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In my last blog I wrote about stepping back. It seemed to contradict the whole idea of not letting go of your dream, never giving up etc etc.

I want to try to explain it all a little further by sharing some thoughts from my heart…..

Over the past two months I have been really challenged in my art career. You see, my dream is to make a living doing what I love, that is, creating art! To be a full time professional artist and to take my art on my travels, this is my dream!

I have worked hard over the past ten years, learning my craft and developing my own unique style. Marketing, networking and helping others along the way. It’s been pretty full on, but the dream has never left my heart.

Sometimes the going gets tough. The road is long and the dream can seem a long way off.

 

Do you remember the old saying, “if you love something let it go; if it was yours it will come back to you”?

I think dreams can be like that at some stage.

 

Sometimes we are so desperate for something to happen that we suffocate it to death. We try to make it happen so hard that it can’t breathe. We try to bring it to birth before it, or us, are ready.

When we have done all we can, (and it may even feel like we have come to a dead end), it’s time to let the dream ‘breathe’.

 

Like a good wine or a fine cheese, it needs time and space to grow wings and fly.

 

I think there is a time of ‘letting go’. Now, I didn’t say ‘giving up’, no way! That’s a different thing!

 

We plow the ground and plant the seed, water it well and then? We have to WAIT for the growth to come.

That’s the hard part. The waiting. I mean ten years is a long time to wait!

But that’s where faith comes in. Faith to believe that the dream planted in your heart can come to pass if you never give up and set your goals to make it a reality.

 

During that time of letting go it is a good opportunity to spend some time resetting your goals. Redefine your dream.

Make sure you know what you really want.

Then, when you are refreshed  and revitalized, get back on your feet and set off again.

 

It’s all a journey. The trick is enjoying it along the way!

What do  you think? Share your thoughts and experiences, if you would like to

ciao for now,

A few days back I wrote about dreams and the importance of setting goals so that you and I can realize those dreams.

Now I’m writing about ‘stepping back’. Seems to be a contradiction, right?

Well, not really.

 

It’s necessary to step back now and then to assess if our goals are on track or do we need to make some changes? Is a little ‘tweeking’ needed?

 

After I came back from Paris in October, I was all fired up. Inspired, excited but also exhausted. As soon as I stepped off the plane in Sydney I got hit by all our springtime pollen which eventually led to me being sick with asthma and chest infections for about six weeks.

 

All the motivation, energy and inspiration gradually seeped away. I was ‘re-entering the atmosphere of the real world!

 

I pushed myself hard in the studio, even though I was ill, working on five different paintings. Swapping from one to the other as each was put aside to dry in between layers of mixed media.

 

I was like someone possessed! Desperate to get my ideas down on to canvas before they evaporated into thin air. What if I got hit with ‘artists block’? Dread of dreads!

I didn’t get hit with artists block…. but I did get hit with exhaustion.

 

It was time to step back and have a fresh look at what I was doing and why.                                                                                                                                                     

Was I enjoying my art or had it now become a ‘job’?

 

It was time to reset my goals. What was my dream? How do I eat an elephant?

Oh yeh, that’s right…. one bite at a time! Not all in one day!

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither are your dreams. A day at a time, bit by bit.

 

Stop and take time to smell the roses. Love the people in your life and tell them as often as possible. Spend time with good friends, remember to laugh each day. Take care of yourself and learn to love who you are…after all, you have to be with you all the time, so you might as well enjoy your own company

 

And don’t forget to dream and dream big…then set your goals to achieve those dreams. But remember, one day at a time, bit by bit.

Ciao for now

Liv @ Olivia Alexander Fine Art