The Path of Life

Balance…This is what I strive for. That perfect blend of being and doing along the Path of Life. When I was ten I asked my mother what I was good at. After a moment’s pause she replied, “You are good at making people happy.” I thought, what does that mean?

Now, before I go any farther, I have a disclaimer. I have no real recollection of asking this question or her response. This is purely a perception of an event that I have carried with me through my life. I probably made it up. And if I asked her she might tell me she does not remember or in fact, I never asked her this question. But, perception is a powerful entity and it grows into our beliefs.

So, I am still stuck with the belief that I am good at making people happy. Am I supposed to be a clown? There is no way I am dressing up in a clown suit (although my mom did make me one that I wore for years at Halloween…hmmm.)

Besides, some people are afraid of clowns.

On further contemplation, I realize that as an art teacher to middle school adolescent youth, I try to convey the message that all of us have a creative voice and that voice is an expression of our unique individual self. And it is in that self that we find happiness. So, as a teacher-of life, in life, for life- I can help people become happy…with whom they are.

Now that sounds like a life path, not the clown thing, at least for me.