There was a time, not so long ago, when I would spend the weeks leading up until Christmas bent over a table of cardmaking supplies. I would get a ton of joy from arranging the paper just so and thinking up witty sayings for the inside of the cards. It was a huge creative outlet for me that I really enjoyed. My husband asked me if I was going to make cards this year and I snorted a "yeah, right". The thought of making a pile of homemade cards today makes my brain hurt. I was trying to figure out why something that was once a pleasurable hobby, now sounds like a bleak chore and it's because I like my job.
I know that this is a weird leap but card making was my creative outlet when I felt like I wasn't able to be very creative in my job. I was a small part in a large machine and there were responsibilities that I needed to manage in very specific ways. I hadn't yet learned how to bring creativity and vision to my work, so I had to find a different place (card making) to use that creativity and vision that was inside of me, just waiting to come out.
Now I am able to use my creativity every day at Headwaters and I've found a great creative outlet writing "How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar" with Rosetta. In the past, I might have equated life balance to excellence in every area of my life at the same time. I've finally come to the place where I realize that balance, for me, is using my skills, talent, and energy in a way that makes me happy and makes the world a better place, even if that mean no homemade cards this year.
Here is a round up of some of the wonderful things that I have recently found in my in-box and Twitterfeed.
To celebrate the great response we’ve been getting to 