Karie Writes About Life

Ideas, inspiration, and fun as you build a life that lights you up.

Do Something You Love and Feed Your Soul

Do you have something that’s yours – like a hobby, or interest, or cause, that you pursue regularly? I’m talking about something that you enjoy, that makes you feel fulfilled, where you can see growth and progress. I have been guilty of having ideas like this in my head, but with the busyness of life, not getting to it regularly, or even at all. Eventually though, I started feeling not quite myself when I didn’t have time to do anything creative for a very long season of life. I know how it feels to feed your soul, and how it feels when you don’t get that chance. It’s important, and if at all possible, I encourage you to make time for whatever that is for you.

Back when I was in grad school, I decided to try my hand at oil painting. Note that this was in the days before YouTube and you had to learn new skills by reading books. I got this beginner’s oil painting kit that came with some basic supplies and a book with instructions. The book wasn’t great. I didn’t end up getting a ton of information from it, and therefore didn’t even know what it was that I didn’t know. I tried to reproduce this beautiful postcard of the moon over the water with a city in the background. Since I knew basically nothing about how to mix colors, I ended up with a seafoam green sky over lavender buildings. Plus, it took a week to dry. So, I decided oils clearly weren’t for me. I gave up and tried easier things. It was what I needed to do at the time.

Fast-forward 20 years and I decided to try again with oil paints. This time armed with some basic knowledge from YouTube, more knowledge about light and shadow, (and color mixing!) plus a much simpler reference picture. That postcard of a complicated scene I’d tried in grad school was not very friendly for a beginner. I also know now that it’s normal for oil paint to take days to dry and was prepared for that this time. I may not be a skilled artist, but I produced something I could be proud of. It felt great!

Creativity fuels my soul and it felt really good to take the time and learn the basics so I could have that experience. Part of having good mental wellness comes from feeding your soul in the unique way that your soul wants to be fed; doing what lights you up inside. What is that for you? Even in our busy lives, it’s important to take some time for these things.

If this article brought something specific to mind for you, I encourage you to make time for it. First, decide how long it will take, and how often. Even a short time regularly keeps that spark alive and leads to progress. Blocking out that time as a regular thing helps keeping other demands from encroaching on it. Even in a family, if Mom or Dad is known to be unavailable for half an hour on a Tuesday night, for example, people learn to work around that.

What is it you’ve always wanted to do, learn or try? I encourage you to give it a shot. We are fortunate to be living in a time when you can learn a lot from free internet resources, without the need to pay for classes or travel to them. Of course there are paid options available as well, and virtual learning is often more affordable than in-person lessons. Of course, in-person activities are great too if your schedule and budget allow. If they don’t, it is great that online options are available. I think it’s time for me to find some more oil painting videos…

If art is what you want to learn, here are some resources I like: