Distractions of Grown-up Life

I woke up this morning thinking this thought:  we are so distracted by the pressures to support ourselves (and our children, if we have any) that we often forget our gifts and their desire to be brought out and developed.

I thought about my daughter and her artistic talent, about how she is so distracted from practicing her sketching and painting.  She is busy in her teenager life, which is filled with school, friends, basketball and babysitting.  She is a master at manifesting what she wants.  She needed to raise $200 to go on a summer vacation with her friend’s family, so she found the housekeeping, grass-cutting and babysitting jobs to make it happen.  She wanted to join a fitness club and then arranged to get the rides to and from the club (she can’t drive yet) from friends and family.  She made this happen because she wants to get in shape for basketball season.  Her goal is to be a starter at the post position.  You know, I believe she can do that too.

Recently, I asked her about a painting she had imagined doing this summer – she had described it to me in vivid detail.  “I haven’t gotten around to it, Mom.  I’ve been too busy.”

I have been proud of her drive, her enthusiasm and her courage, but I have to admit that a twinge of sadness came across me when she said that.  It’s like I want to speak for the painting and tell her how much it wants to be born.  I see it in my mind’s eye as she described it, and it’s so beautiful to me.  I really want to see it come alive through this master of creating, this master of manifesting who is my daughter… but there’s only so many hours in the day, of course.  As her parent, I’ve done what I was expected to do.  That is, I taught her to excel in her job.  Her job is school right now, and, well, she is “training” for the real grown-up world.  I can’t exactly call homework a distraction from developing her artistic gift, can I?

In the end, I realize that whether she is working with acrylics on canvas or setting intentions to be a starter on the basketball team, she is being creative.  She is co-creating her life as she so desires.  And, even though there’s not too much time for fingerpainting as we get older, I do hope she doesn’t rush into the distractions of grown-up life too soon.  It’s guaranteed that before long she’ll be thinking about the car note, the mortgage and the groceries, even though those distractions are still years away.  Yet, already she is a mini-version of her dad and me as she sees us trying to manifest ways to pay our bills, meet our goals.

As I awaken to the reality of how distracted I have been from the wonderment of the gifts I have been given… the gifts still waiting to be developed, I wonder if it’s too late to encourage my teenager to take a deep breath before the distractions of grown-up life take over too much of her reason for breathing.