Why Aren't You Doing Your Art?

WHY AREN'T YOU DOING YOUR ART?

Humans are creative creatures. Period. Everyone is born with a unique creative talent. Your soul knows exactly which creative gift you came brilliantly equipped to contribute to the planet. I suppose in a perfect world, we would all grow up free to express our passions; with parents encouraging us all the way to truly be our unique little selves. But a perfect world would be boring, so the Universe spices things up by making it more challenging than that. Our caregivers and society encourage us to 'become' something that will pay well, or push us to a career that they wished they had had, or, worst of all, tell us that what we are or what we want is wrong or crazy, impractical or impossible.
That might work except for one thing; your soul never forgets what you came to do, and it doesn't stop reminding you with that little nagging feeling.
So many of us grow up and find ourselves living a life that doesn't feel quite right. Maybe we hate what we're doing, or if we don't hate it, we don't feel like we are contributing to the world in quite the right way. If we are doing what they told us we 'should' do, why aren't we happy? They wanted the best for us; we wanted the best for us, what happened?
What would you really like to be doing? Huh? Come on, you know, deep down.
It may not be art, it could be world travel, studying a foreign culture, saving the whales, whatever, you know what it is.
Now, if you think I'm going to recommend that you quit your job, abdicate all responsibility, and go paint in a commune, forget it, I'm not. But since your responsibilities don't take up your whole life, how much time do you spend on soul stuff? Not on church or charity, but good old creative, in-the-zone, flow-experience, soul stuff?
Because we are such creative beings, we come up with some pretty clever excuses for why we can't pursue our heart's desire. Here are some of the ones that I have used and heard:
I don't have time.
If I drag all the supplies out, I won't get to work on it long, then I'll just have to put it all away, it's not worth it.
It's stupid.
I won't earn any money from doing it.
I'm not good enough at it.
I don't have room.
I want to visit Peru, but I don't know why, so that's just crazy.
My family wouldn't approve.
What I want to do changes over time, I never stick with anything, I end up feeling like a flake.
It's not a productive use of my time.
My soul tells me I want something, but I don't know what it is.

Am I ringing any bells?
Ok, here are some responses to the excuses:
I don't have time - A good life coach can help you inventory your life, revealing that you do have the time.
If I drag all the supplies out, I won't get to work on it long, then I'll just have to put it all away, it's not worth it.- Who says it's not worth it? This is Soul Food we're talking about, aren't you worth it? There is also lots of room for possibility thinking here; ways of organizing supplies to make them easy to get in and out.
It's stupid - Do I hear an old voice here? Who exactly told you that?
I won't earn any money from doing it - So? How about the value of joy, peace, happiness? If you allow yourself to dive into it, how do you know there won't be some financial reward down the road? You can't know that.
I'm not good enough at it - So not doing it is making you better? And who is this for again?
I don't have room - A little possibility thinking can remedy this one as well.
I want to visit Peru, but I don't know why, so that's just crazy - Sounds like old voices afraid of anything adventurous. Why do you have to know why? You'll find out once you get there.
My family wouldn't approve - My guess is your family loves you enough to get over you making them a little uncomfortable. Besides, once they get used to your new behavior, they'll be fine.
What I want to do changes over time, I never stick with anything, I end up feeling like a flake - Sounds like you are a "Taster". You are interested in a number of things and you know just how much you want to experience of each of them. Awesome!
It's not a productive use of my time - Who's defining productive? Wouldn't your heart and soul find it productive?
My soul tells me I want something, but I don't know what it is- Congratulations for being so in touch with yourself! You can figure this out. Start with this: What did you love to do as a kid? As a teen? What's fun now?
Did you see your excuse on the list? Do you have a really good one that isn’t? (Email it to me and I'll try and blast it away as well.)
What is the ultimate goal here, really? How about adding more creative, happy hours to your life? Instead of nagging, that little voice is singing!
Here's the bonus: If you give yourself this gift, how you feel about your responsibility tasks can change for the better as well.
Enjoy!
Cyndi Safstrom My Best Life Coach 2007