Transitions

I was just reading over my first blog here… all about my lofty dream.  I still have that dream, but some of the specifics have changed a bit.  I said in that entry that I wanted to run my own “Art 4 Justice” company and website.  That part has evolved into something I’m now calling Voice Is Power (VIP).  The idea is to start a non-profit organization called the Voice Is Power Foundation, which will raise money through educational programs, performances, and donations to bring more peace and justice into the world.  The Foundation will give 100% of its profit to organizations and projects that help bring people out of poverty and into lives of dignity and authentic power.  One idea of an organization I’d like to put some money into is Kiva (www.kiva.org), which changes people’s lives and helps to bring them out of poverty by giving micro-loans.

The main educational course, Voice Is Power, will be a holistic course for writing, singing, and speaking out, designed to teach people to recognize the power of their own voices, how to use their voices for healing, empowerment, justice, and peace, and to find where their passions and the world’s needs connect.  I’m working on writing the curriculum for this course now.

Right now, I’m in a transitional period in my life – looking for a job in order to save some money to move to the mainland with Susan, still working for Kids Talk Story (a creative writing program) part of the time, working on my own curriculum ideas when possible… dreaming and planning for the future.  I suppose one could argue that life itself is a bunch of transitions, because things are always changing.  But right now, I have that very strong feeling of being unsettled that usually comes with big transitions – of being simultaneously excited and scared of what will come next.

 

Mastering the Art of Living

I have a good problem:  I have a lot of interests!  I keep trying to consolidate all of my interests into one “career,” so that I can do what I love all the time and get paid for it.  That’s the dream, anyway.  And I think it’s a good dream, a great thing to strive for… unless trying to make all my interests into a job would either ruin the fun of them (which I’ve experienced before) and/or turn them into something they’re not really meant to be for me.  For example, if I love doing yoga, does that mean I should become a yoga instructor?  Not necessarily.  Maybe I should just do yoga in the comfort of my own home, in absolute solitude, for my own well-being, with no money or strings attached.

Maybe sometimes our “trying to make a living” gets confused or entangled with “trying to make a life.”  I DO want to make a decent living, so that I can have a place to live and food to eat.  However, what I really want is to master the art of living – not making a living, but living itself. I think the confusion comes in because I live in a society that values work and money above everything else – above even one’s well-being or life.  I am trained to always look for ways to make money.  If I love writing, make a career of it.  If I love singing, become a professional singer.  And even more often, unfortunately, those messages don’t come with one’s interests in mind; instead of “make money doing what you love,” the message is “make money however you can, no matter how unethical it may be.  It is a dog-eat-dog world, and you have to look out for #1.”  I do not subscribe to that belief.  I believe that I can do something I love for a living.  But even more, I think that I can have a happy life and that work is only a part of it.

I’ve had a couple ideas recently.  One is to record on GarageBand my own a capella version of The Fray’s song, Never Say Never. Another is to write what I call a “fragmented memoir.”  This would be a memoir with different sections giving a different perspective on my life.  One would be my life as a tragedy.  Another would be my life as a comedy… and so on.

What is the significance of these ideas?  Maybe nothing.  Will they lead me to a way to make a living?  Maybe, maybe not.  Or a life?  Maybe, maybe not.  I can only hope that following my heart’s desires, however strange or disconnected from the rest of my life they may seem, will lead me in a positive direction.  In the very least, I think that it will make me more in tune with myself and my own intuition.  And that alone is very valuable.

A Blog of Lofty Dreams

I’m starting this blog as I set a new goal.  And no, not just any goal, but a big, lofty goal.  This will be my space to dream, and to turn my dreams into reality.  Here is my new lofty goal:

To make at least $100,000 per year (that’s the lofty part) doing what I love, which includes singing, writing, performing, leading a group of fantastic performers, running my own “Art 4 Justice” company and website, bringing awareness to important social and political issues, and building a strong community of kind, caring artists dedicated to making the world a better place.

Why?  Well, I’m sure I’m not alone in wanting to make a living doing what I love.  We all want to be happy, and with the amount of time we spend working, it seems that being able to work at something we really love sure would contribute to our level of happiness.

Why $100,000 per year?  Great question.  Many artists, musicians, and poets just accept that money often does not come along with their creative pursuits.  They resolve to being poor, even starving, artists.  I know that many struggle to make even a meager living, and in the end, I am fine with just getting by (although, I don’t want to starve!).  However, this is my space to really dream.  My dream is to make a great income in order to support myself AND help others in need. I don’t want this money so that I can buy a mansion and a pile of diamonds; I want it, because I am dedicated to bringing more peace and justice into the world.  People with a lot of money don’t always know what to do with it, and they end up wasting it on extravagant material items that they think will make them happier (and never do).  If I have more money than I need, I will give it to organizations that are working hard to make a positive difference in the world.  In one of my blogs here I will make a list of some of the organizations I have found thus far that I think are really worthy of support.  My intention is to always live within my means, not to create a life of luxury for myself while so many others in the world are going hungry and dying of very curable diseases.  I want to put that extra money to good use and help those in need.  I have been blessed with a relatively rich life, and I vow to try to make things more fair for all in the world, whether I have a bunch of money to help me do it or just my imagination and dedication.

I’ve created a list of tasks to complete as I start this journey.  Here are my first tasks:

• Go to MuseDaze on Tuesdays (http://www.poorwettree.com/Home/musedaze-on-tuesdays) – a new, free poetry workshop for adults.  I’ll check it out, and decide whether it is something I want to continue.
• Simply make a list of songs that bring me great joy.  I’ll go through my CDs, look through songs I’ve written myself, do some research online, and reconnect with the music that makes me smile.

Also, this blog is a step towards my goal.  Welcome to my journey…