Feed Your Soul – Blog

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Embarking On A New Journey!

Is there something you’ve been wanting to do for a very long time, but life keeps steering you in other directions? I have always wished I would have gone to art school. I had an opportunity to do so right out of high school, although I just wasn’t ready to be far away from my family at that time in my life. I’m not sure why I never went, but once I was in my thirties and had a family, busy raising kids, I didn’t have a strong desire to do what it would take to get a four year art degree, I really just wanted to develop my skills and see what I could do. A couple more decades passed and finally, FINALLY I enrolled in an online art mastery program in late summer and I am LOVING every moment of it!!!

I discovered the Milan Art Institute on social media, so was somewhat leery of whether or not it was legit. I did some research, participated in some of their complimentary workshops, loved their story and chose to enroll. It’s all that I have been searching for; learning foundational skills in drawing and oil painting, moving on to mixed media (my favorite) and concluding with setting up an art business. I feel so blessed to have discovered this program and to be able to participate.

I know firsthand that it can be intimidating to try something new, but remember . . . we are brave, we are boldly taking action and we are joy warriors! My wish for you is that if there is something you’ve been wanting to do for a long time, you will discover how to be able to do it and that it will fill your heart as mine is being so abundantly fueled.

It’s good practice to feed our soul!

The Vulnerability of Trying New Things

We all feel vulnerable at times. Some of us don’t like the feeling of vulnerability at all and allow it to stop us in our tracks; some don’t like the feeling of it, but push through and do “it” anyway; some have overcome the power vulnerability can have and don’t give it much thought any longer. Where do you stand? How does the feeling of vulnerability affect you and your decisions?

It used to stop me in my tracks when I was far too concerned with other people’s opinions. I don’t mean that in a rude way! I love people and thoroughly enjoy learning about other people’s perspectives and viewpoints, whether or not they are in alignment with mine. I’m referring to when I would allow what I imagined other people’s opinions of what I was doing to shake my confidence. Fortunately at a fairly young age I realized those other people really weren’t thinking of me nearly as much as I thought they were and at the same time I was becoming more confident in who I was. I also realized the larger my insecurities were, the more vulnerable I felt. I’ve done a lot of things in my life scared, with butterflies fluttering like crazy in my belly, but the more I pushed through and did them anyway, the easier it became and my confidence grew.

I’d love to say that I completely overcame feelings of vulnerability, although I haven’t. I have my first big vendor market coming up next week and it will be the first time I’ll be putting my art out there for a lot of people to see. It’s a little scary! Although I did have a smaller event in late summer and between that event and some online contacts, I’ve sold a number of my pieces, so that is helping my artistic confidence to grow! You know, maybe it’s good to feel a little vulnerable now and then as it allows others to offer comfort, to feel empathy and to share their own stories with us.

Whatever your take on vulnerability, I invite you to grow your confidence so that it is much larger than your insecurity. That practice empowers us to feel the fear and do it anyway, as Susan Jeffers stated in her book, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.

Stay strong fellow joy warriors and choose to be authentically, uniquely, wonderful YOU!

DO YOU EMBRACE YOUR SPIRITUALITY?

Have you ever responded to something that scared you by covering your eyes? That’s how I watch scary movies, and the movies I watch aren’t even that scary! But, hey, it makes the scary stuff disappear, right?! That reaction makes me think of how I believe we sometimes act regarding our spirituality. If we just cover our eyes, we won’t have to think about what it really is or if we are spiritual.

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DO YOU KNOW WHAT FEEDS YOUR SOUL?

DO YOU KNOW WHAT FEEDS YOUR SOUL?

My husband and I kill flowers. We don’t mean to, in fact we love flowers. So much so that we buy them and plant them all around our yard and patio every year to enjoy. We water them, feed them healthy plant food, even talk nicely to them, until we get distracted ~ by life, work, dinners out, vacations, running here and there.

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IS YOUR SOUL RESTLESS?

Does your soul feel lost, like something is missing that it needs to find? Are you always searching? Wanting to learn more, do more, see more, experience more? Do people in your life suggest you’re restless or will never be satisfied? Maybe you’ve been told you need to become more responsible, get a ‘real’ job, accept responsibilities, stop being a dreamer, just pick one thing and stick to it? I’ve heard all those things too.

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ARE YOU MAKING CONSCIOUS CHOICES?

ARE YOU MAKING CONSCIOUS CHOICES?

I realized one day not too long ago that I had strayed greatly from my authentic self. I know the term ‘authentic self’ may sound cliche, but there is a lot of powerful meaning behind it. Living our authentic life, being our authentic self, merely means to stay in alignment of what feels genuine to us. It’s NOT allowing ourselves to be so influenced by what other people say or think (or what we think other people say or think), or what we believe is socially accepted, that we’re not sure of who our authentic self is any longer.

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HAPPINESS AND JOY BEGIN IN OUR BRAIN

Say what? Is this true? Yes, it is absolutely true! Joy, happiness, positive thoughts, being optimistic; however you describe it, most of us want our lives to have more of it. We tend to think that outside influences will determine whether we are happy or sad, joyful or depressed, but perhaps we’ve been looking at it from the wrong side of the coin. What if happiness and joy begin and end with our own thoughts, which allow us to see more happiness and joy in our daily life?

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