Do It Now.

Bonvoyage07_2
There's a new show on called "Farmer Wants a Wife". I watched it b/c it came in right after my favorite show (don't laugh), "America's Next Top Model", and the remote wasn't nearby. Has it really come to this? City girls chasing chickens to prove that they are worth loving? Meh...

Anyhoo, my post really has nothing to do with that show. My post has everything to do with following your gut, your spirit, God, that little voice...whatever you happen to call it, follow it. Whether it be living the way YOU want to live, defining success on your own terms, being compelled to do something 'different' in an audition...whatever. Do it. Not for the sake of being different or garnering praise, but because all else is false, and deep down we all know that 'false' doesn't feel good. I have had several conversations with and about various people lately, each acutely aware of living inauthentic lives, not by MY definition, but by their own. The most recent: The friend of a friend who intended to become an attorney, but now she is in her 40s, with children, says it is too late, and that she will be 50 by the time she gets out of law school. In my opinion, to paraphrase an old anecdote: she's going to be 50 ANYWAY, she might as well be 50 and an attorney, if that's her heart's true desire.

Lawyer jokes not withstanding, it is generally considered respectable to go to law school and become an attorney. The same with being a doctor. But professions such as acting, singing, writing...that kind of stuff? Frivolous. How much more difficult, then, is it for artists to take themselves seriously? Many frustrated artists find themselves unhappily settling. Don't deprive yourself of the life you were meant to live, and don't shortchange the world of your voice. Each of us is an individual, but we all fit together like a puzzle. When one of us is not in place, the big picture suffers.

As long as there is breath in your body, you can make a different choice. It isn't always easy, but what's the alternative? Dig deep. Don't die with a symphony, an unwritten novel, an unexpressed monologue inside of you. Someone needs what you have to give.

--Nicole J. Butler