Heather Carpenter Photography: We can't do everything...

~~I have to~~ My husband has to constantly remind me that I can NOT do it all. I've always been a big, BIG dreamer but I was tired of sitting around & waiting for life to come to me. This year, my New Year's Resolution was to go from dreamer to doer. Since then, I have accomplished a lot of things in very short amount of time which is great, but...I rarely stop and smell the roses anymore. I want to do everything & since I am a very results-oriented person, I want to see it all happen ASAP. As you could have concluded, this causes me a great deal of stress, frustration, anger, disappointment...you name it, I've felt it within the past month.

I'm starting to slow down a little bit in some areas. I enrolled in art classes at the local vo-tech school. For 3.5 hours a week, all I do is give my undivided attention to a blank $8 canvas. It is the most relaxing, stress-relieving thing that I could have done for myself. I've adjusted my busy schedule to fit in this small window of meditation and reflection, & I'm so thankful. It's really teaching me so much about myself.

Not only that, it's a creative outlet for me. I get so bogged down in all the design legality of my day job - I forget about "breaking the rules" & "thinking outside the box" in my photography & design. Painting rejuvenates that free-spirited, inner flower child. When I get stressed at home now, I bust out the oils & just let me imagination run wild. I'm a colorful abstract painter - who'da thunk it? ::sarcasm::

Anyone who knows me well knows I develop extreme ADD if I'm not engaged in something I'm 100% interested in, so I was a little nervous about the 3 hour class. Surprisingly, time just FLIES by there. I've learned to focus in on the tiniest of details instead of zooming through the big picture saying "success" or "fail". I've learned to channel the energy & emotion I'm feeling into a masterpiece. Last week, I spent 3 hours on about 3 square inches of an oil painting. That's a miracle seeing as I barely have the attention span it takes to un-tie and re-tie my shoes before going to the gym (ask my husband - it's a stressful 30-second ordeal.)

The greatest thing my instructor has taught me about oil painting is that it's all about "perfecting the imperfect." The paint doesn't fully dry for weeks & even when it does dry you can paint over your mistakes. So allegorically, I've started to use that way of thinking in my own life. I don't have to give up on a goal or project just because I've made a complete mess along the way. I just step away, refocus & work on it again later - which will most likely lead to more successes (and optimism!) in the end.

My point is...we can't do it all & trying to do it all will result in complete burn-out. Everyone needs to find an outlet that refocuses & inspires them. Sign up for a new class, start a new hobby, have a craft night with friends, join a yoga or gym class, go read a book outside, schedule one inexpensive, fun date a week with your significant other...

Sometimes we become SO focused on who we want to be, where we want to go & things we want to accomplish that we miss out on all the wonderfully amazing things that God is patiently waiting to do THROUGH us. Ask Him, then shut up & listen.

We all know that we want God to tell us to continue to do exactly what we're doing at the rapid pace we're doing it all.... But if you're not finding any joy in it. If you're constantly running into closed doors. If you & your family are suffering or will inevitably suffer because of the way it impacts you or your self-worth. Ask again, unbiasedly. Your answer may lead you down a completely different path or it may just provide you with the outlet you NEED to blow off some steam. However, I have no doubt that in the end, it will rock your world. :)