New Friends & No Fear

I made a new friend last week.

It's exciting . . . the whole idea of making new friends.

A short while ago, I came to some sort of understanding with the universe that I was just done with the 'making new friends' stage of life. I mean, I am constantly meeting new art friends online through various groups I am involved in . . . but a true face to face "NEW FRIEND"? I thought I was done. I am no longer in the business world and coming into contact with new people that way. And surprising as it may be . . . the Target check out lady and I have never gone for coffee (yet). ;)

It's true . . . most of my time right now is spent on my daughters. Sure, I met new parents regularly as I drive my girls to and from different activities. But parent friends are very different from the ol'fashioned kind of "we have lots in common and can fill up an hour talking non-stop" friends.

But last week . . . I made a new one. A new friend. And it's kinda awesome!

My new friend is named Nicole. I met her through my life long friend, Pam. Pam shared my blog with Nicole, and a short while later, I received this message through Facebook;

Now, if that doesn't just make you do a happy dance, I don't know what will.

So, my new friend and I did just that . . . we met at a nearby Starbucks, and chatted non-stop for over hour. Non-Stop. We talked about our lives, how we got into art, where we see our art taking us, and brought up some great topics that gave me that great inspiration and push that I needed to get moving in my work again.

It's kind of awesome . . . to find encouragement and inspiration in someone who really is a complete stranger.

The day after I met with my "New Friend Nicole" (who I will refer to as  "NFN" aka 'New Friend Nicole' for the remainder of this post, and probably a few more), I had such a burst of energy in my craft . . . I spent two days cataloging, taking photos, cropping and editing the photos, and re-opening my Etsy shop (that I closed prior to our trip to Italy last month.) I sketched, I painted, I created . . . it was pretty awesome.

I tried to figure out where this burst of energy came from. And after a little bit of reflection . . . I realized what it was. Fear. Or NO Fear, actually. I some how, after meeting with my "NFN" and talking about dreams and plans . . . I realized the only person who is stopping me from making my dreams come true - from reaching out and trying those things on my art wish list - is ME. And the main reason why I halted my attempts at moving forward in my art . . . FEAR.

I have been so FEARFUL of failure, that I have found myself often stopping myself from moving forward. Does that make sense?

So, I found myself reciting the words to that oh-so-powerful quote by FDR over and over:

And just hearing it, gave me strength. It gave me courage. And I am riding it as long as I possibly can. Because I truly believe that I am capable of doing some amazing things in this life of mine, and I think I've just found the courage to make them happen.

It really is amazing what we can accomplish when we take fear out of the equation.

So for now, I'm working diligently on having a really strong Etsy shop.

I'm really proud of the art I am making, and equally proud of the products I am creating with the art I am making. (You can get directly to my shop by selecting the "My Shop" tab above.)

And, since so much of this is a direct result of my NFN meeting, I want to share her Etsy shop with you . . . she has wonderful plans and dreams and ideas, just like so many of us. And I can not wait to see where life takes her! Her shop is called "NicPlyNel" and you can get to her Etsy shop by clicking here (or any of the other links highlighted).

It's a super exciting time right now . . . and I am so grateful to be able to share it with you.

And I'm thinking about my "Word of the Year" for next year.

FEARLESS

What do you think?

Leave me a comment . . . I'd love to know!

Peace, friends.