Monday, June 22, 2009

Quilting Bee #14...Bliss



Good morning everyone!! We are back inside today because it is a chilly 50 degrees here this morning - brrrrrr! Hot coffee for me!! I have set out some delicious coffee cakes this morning just warm out of the oven, lemon poppy seed and cinnamon. I have also placed a huge bowl of fresh fruit, can you smell that melon & delicious yogurt and granola. There is a wonderful Kona coffee today and some sweet tea for those of you who would like iced tea. Thank you for coming by, please pull up a chair!

I love articles about following your bliss. Success stories about folks who suddenly quit their jobs and as lawyers and doctors and started doing that their heart called to them to do. I am always seeing this concept somewhere, follow your bliss. I totally agree.... you will be successful if you follow your bliss. Really it is amazing what some people are successfully at - because of their passion for it. I often think of Steve Irwin when I read these stories. Talk about a man who followed his bliss! Crocs and reptiles..he loved em!! A lifetime obsession turned into a lifetime work. I was deeply saddened - well honestly I cried when I heard he had passed! But...he left such an example of where your bliss can lead you. He could have been an ordinary, passion filled Zoo director, but he propelled that love into a whole other universe...we all loved him and gained an understanding of reptiles in the process. There is just no way you could watch Steve and not feel his bliss - amazing!! Have you watched his daughter Bindy on the Discovery channel? Yup there is that bliss!!

So, I thought I would talk about following your bliss. This is a tricky business, not as simple as it would seem. It takes a bit of bullocks, patience and a thick skin. I think most folks think this concept means becoming an artist or writer, not so....your bliss could be so many things. Starting a charity organization, a bike shop, going back to school to be something other than your current career, anything...even a reptile man!!

How do you know what your bliss is?? What makes your heart sing? Is there something that you do that you become so engrossed you lose track of time and suddenly its three hours later?? Do you loooove it even when no one around you seems to care? Has anyone ever said to you how amazing your "gift" is? Make a list of things you love, anything, everything and then narrow it down to five. If you could do something involving those five things..what would it be?? Brainstorm every possible thing you could do with those five things together or separately. Now comes the tricky part..not looking at the money making issue - don't even consider that...what makes you want to jump in with two feet..what is the universe calling you to do?? This may take a while to figure out be patient with yourself...it will come!

So you know what your bliss is...now what. This is where the bullocks come in...you have to start chipping away at it. For me it's the artwork and the photos, which for me is art if I get it right. Unlike some I do not have the cash to ditch my current profession and just do art, wish I did but not so much. So what now... you go at it like eating an elephant - one little bite at a time, forgive the metaphor..ick, but it makes my point. You all know the last several years of our lives have been money poor so...this is how I started. I asked alot of questions of artists who were on line, how did they start, what places are best for selling online or in the real world etc etc. They answered in droves!! You have to do the footwork...ask and you will get answers! When you have some idea of what it will take to get started...you have to have the bullocks to step off that cliff and take that first little leap. For me it was listing my first piece on Ebay and it scared the crap out of me. I had sold my art for years..little dribs and drabs here and there...but online...this was a huge market!! It was a huge step in my art career!! HUGE!!

So a year and a half later, with some wonderful success..I am inching closer to being a full time artist. As I go along I learn more and more and my muses offer me more ideas...things I never considered doing before..like greeting cards. It just keeps growing as long as I keep feeding it, not like a monster, like a beloved rose bush! You have to keep plugging away at it! There also has to be balance here between what you want and responsibility. I couldn't just quit paying the rent..so I had to balance and organize my time better to fit in the artwork. Over time I will phase out the teaching and increase the artwork..this will take time. There is the patience part!

Now the "no one seems to care" part. It would be wonderful if those around us supported everything we did. Many of us know...that is not always the case. People around you may want you to remain who you are, not change. If you start following your bliss you will change in huge ways. No everyone will see this as a good thing, they may want you to remain the breadwinner, or care provider. They may be a parent who cannot respect your decision to become an actor or artist. Maybe your whole family are doctors and you want to be a lawyer. Maybe you want to go back to school and get your Bachelors or Masters. Just be aware that your following your bliss also means change for those around you so consider the speed as you do this. So even if people around you reject what you are doing...keep at it. Look for objective parties to help you critique your work or ideas. I joined an art group on Ebay, no one knew me and could give me honest feedback about my artwork. Maybe a professional in the field you are interested in, seek out objective advice! Not everyone in the world needs to like what you do...but you need to like what you do. Follow your heart not the market. The market will find you.

So... today I would like you to share your bliss with me. Would you share with us how you have followed your bliss, or what you might like to do?

Speaking of blissful I'm off for some of that delightful fruit and yogurt & some delicious hot coffee. Thank you for joining me today!! Namaste, Sarah

10 comments:

Misty's Creations said...

Sarah,
My bliss is also my art, I put it on the back burner for years and years because everyone in my family needed me to be something else. (literally) I also have to pay the bills but I am doing more of my art now, than I ever have before. Little at a time I would like to work my day job less and my bliss more! My daughters told me to put my art on the computer a couple years ago. Can you point me in any specific directions such as your EBay art group! I know more about my computer now than I did a year or so ago but I am still a bit lost when wandering around the cyber nieghborhood and knowing what's what to promote my art! Thank you for the inspirational post. I too cryied when Steve Irwin died! Wasn't he amazing?
Misty

Anonymous said...

Sarah, this is the weirdest thing - my speech for Toastmasters is called Finding What Makes Your Heart Sing! We are on the same wave length!
My bliss, besides your Quilting Bee would be writing and photography. I get lost in both for hours and hours.
xoxoxo

Holly said...

Bliss...hmm...

Daria said...

I'll have some of that Kona coffee ... can't seem to find any of that here in Edmonton.

My bliss was to go back to school and get some education. I should have that complete by January 2010.

Anonymous said...

I love this question, because I so have the answer! My bliss is running my mission afiveoh4uplifting.org

My second thing is I'm in school again to become a certified Spiritual Life Coach. I love helping people and this is just another beautiful way of doing it.

You're right. A few people will not like it when you change. I'm also noticing as I change I see things and people who need not be apart of my life.

Growth is a divine and beautiful experience!

Love Ya!

Renee said...

Sarah I always learn so much in your quilting bees.

You write beautifully.

Love Renee xoxo

Christine said...

I think I was following my bliss before all the illness. I loved what I did and so enjoyed the people I worked with. So that should tell me what my bliss would be now that I can't work. I'm keeping it to myself for now but thanks for the wake up call. Oh, and thanks for the coffee and cake!

Blessings,
Christine

Judy Merrill-Smith said...

Still figuring out the bliss, but I trust that the answers are already here.

Alicia @ boylerpf said...

It's so funny how you have brought up finding your bliss. Such a complex question and not an easy one to answer. I think over the years, it has changed over and over for me. Perhaps I am one of those jacks of all trades and a master of none. I'm one that finds happiness in something, does te job and then moves on to another. I'm not talking small things like finishing a piece of art work, but big life changes. I think we have to adapt to our situations and what works but you're right...you have to love what you do. I've learned so much from everything that I have done and each ;earning experience comes with me to help in the next endeavor. Now pass over a good cup of that coffee!!

Anonymous said...

OK Sarah, first of all, slice me a giant chunk of that lemom poppy seed cake and pour me a huge cup of hot coffee please!
I LOVE this post!
Yay for you and following your bliss and making a success of your art! I too, LOVE these stories!

I'm trying to work seriously on a book and other projects - getting down to the business of making time to follow my bliss.
I hope to share a successful story one day. For now, I know in my heart, that I'm following a path, even if it's last on my priority and free time list.... at least I'm giving my bliss it's room to grow.

namaste