inspiration time…

Welcome to the BIG BRAVE BLOG HULLABALOO, a celebration of gutsy women from all over the world, connecting and claiming our power!  It’s not too late to join our circle…  if you’d like to share your story on my blog over the course of the summer, please read what this is all about HERE, and connect with me!
We have so much to learn from one another!

I met my next guest during an online class with SARK a few years back.  We’ve remained connected ever since, due to our common passion of healing and empowering ourselves and others with creativity.  This I know….  she has a ginormous heart.

Please welcome the LOVELY Wendy Fedan!.  

Hello, my name is Wendy and I’m an inspiration-a-holic.

Yes. I am constantly browsing for nuggets of inspiration on the web. Classes, free audios, blogs, inspirational Facebook images/quotes being passed around. I soak ‘em all in. WHY? Why do I constantly seek inspiration in every nook and cranny of my waking life?

Let me explain.

I have two kids (age 4 and 6) and a husband. All three demand my attention. Oh, and a cat too. Oh, and a full-time job with a 40-minute commute. Oh, yeah, and I also have my own business on the side which is meant to help inspire others to move toward their dreams. And I do caricatures on the side. And I try to get a little writing in whenever I can. And I’m a Juice Plus Representative… Hmm… Did I forget anything?

I pick up the kids from daycare, and they want juice, they want TV, they want snacks, they want stories, they want my undivided attention. I put the kids lovingly to bed with hugs and kisses, I sigh with relief to have a moment to myself, and the cat claws at my jeans to ask for her dinner. I feed the cat, and my husband begs me to spend at least an hour sitting with him because we’ve barely spoken a word to each other all day.

So why do I seek out inspiring classes, audios, freebies, blogs, etc? WHY???? Hello! BECAUSE I HAVE TO. If I didn’t, I would become a vacant blob on the couch, watching incessant reality show reruns just to unplug my brain for a while. It’s cheaper than drinking alcohol, with less side effects.

Do I feel guilty when I take a time out for myself?

Big fat NO.

But I’m not supposed to PLAY, my brain tells me. How dare you play when you have so many responsibilities?

It isn’t play time, I tell my brain. It’s INSPIRATION TIME. It’s like pressing the REFRESH button on my tired old soul.

Then I remind my brain to remember a scene from the film Ben Hur:

Joseph is speaking with a neighbor who is complaining that Jesus has not finished making a table (neglecting his “work”).  The neighbor examines some boards which have not been assembled…

Neighbor: My table is not finished. Where is your son? 
Joseph: He’s walking in the hills.
Neighbor: [disapproving] Mm-hm. He neglects his work, Joseph.
Joseph: No. Once I reproached him with forgetting his work. He said to me, “I must be about my Father’s business.”
Neighbor: Then why isn’t he here, working?
Joseph: [smiling] He’s working.

In this scene, Jesus could be viewed as being lazy. He should be working in his dad’s carpentry shop. Instead he’s taking an INSPIRATION BREAK, walking in the hills to talk to God for a while. That wasn’t play time for him. It was work time. How inspiring would Jesus be if he was worn out daily from his carpentry, never taking a time out? Yes, he needed to work, but he needed to walk in the hills too. Carpentry paid the bills, but that wasn’t His divine purpose in life, was it?

My business, Create-A-Way, is meant to inspire people – to help people realize they are never stuck. To tell them there is always a WAY, and if they cannot SEE a way, they need to CREATE a way. How inspiring would I be if I never “played” with my inspiration time? As a budding Creative Soul Leader, I need to walk my talk. I need to spend time walking in the hills.

Those of us whose job it is to inspire people, care for people, whether you are a budding entrepreneur, a nurse, or a stay-at-home mom, you need to also tend to your own soul. Press the REFRESH button. You need it.  

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Wendy Fedan is a budding entrepreneur with several websites, the most important her Create-A-Way creative/spiritual business site (http://www.createawaytoday.com/), her professional online portfolio (http://wfedan.weebly.com/), and her budding writing/publishing business, Potato Bug Press (http://potatobugpress.weebly.com/). Wendy earned her BFA in Illustration from the Cleveland Institute of Art. She is also a Certified ARTbundance Coach, a Certified Angel Practitioner, and Certified Mentor. Wendy lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her husband (also an artist), two young kids, and a kitty.

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