Happiness is ...

Issue # 37 February 2008
Happiness is loving what you do and doing what you love

Last week a textile artist friend of mine referred me to the website of another artist whose work she has found inspiring, the American quilter, Nancy Crow. So I took a look at www.nancycrow.com.

Apart from the many beautiful quilt patterns, I was impressed by Crow's 'Artist's Statement'. Here's part of it.

"My style of quiltmaking is contemporary in that I want to express my experiences now and not copy old quilts. ... I identify who I am with my art work...in other words, I love the work, the experience of making each quilt. It’s my life, my life’s work! I feel lost not doing art, unsatisfied, anxious, bored. Everything else in comparison seems not terribly important. That is not to say I don’t love my two sons or my husband. I love them dearly but I cannot live through other human beings but rather I feel I can live only through using the talents or gifts I was given and to that end, I have always had a sense of time running out.
I believe in just doing it and not looking for excuses because who really cares in the end? No one but oneself."

I resonated with Crow's assertion that she wants to express her experiences now and not copy old quilts. It reminded me of Peggy Phoenix Dubro's desire to know God, but not the God of previous times. Peggy wanted to have her own contemporary experience of divine energy and eventually she did, leading to the development of the EMF Balancing Technique which is today taught and practiced in nearly 70 countries.

And I admired Crow's willingness to say that she feels she can only live through using the talents and gifts she was given. And finally, her question and answer, 'Who really cares in the end? No-one but oneself', left me saying to myself, Yes, how true.

Nancy Crow's artist's statement reminded me of another friend whose passion is playing the organ.

Some time ago he shared with me how he had put a certain piece of music in the 'too hard' basket. But then he decided to start practicing it. As he put it, '... (the music) does require an awful amount of time to work on (but) this can go for anything: a good painting, a nice piece of furniture, all may take days, many months or even years.'

Then he remarked, ' ... so far I'm happy with what I'm already achieving at a certain level. It is happiness on my journey. I am proud of myself for what I have achieved up till now. ... My goal is to get this difficult music prepared for my next concert and this will give me more happiness and not only to me but also to the listeners.'

Sometimes it can be hard to get on to our own path where we love what we do and do what we love. That is when a coach can be helpful.

A personal coach can help us articulate our experiences of what is important to us and encourage us to focus on 'just doing it'. A skilled coach can give us valuable assistance in letting go beliefs and behaviours that are no longer serving us well and replacing them with a greater use of our natural talents and gifts. A coach can encourage us to be consistent and persistent when we feel discouraged and call us on our blindness when we try to make excuses for lack of results. And a coach can be there to celebrate with us as we reach the various milestones on our journey and remind us of how far we have travelled.

Justus Lewis, PhD, coaches people and organizations who want to invite more happiness and helps therapists develop powerful effective websites that communicate the heart and soul of their business.