In this book Dr. Brown walks you through 10 guideposts for whole hearted living. When I first read this book, I was in the middle of my "great unraveling of 2018." I was burned out and struggling with compassion fatigue in general practice. I read this book and it turned the course of my life.
People may call what happens at midlife "a crisis," but it's not. It's an unraveling - a time when you feel a desperate pull to live the life you want to live, not the one you're "supposed" to live. The unraveling is a time you are challenged by the universe to let go of who you think you are supposed to be and to embrace who you are.
At the time I was still determined to make general practice work, but I realized that it's not where I'm happy. So I stopped fighting what I realized to be true... and I quit. I've never quit anything in my life (...Boundaries is a new favorite subject). I spent 18 months as a stay at home mom, and I loved every minute of it. I had time to teach students at bible study. I had time to play. I had time to paint and cook nutritious dinners for my family. I had time to travel. And...when I was offered a full time position at Mizzou to teach veterinary students, I was in a position where I could make that leap. I'm so much happier in my new position, but the quote I shared above was instrumental in getting me there.
I'm not going to go into all the guideposts in this post, but I did want to mention 1: Cultivating Creativity and Letting Go of Comparison. Comparison is the thief of joy...and also the destroyer of creativity. How many of you joyfully created art as a young child only to start comparing yourself to the "good artists" and stop? What a tragedy! When I see my little children doing art, I compliment them wildly. I mat their pictures. I share them on my art page. I want to raise fearless artists who create art because God gave us a spark of His creativity. I want to nurture that spark!
1. "I'm not very creative" doesn't work. There's no such thing as creative people and non-creative people. There are only people who use their creativity and people who don't. Unused creativity doesn't just disappear. It lives within us until it's expressed, neglected to death, or suffocated by resentment and fear.
2. The only unique contribution that we will ever make in this world will be born of our creativity.
3. If we want to make meaning, we need to make art. Cook, write, draw, doodle, paint, scrapbook, take pictures, collage, knit, rebuild an engine, sculpt, dance, decorate, act, sing - it doesn't matter. As long as we're creating, we're cultivating meaning.
Seriously, if you haven't read this book, it's phenomenal. I give copies to my veterinary students on a regular basis.
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