Serendipitous Surprises

When I started my most recent venture in writing, I explained that I didn't know where it was going to lead me. I didn't need or want to know. I just wanted prance playfully along the path as it became visible, one leap and skip at a time. Well, the path took a surprising turn about which I wanted to share.

Last week, I received an email from one of the ladies in my company who works in Danville, VA. She and I are friends on facebook and she said she'd read my post "Being Someone's 'Angel.'" She asked if she could put it in her Hospice Volunteer Newsletter. Surprised, but pleased I assured her that would be fine and that I was honored she valued it enough to want to share it with others. From this conversation, I decided to show it to my own office's Volunteer Coordinator (henceforth "VC") Teresa. I know she is always looking for pieces to put in her newsletter and if this other VC found my blog interesting, I thought it might be worth showing to Teresa.

She also liked the words and immediately said that she too would like to use it in her newsletter. I was grateful for the compliment and the alacrity of her positive response. I also found myself feeling abnormally surprised and taken aback by her encouragement thinking to myself, "Really? You liked it that much?" I'm not sure why I responded so critically to my own writing. I suppose I've just never shared it beyond the internet world; a world and space that can feel distant despite its public nature.

I then discovered that Teresa shared it with another VC who then asked to know the link to my blog because she now wants to follow it. (Hi Donna!) Then! I find out today that not only did Teresa share it with the VC, but she also forwarded it along to our high up boss who forwarded it along to the woman who collects material for the company-wide newsletter. My boss also wondered about sending it out to the marketing agency that works with our company to potentially bring attention to our hospice in the larger community. Surprise after surprise!

All because of words I wrote. All because of words I wrote.

I feel like this all spiraled so quickly! Just last Monday, my blog was just a place where a few of my friends read about whatever I was currently pondering. I never fancied that a large number of people took interest in it. I'm an external processor and this was just another place that I could sort through my emotions and disorderly brain. And I do feel emotionally cluttered with all this. And since lists go a long way to helping me sort, here's a list of my current emotions: stunned, empowered, grateful, nervous, humbled, overwhelmed, shy, proud, thoughtful, encouraged, and confused.

Confused seems to be chief among my feelings. Confused because I don't quite understand why anything I would write would be valuable to others. How self-deprecating is that?! Especially in light of all that I've been reading from Julia Cameron about all people having a voice and all people being writers. That's all well and good in the privacy of my own journal and the semi-privacy of my blog, but I didn't realize how deeply embedded this feeling of unworthiness as a writer truly is for me. I suppose I have more work to do.

My writing feels valuable for me. It's a way to both experience the world and respond to it. I've always dreamed of becoming a published writer. And by that I mean publishing children's books or maybe even a book about Hospice Chaplaincy. But something like this never occurred to me! After I told my husband all of the above, he said, "You're a published writer." If that's the case, then one more excuse for not being able to call myself a writer has been wiped away from my list of obstacles.

How exciting! And confusing.

Perhaps someday, my other publishing dreams will become a reality. And maybe they will add to our financial livelihood. I think perhaps that's what I meant by being published. Being paid to write. Blech. I don't like defining a beautiful creative process by money. I'll continue to work on disassembling that line of thinking as well.

In the meantime, I'm grateful to report that my words are going to be reaching out to a larger community than I could have imagined. Julia Cameron, in The Artist's Way writes about serendipity, or moments where the Universe responds to our desires and creative yearnings. I think this certainly qualifies as a moment where serendipity has appeared, smiling and waving gleefully! And for now, I'll bashfully wave back feeling grateful for this serendipitous surprise. Thanks to everyone who has always been so supportive. I'm supremely grateful.

-Kelley

P.S. If you're interested in re-reading the blog that started all this, here's a link to "Being Someone's 'Angel'"

Being a Free Spirit

A coworker of mine came to work today with 6 books to share with me, all by a woman artist named SARK. I had never heard of her. My coworker, P, was shocked, "You haven't heard of SARK?" she asked surprised and appalled. I told her, "It's because you're the person whose supposed to introduce her to me." So today....she did.

Here are the titles of the books she shared:
"Creative Companion: How to Free Your Creative Spirit"
"The Bodacious Book of Succulence: Daring to Live your Succulent Wild Life!"
"The Ultimate Nap Book: Change Your Life Without Getting Out of Bed"
"Succulent Wild Woman: Dancing with Your Wonder-full Self!"
"Prosperity Pie: How to Relax About Money and Everything Else"
"Inspiration Sandwich: Stories to Inspire Our Creative Freedom"

I. Am. Enthralled. I love these books already. I want to be this person. What if I wrote books abotu how to be your creative self? I could do that! I want to write children's books about being who you are. Some of my favorite ever books are by a man named Peter H. Reynolds. Two of them are called "Ish" and "The Dot".

I want to live my life as a Free Spirit. Free and Creative. I want to dream and not let my fears get in the way. I want to love and laugh! I want to be me!

Flying High and Energized!

It's official! www.keldanart.com is a LIVE site! We're still very much in the process of adding to the inventory and examples on the page, BUT it's incredible to know that people all over the world could see our artwork! Our facebook fan page has over 100 fans! My business cards are coming next week and Dan's soon thereafter. I'm so excited about all the hope and possibilities. This is me embracing what I love! No more doing something just because I can. Rather, doing the thing that makes my soul dance! Art!

So check out the website. The photographs can all be purchased. The drawings are just examples or what can be done...which means, I'm going to get my hands a-workin' and add to our inventory, hopefully making some ready-to-sell items! Dan's always available for photography and photo editing as well. The Editing portion of the site is awesome. The stuff he can do is so beyond me. I love that he can restore older family photos and brighten, soften, and remove things from photos (like power lines, or parking lots!) that hinder your photos. It's amazing!

It's incredible knowing that one of the things that is helpful for this endeavor is me sitting down and creating art. Sitting down (or bouncing around) and doing that which feeds my soul, and makes me silly. That doesn't seem real. My dad always told me, "You have to love what you do." But I have never embraced that before. But I'm embracing it now.

Welcome to the KelDan Art family, especially for all those who have found this link from our website or facebook page! Welcome to the land of silliness, where we live out our dreams! Welcome to a place where you can have your memories honored in art. Yay for you being here!

Peace!