Saturday, February 9th, I had the pleasure of teaching an art collage workshop with eleven women who are currently battling or have somehow been affected by cancer. In our three hour workshop, we shared art supplies, stories, encouragement and chocolate! I believe the day’s 3 greatest takeaways were (1) that art is therapeutic and can calm and soothe stress (2) it is important to take time, schedule whatever time one can afford in their day, to sit and be creative and (3) color can be powerful in enhancing one’s mood! I encourage everyone to tap into their own creativity! It can be as simple as doodling on a scrap piece of paper, but I highly recommend taking it further, and add color!
encouragement
A Side of Fries and...a Cattle Prod!
I recently did something I rarely do...feed my kids fast food. My teenage son had a doctor's appointment and we were racing to get him back to school on time, so I opted for the drive-thru meal! I pulled up to the window after ordering, and was greeted by a young man smiling ear-to-ear. As I paid and took my bag of greasy guilt, the giddy young man exclaimed, "Hey my book came out on Amazon today!!!"
Confused, I stammered, "Wow! That's great!" while wondering what that had to do with my order.
"Yeah I self-published it- you should check it out- its on customer service! I'm the youngest person to write about that topic!"
I was impressed by his smooth elevator pitch, and as he handed me my drink, I woke up to what he was really saying...
He was not your typical fast food employee, that he had taken things into his own hands, got his message on customer service out, and that he had been successful. He chose that particular path and found gratification at a young age. No sending manuscripts, no sitting in "slush piles", and no painful rejection letters! He was now self-published and his message will be heard!
I wished him luck and pulled away.
I drove home thinking about his young entrepreneurial spirit, his infectious enthusiasm, and his guts. I was impressed that In less than five minutes, that young man had served a nutritionally deficient meal with friendly customer service and had empowered the writer in me! And to think if I had taken my son somewhere else for lunch, I wouldn't have received such encouragement about a matter near to my own heart! Perhaps he was sent as a sign, a smiling cattle prod, to get my messages out, self publish my manuscripts and... to eat more salads!
