my project - but·ter·fly ef·fect – currently featured on the crowd-funding site, kickstarter.com.

Following is that link ....

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

In conclusion, I suppose the moral of this story is simple …. don’t allow someone else’s inability to see your vision affect your quest for self-actualization. I am a firm believer that by exercising the creative ability required to change ourselves, we have the power to create the kind of archetypal change capable of improving our planet within the process, this being a direct result of our own individual development. All we need do is choose a morally responsible form of creative expression and then give that gift to posterity.