Desires and longings have a way of coming to the surface.
Just about the time our lives feel set and comfortable, they show up. Sometimes they come as a dream we can't forget or a memory of things we loved to do as a child. They can even be a response to a "call" we heard as a young person. However it comes, there is no denying this voice that insists, "You have something inside waiting to see the light of day."
These dreams and desires are each attached to a gift we've been given -- a gift given in seed form.
Sometimes because our lives are so full of day to day urgency,
or because we've listened to that inner critic for far too long;
the seeds remain unwatered and dormant in the ground... Notice I didn't say dead.
When explorers were looking into the ancient tombs of the pharoahs of Egypt, they made a startling discovery. They found containers of wheat buried with these rulers. Some of the wheat (5,000 year old seed) was planted and watered. The wheat sprouted and grew.
Seeds are meant to stand the test of time. At the moment conditions are right, they release what's inside and fulfill their destiny.
As a child, I loved to make up stories. These would often be put into small books held together with tape and string. Looking into their pages, I was no longer sitting at my kitchen table. I had become tiny like Thumbelina and flown away on the back of a friendly bird. Many adventures followed.
That time is long gone. Life since then has been good, difficult, tender, heartbreaking, encouraging, exhausting, and at times -- wonderful. Maybe this sounds familiar?
Now my old "friends" are calling to me again.
This time I am paying a different kind of attention. I'm watering these seeds.
What does that look like?
For me, it looks a lot like investing time into learning the craft of writing married with illustration. The results have been surprising. I am being "helped" along the way -- doors opened, information given, dreams dreamed, and amazing people encountered.
An observation: Creativity is Progressive.
The more you engage with it (water it), the more it grows.
Watch what happens, you might be surprised.
Happy Creating!