Do you have a long lost love?

When I was a little girl there was a lot of interest in what I would be when I grew up.  I was a late in life accident for my parents.  They hadn't planned on having children and then after 10 years I entered the scene.  They wanted a doctor or a lawyer.  And what did they get?  An artist! One day when I was about 5 years old,  I announced that in addition to being a surgeon I also wanted to be a singer.  My mother's best friend said: "If you want to be a surgeon you have to abandon the silly idea of being a singer." I was shocked! Why couldn't I do both? I was told I had to pick one.  As you might imagine I made the wrong choice in my mother's eyes.  Out went the idea of surgery as a profession and in came the idea of a life as a performer. I majored in Theater in college and when I graduated my father couldn't tell people I wanted to be an actress.  He was too ashamed.

Fast forward in time to the Presidency of Bill Clinton.  I remember the day he said that in the current world economy people would most likely find themselves having several jobs/careers in one lifetime. I thought that was great.  I realize that the idea of surgeon by day / singer by night probably still wouldn't fly, however, here's my question to you:  is there something you've always wanted to do that you left behind because you were told it was (pick your adjective) silly, stupid, irresponsible or ...? Here's a radical idea: find a way to incorporate that long lost love into your life this fall.

I'm not suggesting you abandon your career as a Wall Street analyst to become a starving artist.  Nor am I suggesting you quit your job and go back to school full time if you have a mortgage, a family and adult responsibilities.  I am suggesting that there just might be a way to incorporate your love into your life in a sane fashion that actually feeds your Soul.  Let's say you wanted to be a doctor but right after college you met the love of your life and started a family.  Could you set aside time to do volunteer work in a hospital once a week or even once a month?  Does the atmosphere of a hospital make you happy?  Could you go back to school and become a nurse or an LVN? What about acting or singing?  I was talking to a man last year who had just retired as a judge.  I asked what he wanted to do as a teenager.  I was floored when he said he had wanted to be a song & dance man! Now he's free to join a Community Theater.

Maybe you wanted to paint but had no way to support yourself as an artist.  Do you belong to your local museum?  Why not do that this year and pour yourself into an atmosphere that will bring you joy?  What did you leave behind?  How can you re-engage?  Whether it's volunteer work, a class or an internship, there's always a way to embrace an old love. Fall is a wonderful time to start no matter what your journey looks like. 

Remember that being organized will give you an edge because you will have control over your time and how it's to be spent.  Your home will be a nurturing space that supports your creative endeavors.  The easiest way to succeed at getting organized is to have the right motivation.  What better motivation could there be than making time to re-claim a part of yourself you put away to make others happy?  Let me know how this works out for you. You can e-mail me from my website.