Today, I begin with a quote from one of my favorites, Corita Kent. She was an artist, a nun, educator and social justice advocate.

As artists, we work every day. We make our own lives every day. We care for our family every day. It is hard daily work, this creative process.

These words are part of a larger piece in the book Learning by Heart by Corita Kent and Jan Steward.

And what I love about this book is that it's not so much a book for just the professional artists but for the student. I truly believe that we are all students of life. And in this particular section of the book, she's talking about the artist inside of each of us. I think that oftentimes we think about the work that we need to get back to. What she talks about in this section is how the work that we do every day is actually the larger art. It's the work when we go to our canvas, or our desk, or whatever it is that we consider work. Yes, that's a part of the work, but the real, the rich, the larger work - the larger art - happens in daily life.

I share this today for the overworked. For the one who doesn't feel like you have enough time to get back to the work that you want to be doing. Instead you find your schedule filled to the brim of all of the things that you have to do - where obligation outweighs inspiration. I share this with you today as a reminder that when you are out doing the most mundane tasks, doing the most ordinary things, this matters too. This too is creativity. There will come a time when you get back to the work that you wish you could be doing right now. But in the meantime, you have right now to allow life to teach you what it wants to teach you. Even if those lessons don't come instantaneously, right there in the moment, trust that everything that you are experiencing - from the food that you're tasting today, to the conversations that you overhear - all of this is a part of you being here, you being present to your life right here, right now.

For whoever needs to hear it right now: today is not the day to put more on your plate. Today is not the day to feel ashamed for all you did not accomplish. Even as I record this, I can hear the sound of my son's toy in the next room. And I had a brief moment where I thought, hmm, I guess this podcast is not going to be what I want it to be today. Because after I record, I have other things to do. So as of right now, I'm going to let that sound stay in the episode, even if no one can hear it but me. Even if it bothers me. I'm going to let today be what it needs to be. I am going to allow moments of laughter and creativity to find me in unexpected places. Join me as I work to be excited about joining in on the larger art. Join me as I work to be filled with joy at the possibility that this day, right here, right now, matters more than I can see today. And if I don't have time to do all of the things that I want to do, that is okay. I am growing anyway. I am a part of the greater picture, all the same.

Journal: If the room or space that you are in right now were a painting, what would the primary themes be?

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