While visiting friends in Colorado over the holidays I had the great good fortune to meet and spend time with a woman who told me she didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up. She is 86 and an artist who brought a train car onto her property and transformed it into her home. Bright and warm, her sense of color and design fill the space. She has brought striking color and imagination to the lives of so many, and continues to develop ideas and create art. She is curious about the internet, i phones, and cameras. She asks pertinent questions, and keeps important quotes nearby throughout her cozy home.
And she’s on alert for learning more about what she wants to do when she grows up. This artist embodies the curiosity and playfulness that empowers her to keep trying new things in her work, and life. Surrounded by nature and people who pay attention to their spirit and the spirit around them, she stays keenly attuned to her environment.
I left Colorado reminded that quiet, and the awareness that has the opportunity to bloom in quiet, empowers us to connect to inspiration and curiosity. Now back in Los Angeles I am acutely aware of how much discipline it takes to tune in and pay attention to the quiet. This is the quiet that sparks new interests and makes the statement ‘I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up’ something fun, instead of scary.