Your words really spoke to me. They took me back to my college days in the 70's and a poster in a restroom in a campus office. It was from Rainer Maria Rilke. “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves." I have carried that thought with me through the years as I quickly rush to solutions (human doing mode) instead of accepting the uncertainty and giving it space to teach me (human being mode). He wrote it in his LETTERS TO A YOUNG POET and said this: “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” I find this deep wisdom.
I think your tokens of love matter immensely as does this time with your teenage/emerging adult daughter.
Melissa, just when I needed this reminder to slow down and embrace the questions rather than rush to answers, here you are :)
Thank you for sharing this wisdom that has traveled with you since your college days. It feels like receiving a precious gift, passed down through time. And, yes, the time with my daughter is teaching me exactly this: to live the questions, to be present in the uncertainty, to trust the unfolding.
Thank you for this beautiful connection and reminder to breathe into the questions.
I just want to say that handing out these tokens has been an eye-opening experience for me. Not only does it bring joy to the recipient, but it's changing the way I see people. I hope you will continue to inspire us, but I think worrying about the commercial aspects would be a mistake. You should do whatever makes you happy.
Thank you for being a kindness ambassador! I know what you mean about seeing the world differently, really noticing, observing, slowing down, connecting -- these little tokens are so much more than what they seem to be. And I appreciate your guidance ... I've always been one to lean into my gut and it's telling me to not fall for the hustle trap but to follow my intuition and do this my way.
Such important and difficult questions to ponder, Mansi. Everyone will come at this from a different context because not everyone is in a position, of course, to chart this same kind of path. It sounds to me like you know your answer and what feels most fulfilling to you.
"I love giving away my art more than selling it. There’s something pure about watching someone’s face light up when they receive an unexpected gift, something that feels more valuable than any amount in my bank account ... something that doesn’t come — can not come — with a price tag."
Not everything has to be a business - or a business with a goal of bringing in income. Maybe you will feel differently once your daughter is older and the boundaries of your daily life change -- or maybe you won't. You can always reevaluate at that point. Nothing you decide now is set in stone.
I think following your intuition and heart is also true to you and the spirt and generosity of your art.
Oh, Amy! You've captured exactly what I've been wrestling with -- and you're right that I do know my answer, even as I grapple with the question of 'how much is enough?' I especially appreciate your reminder that nothing is set in stone... it feels like permission to breathe, to trust this path I'm on while staying open to how life's seasons may shift and flow. Thank you for seeing and affirming my journey... and for what feels like a warm hug through the interwebs. ❤️
I’m glad to see your reply - somehow I missed it. I’ve seen your subsequent notes, and I know you are still grappling. I think there is always grappling to do—no matter what our situation and how we view our art. There are always pros and cons. It seems to me that you do keep pushing — which seems to suggest the “grow-the-business” side doesn’t let go easily. But I hope you simply find peace with the questions in your current situation. Finding peace in the making and giving adds to the authenticity of your kindness tokens. But, yes, definitely the path is one you are always building and defining. It will always be changing. Wishing you a peaceful January.
Sitting with them, these questions, and letting things be. I do believe the answers show themselves when the time is right. Thank you for your empathy and support, Amy. It means a lot.
Since I met my husband, I have been lucky enough, like you - to not have to worry about supporting myself and have often felt the guilt that is ingrained into us that I am not adding financially to our home. however this has allowed me to realise the difference between making art because it fulfills a need in me and making art for others. when I make art to put up on IG, It is much harder than when I simply make what brings me joy. It doesn't sound like much of a difference but it truly is. I love you and your giving of art. You have such a full heart that I would never want you to sully it with the greed and money centricity that the world is today. If you can, stay away from it and continue giving I don't think that that is a cop out as the outside world might see it. I think it is being true to your self.
Thank you, Vicki, for sharing and for your encouragement. I understand that difference all too well and, as often as I posted content on IG, there is still so much I never photographed or recorded the process for because I wanted to just be one with the process. It almost feels like sacrilege sometimes to record every moment…I am deeply grateful for all the connections I’ve made via social media since 2010 but it truly feels like there’s so much more to living than having a digital presence or checking every box off to wear the “Look at me, I am successful” badge.
When my mother’s second husband died suddenly, she received many cards of condolence. But there was one that stood out among all the others. It was a kind of folded triptych of a watercolor much like your small tokens of love. I can't tell you how much that meant to me, that someone would spend so many hours creating such a caring gift that was clearly made for my mother in her time of need. Please keep doing what you're doing.
I’m so sorry to hear about your loss and at the same time grateful for the person who made that little token of love … sending a piece of themselves to your mom.
Thank you for the encouragement — it is a gift that keeps on giving, both to the recipient and to me.
Oh, Mansi! Stop worrying! THAT is a complete waste of time. Your biggest "duty" now is to be as WITH Mira as you can! What a WONDERFUL mother you're being! I'm a bit jealous! Ha! If your gut needs for you to do something else, then dip. your feet in a few ponds and see how they feel. If you haven't figured out. exactly what you need to do, then sit on it. Wait for some true "sparks" to appear. And if they don't yet, then continue waiting. Trust the universe to give you what you need when. you're ready for it, I absolutely LOVE how much you want to be involved with your daughter. I praise that! Meanwhile, don't be hard on yourself! We all love you for you, and for what you've already shared with us!!! Create when you can, and PLEASE SHARE, and then don't when you don't feel like it. It's that simple. (heart)!
Your words really spoke to me. They took me back to my college days in the 70's and a poster in a restroom in a campus office. It was from Rainer Maria Rilke. “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves." I have carried that thought with me through the years as I quickly rush to solutions (human doing mode) instead of accepting the uncertainty and giving it space to teach me (human being mode). He wrote it in his LETTERS TO A YOUNG POET and said this: “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” I find this deep wisdom.
I think your tokens of love matter immensely as does this time with your teenage/emerging adult daughter.
Melissa, just when I needed this reminder to slow down and embrace the questions rather than rush to answers, here you are :)
Thank you for sharing this wisdom that has traveled with you since your college days. It feels like receiving a precious gift, passed down through time. And, yes, the time with my daughter is teaching me exactly this: to live the questions, to be present in the uncertainty, to trust the unfolding.
Thank you for this beautiful connection and reminder to breathe into the questions.
I just want to say that handing out these tokens has been an eye-opening experience for me. Not only does it bring joy to the recipient, but it's changing the way I see people. I hope you will continue to inspire us, but I think worrying about the commercial aspects would be a mistake. You should do whatever makes you happy.
Thank you for being a kindness ambassador! I know what you mean about seeing the world differently, really noticing, observing, slowing down, connecting -- these little tokens are so much more than what they seem to be. And I appreciate your guidance ... I've always been one to lean into my gut and it's telling me to not fall for the hustle trap but to follow my intuition and do this my way.
Such important and difficult questions to ponder, Mansi. Everyone will come at this from a different context because not everyone is in a position, of course, to chart this same kind of path. It sounds to me like you know your answer and what feels most fulfilling to you.
"I love giving away my art more than selling it. There’s something pure about watching someone’s face light up when they receive an unexpected gift, something that feels more valuable than any amount in my bank account ... something that doesn’t come — can not come — with a price tag."
Not everything has to be a business - or a business with a goal of bringing in income. Maybe you will feel differently once your daughter is older and the boundaries of your daily life change -- or maybe you won't. You can always reevaluate at that point. Nothing you decide now is set in stone.
I think following your intuition and heart is also true to you and the spirt and generosity of your art.
Oh, Amy! You've captured exactly what I've been wrestling with -- and you're right that I do know my answer, even as I grapple with the question of 'how much is enough?' I especially appreciate your reminder that nothing is set in stone... it feels like permission to breathe, to trust this path I'm on while staying open to how life's seasons may shift and flow. Thank you for seeing and affirming my journey... and for what feels like a warm hug through the interwebs. ❤️
I’m glad to see your reply - somehow I missed it. I’ve seen your subsequent notes, and I know you are still grappling. I think there is always grappling to do—no matter what our situation and how we view our art. There are always pros and cons. It seems to me that you do keep pushing — which seems to suggest the “grow-the-business” side doesn’t let go easily. But I hope you simply find peace with the questions in your current situation. Finding peace in the making and giving adds to the authenticity of your kindness tokens. But, yes, definitely the path is one you are always building and defining. It will always be changing. Wishing you a peaceful January.
Sitting with them, these questions, and letting things be. I do believe the answers show themselves when the time is right. Thank you for your empathy and support, Amy. It means a lot.
Since I met my husband, I have been lucky enough, like you - to not have to worry about supporting myself and have often felt the guilt that is ingrained into us that I am not adding financially to our home. however this has allowed me to realise the difference between making art because it fulfills a need in me and making art for others. when I make art to put up on IG, It is much harder than when I simply make what brings me joy. It doesn't sound like much of a difference but it truly is. I love you and your giving of art. You have such a full heart that I would never want you to sully it with the greed and money centricity that the world is today. If you can, stay away from it and continue giving I don't think that that is a cop out as the outside world might see it. I think it is being true to your self.
Thank you, Vicki, for sharing and for your encouragement. I understand that difference all too well and, as often as I posted content on IG, there is still so much I never photographed or recorded the process for because I wanted to just be one with the process. It almost feels like sacrilege sometimes to record every moment…I am deeply grateful for all the connections I’ve made via social media since 2010 but it truly feels like there’s so much more to living than having a digital presence or checking every box off to wear the “Look at me, I am successful” badge.
When my mother’s second husband died suddenly, she received many cards of condolence. But there was one that stood out among all the others. It was a kind of folded triptych of a watercolor much like your small tokens of love. I can't tell you how much that meant to me, that someone would spend so many hours creating such a caring gift that was clearly made for my mother in her time of need. Please keep doing what you're doing.
I’m so sorry to hear about your loss and at the same time grateful for the person who made that little token of love … sending a piece of themselves to your mom.
Thank you for the encouragement — it is a gift that keeps on giving, both to the recipient and to me.
Oh, Mansi! Stop worrying! THAT is a complete waste of time. Your biggest "duty" now is to be as WITH Mira as you can! What a WONDERFUL mother you're being! I'm a bit jealous! Ha! If your gut needs for you to do something else, then dip. your feet in a few ponds and see how they feel. If you haven't figured out. exactly what you need to do, then sit on it. Wait for some true "sparks" to appear. And if they don't yet, then continue waiting. Trust the universe to give you what you need when. you're ready for it, I absolutely LOVE how much you want to be involved with your daughter. I praise that! Meanwhile, don't be hard on yourself! We all love you for you, and for what you've already shared with us!!! Create when you can, and PLEASE SHARE, and then don't when you don't feel like it. It's that simple. (heart)!
I appreciate you so much, Georgia. Thank you for always giving me the boost I need.