How I found my passion. . .and you can too

“Only when we are at our most playful can divinity finally get serious with us.”

 ~ Elizabeth Gilbert, Creative Living Beyond fear

During a visit to the United States, I was very lucky to have been able to stay in New York and to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I was even luckier because while I was there I unexpectedly rediscovered a passion I had forgotten. I share the following excerpt from my Passion Journal at that time (which, incidentally, was bright red!) in the hope that it illustrates some of the strategies I am encouraging you to try. ⠀
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‘To see these paintings makes my heart sing, my eyes sparkle and a smile settle upon my lips. I feel a shortness of breath and my heart rate quickens. I want to take them all in. I love the ones with texture so rich you can almost feel the paint. I have to stop myself from reaching out to touch them. I am flushed with excitement and a thirst that cannot be quenched.’⠀

And so it was that my ‘body barometer’ reminded me of the deep joy and love I feel when I paint with oil. I had traded my passion for the convenience of acrylic, but I found it joyless and plastic. I thought it was a great confirmation of the power of passion when an art gallery owner, who bought some of my paintings not long after I returned from New York, said to me, ‘You have a rare ability to capture an emotion.’ ⠀
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What makes your soul sing?

For many, many years I didn’t recognise myself as an artist. I painted, created, sculpted, made stained glass lampshades in the Tiffany style, crocheted, knitted, made pottery—you name any of the arts and chances are I have done it. But I still didn’t see myself as an artist.

It wasn’t until a violinist in Venice, Italy, told me, “you have the soul of an artist,” and I took stock of other feedback, that I woke up. “Oh, that’s what I am. I’m an artist.” And finally years of feeling so different from everyone else made sense! ‘That’s why I’m sensitive. That’s why colour affects me so profoundly. That’s why I am compelled to create. That’s who I am.”

But I still didn’t think I had a voice. By connecting the dots of my past I now value art for its healing power. It is this voice I bring to my creations—including art, coaching, and writing.

I encourage you to find a feedback partner or a way to engage with other people to talk about you, your natural knacks and talents—who you really are. 

Taking classes and working with a coach will always help the development of your authentic self. Conveniently many classes are provided online. Take a class just for fun. Sometimes doing something that doesn’t appear to be related to your career can provide significant shifts.

Come play with me and discover who you really are. Come play with me and upscale your health. Come play with meand forge a new, fab, career. Sir Antony Hopkins recently traded a negative addiction for a positive one by losing the booze and getting drunk on painting. “I love the chaos. I do everything I’m not meant to do. I used to drink like an animal, but now I use my art to express the chaos in my mind,” he says about the joy he finds in painting. “I used to take myself so seriously. I have an obsessive personality. I do everything fast. I want to do everything I can because time is running out”, he says. “I want to express colour. Maybe it’s reaching for some sort of divine.”

His collection of vibrant, wildly exuberant canvases has won fans across the world. “I had no idea that I’d end up being a painter and having exhibitions.” He explains his passion for painting as,  “Something I love to do. It’s a form of meditation.”

Join me for Play Dates—you never know, you may just discover a brand new, fun, kind of you.

ONLY THREE SPACES REMAINING.

ENROL HERE:
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You can feel like Beth, “I feel excited about my journey so far.”

In fact, ‘exciting’ is my theme for next year! If it doesn’t feel exciting. I’m not doing it!

FEEL EXCITED TODAY
DON’T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY

ENROL HERE:

Enjoy a preview

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