My First Post

After having at least 1 major life-altering event in my life each year for the last 5 years and just celebrating (?) my 50th birthday, I felt listless - questioning why I am here - out-of-sync with the world. I half-heartedly searched for something that would help me through this midlife crisis (I hate that term, but I did feel as though I was in crisis). A good friend and coworker introduced me to Sarah Ban Breathnach's book, Simple Abundance. I read a few passages and decided I liked her attitude, so I went in search of a copy of my own. I love to shop betterworldbooks.com because I'm a teacher and I know my purchases are supporting literacy here in the U.S. as well as abroad, so that was my first 'stop'. I discovered Ms. Breathnach has written many books, and I was delighted to find "The Illustrated Discovery Journal - Creating a Visual Autobiography of Your Authentic Self". She had me at 'visual autobiography'. I've been scrap booking for many years (even before it was chic), I'd moved to artist trading cards and finally began dabbling in collage.

This blog was created to follow my journey as I discover my 'authentic self' and let go of my past. I really want to work on a discovery journal, but I know me and I will give up my journal time for others. You'll notice when I describe myself that I list wife, mother, etc. before artist. I was raised in a time when women were taught to put everyone else before themselves. I graduated high school the year that the equal rights amendment was ratified, so I've been part of the generation of women who had to build the bridge from previous expectations to modern ones. I've always been able to assert myself in the workplace, but have had difficulty on the home front. By blogging this process I believe I'll be more likely to take the time to create my journal and currently plan to post pictures of my journal each week. That way I can justify my time spent; because after all, I have promised others that I will post my work. Yes, I know I need to work on this aspect of my life - I'll try :)

I invite you to join me in my journey. If you are already working on such a journal, please consider sharing you experiences. If you have been looking for a way to start a journal and assess your place in the Universe, join the fun. I'd love to hear from you on our journey to discover who we really are and why we are here!