How?

I have no idea how.

But it was a pretty good-sounding manifesto I wrote in my last post.

What I discovered in the last month of mulling this all over was that I have to leave the how out of it!

I decided to start simply. What am I interested in?

An artist is who I am. Of that I am certain. But, what is Susan The Artist interested in doing with all that creativity and talent?

If I think of my life as a circle, then I have no beginning and no end. I am flowing on the periphery of that circle somewhere. I need to focus on where it is that I am on the circle.

I am an artist mentor for homeless and/or abused children. In other words, all the children I mentor are homeless, but not all have been abused. I spend most of my disposable income on art supplies for them. Supplies are expensive. I have all but stopped creating my own art. I have inadvertently gotten more involved with coaching and mentoring than I have in creating my own art. At this point in my journey, I realize that I am out of balance, which means I need to make a shift.

"Get in tune to the frequency of being an artist and coaching people to heal using art to heal."

This is a very circular thought.

Get in tune to the frequency of being an artist and coaching people to heal using art to heal. Using art to heal get in tune to the frequency of being an artist and coaching people to heal. 

What interests me led me to the how.

How? Use art to heal.

Well-Being Enterprise

I might as well be a sloth. I am a slow-moving American mammal that power lounges on couches and beds as much as possible. I avoid working, if at all possible.  The best word to describe how I feel is "sluggish." I feel like a slug. I cannot seem to get moving physically. I am suffering from inactivity. I fell asleep driving to work a couple of weeks ago. The one thing I do not feel is "apathy." I really care about the fact that I am sliding down the slippery slope of complacency and letting myself go.  It needs to change. It needs to change NOW.

I am starting my own well-being enterprise. I have no idea how to get out of this funk, but I WILL figure it out. Last night, I bought two Groupons - One was for hot yoga and the other was for three months of downloadable yoga videos. Typically, I buy these items and never use them; or use them once or twice and let it go. I need to develop some stick-to-it-iveness. I believe I have stumbled upon sub-project number 1:  Stick-to-it-iveness: Who, what, where, when, how, and why.  Who are the people who develop habits that they are able to maintain? What are their methods? Where do they learn from? When do they find the time to focus on wellness? How do they make their own well being a priority? Why are they able to "do it" and I am not?

This will be my first task - to figure out how other people do it. First, I will research who has done it. Then I will read all about them and glean what I can about their methods. Who knows? Maybe one of them has written a book that might be helpful.

Why blog? I want to chronicle my thought process and how I progress in my endeavor to find my well-being. I want to hold myself accountable.

Hi! It's me, Susan

Please tell me how you do it?
 

Warming Up

I spent over an hour, before coffee, writing my first blog post of 2014. Mistake. Never do that! I got it just the way I wanted it and tried to upload a photo. I uploaded two the same by accident. I highlighted one of the photos and pressed my delete key. My entire post disappeared. I am going to stop now, get my coffee, and get warmed up first. Then I will try again....

Unfinished "Warming Up" by Susan English 2014

This is a sketch on a scrap piece of paper that turned into a mixed media piece.