Becoming An Artist

 Aloha Reader,

When I was a young girl, I would often tell people I want to be an artist when I grew up. That didn't pan out back then, as I was encouraged to become either a lawyer or accountant. This was a very common suggestion for a teenager, growing up in a predominately blue-collar household in the 80s and 90s. Because I loved numbers and personally lived with a strong moral compass, I chose the accounting route (as lawyers rated much lower as a trusted profession), eventually obtaining my certification in 2007 in the state of Massachusetts.

A few decades ago, I expanded my definition of being an artist, as a profession/title, often mentioning to my manicurist she was a beautiful artist. As my friend, Heidi, recently commented on my LinkedIn post "Beauty can be found everywhere." and as I sat with this statement, I also thought, yes, she's right and if that's true, artists can be found everywhere - whether they are paid for their time or not.

You could only imagine how sweetly I was taken aback one day when I mentioned to my son how I hadn't become an artist, while we discussed his future as a soccer pro, and he proudly replied: "But mama, you are an artist! A food artist." During this playful exchange, it provided me both a cute perspective on the artist profession and served as a reminder kids are always watching and listening to their parents. It was also first time I acknowledged myself as a true artist. This memory, which surfaced for me last summer, also provided me faith and confidence, despite what his custody/captors told him about me. [As of this date, I have not received confirmation he's safe, conversely I've received threatening text messages & phone calls that I will never see him again. Sad, eh? Yeah, that's one word for it. Even though I hold full confidence we'll get justice soon, it's been a long, a$$ dusty road, which frankly, is exhausting most of the time.]

To me, my greatest masterpiece has been the creation of my son so to have him comment this, well, what a moment.

May you notice beauty everywhere, while embracing and honoring your inner artist.

With Aloha,

Heidi