Monday, June 14, 2010

What I Love To Do

Do you have a paying vocation or a job that pays for your vocation?

Some people get to love their jobs because they are doing what they are good at and what they enjoy doing at the same time.  Then there are those of us who have a job, hopefully it's a good job, that allows us time and money to do those things we love to do in our spare time.

Whenever I take one of those what do you want to be when you grow up tests it always points me to a job that I'd be good at but not something that inspires or excites me.

My other priorities prevent me from throwing it all away to do what I love. But I do love my other priorities - My family, home and faith all create reasons for me to have stable employment.  What I'd love to do for a living would not represent a stable income. In fact it's pretty much a given that you cannot make much money doing what I love to do.

Then there are other conflicts. Emotional blocks, physical limitations, those things that make me shy of standing up and saying; "Hey I'm over here come have a look at what I love to do."

What I love to do is create stuff. Artistically I work in mixed media creating characters made of polymer clay, wood, metal and cloth.  I also work in fibers knitting, quilting, sewing together what you would call whimsical yet functional art.  It always gives me pleasure but rarely results in much monetary gain. In fact a majority of the time I give it away or donate it for fund raising to support one of my other loves.

So I struggle with a conflict created by this situation. At times I am quite content to be this way and keep my art private and personal then there are times when I envy people who do what they want and like to do and get paid for it.


Wishing you all an opportunity to do what you enjoy and enjoy what you are doing.