I am not an artist. I had my first artistic crisis in first grade when the teacher said that the picturesI had drawn of my family were not realistic because they were wrongly proportioned. All the people in the pictures had really really long legs. Now that I know more about the world, I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder–that teacher was dead wrong. (A note to educators–next time you think there is something wrongly proportioned in the picture drawn by one of your students check out a Picasso or a Modigliani paiting!) At the time, I had long and skinny legs (wish I had kept at least the skinny part of them!)–but I was still shorter than the family members around me. From where I stood those adults had long legs. So that was the end of my artistic endeavors–until now. For the first time in my life I challenged myself to go to a studio to make some notecards. I love writing notes. Each little note requires careful consideration about what is the message I am sending and what is the message that the other person will receive. We cannot ever know how our words will land on someone, but we can be careful and intentional about them. So given this love of notecards, I thought I would challenge myself to make some and challenge the belief that I am not an artist. I can tell you right now–I shall not be selling hand-made cards anytime soon (thank goodness I do not have to work for Hallmark!), but I had fun making a few. No, they are not as desirable as the ones the teacher makes with great love and expertise. But I will be able to send them to some special people and let them know that they took time and effort and intention and yes…even a bit of creativity. And the process gave me a great understanding for the beauty of the work done by others. So, challenge yourself to get outside your comfort zone…what new horizons and understandings will open up for you? Try it and find out!
Life is Amazing! Live Well.

Anna Grassini