A Day in the Life of an Artist

“Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Albert Einstein

I got jack diddly squat done this week. I might have made one good meal. I had a few good ideas, but they sat on the shelf while I surfed Instagram (@kelleewynnestudios). There is a pile of paperwork and projects on the dining room table that have been sitting patiently since last Sunday waiting to be hung, just glad they are not locked away in a trunk anymore. Something smells in the kitchen and it’s probably the garbage. My kids are bored with nothing to do – homework I say! – but at last, that’s done. I don’t think I got dressed before noon once. I guess you could say I have lost focus already.

"I get stuck somewhere between fear and the internet."

I wake up wanting to do something fabulous with my day. The sunrise spreads little rays of hope that I will really do something creative and new and special with my precious time. But before long time gets plucked away from me. The minutes are squandered and I am stuck somewhere between fear and the internet. I have all the resources at my fingertips but what if I step out on the wrong path? What if I finally get around to writing, but no one reads it? What if I make a cute bird print, but the idea for a four foot abstract would have been better? What if the laundry still needs to be switched over?

How easy it seems to get lost in our own desperate attempts to start something new. When I was a kid the future seemed to overflow with possibilities. I could be a dancer, a teacher, an artist, or a veterinarian… there was an endless parade of choices before me. Nothing has changed except the time crunch and my mountain of dreams crushing me alive. So I put them all aside and focus on the job I usually know best - taking care of the daily grind. It’s easier than climbing the mountain as these excuses keep rolling in one after the other.

I’ll do it one day, you’ll see. I’ll start painting or writing a novel or start a mass media frenzy…as soon as I sort through my closets and clean out my mind, put the Kindle down and stop postponing my future. You’ll see…if you keep following me…

Tell me how you have the motivation to keep going with your dreams? How do you find the MoJo to have the best week ever? 

Originally posted on mylifewithmonkeys.com 1/13/2012