Dear Wisdom:

I am back but will be gone for many hours, will write to you tonight (WA, USA) or tomorrow morning. Till then- take care!

anita

Dear Wisdom:

Thank you! I think of positive attention for a child as necessary as water is for a plant. Without water the plant is dry, wrinkled, bends easily, breaks easily, is hardly alive. With water the plant comes to life, becomes supple, flexible, not easily bent, taller, alive. In the example of your younger brother playing the piano without prior experience and yet it sounds like he can make a song out of nowhere, he was able to do it because he got the positive attention, but you did not.

To come alive that way, you need the positive attention you always needed. I cannot give that to you in one post just like a whole book with wisdom … cannot give it to you, only a living human being can do that through interacting with you, talking (or posting) to you, then waiting for your reply, reading your words, paying attention to them, and talking, or posting back, again and again.

So let us do that! For me it is an exciting prospect, to see how over time you, Wisdom, come alive.

There is so much more I want to tell you, but like I wrote above, it is not about writing you a book, it is about the back and forth interaction. Please share more: what do you think about what I wrote here and anything else that you need to talk about.

Every time you post, I will respond…

anita

Dear Wisdom:

You mentioned before that you wish you could live comfortably and do art, but that it doesn’t sound practical, more like a retirement plan. I am thinking this might be a good plan: to live comfortably what you need to aim at is making just enough money, or seeing to it that you have just enough money to live comfortably for you. You don’t need to make more money than what is required to live comfortably. And doing the art you enjoy. You don’t have to compete with your art, to become rich and famous… only to live comfortably and do your art and you also mentioned having a relationship.

If you achieved these three things in your future: live comfortably, do your art, have one loving relationship- that would be Wisdom being successful, don’t you think?

anita

Dear Wisdom:

I like your thinking, thinking what will be suited for you!

Debt terrifies you- then your plans for your future should not include debt.

Then figure out what it means to be comfortable, how much money that requires. If your needs, like mine, are modest, it does not take that much money! It is only one person you need to support, yourself. If modest living is good enough for you, it will not be that much money that you need to make.

Then about enjoying the work: it would be nice if you could spend some time as a volunteer in a kindergarten for a few days and get the feel of it, see if you enjoy it: if it interests you, if the time passes quickly because you are engaged.

You can study to be certified as a kindergarten teacher and take an acting class at the same time, see how you feel about acting in the class.

So you get to experiment: you volunteer in a kindergarten (no pay) and experiment that way: how does it feel? You take an acting class and experiment: how does that feel?

You don’t have to decide here and now what you will do for the rest of your life (I don’t see how that is possible)- you try this, try that, see how it feels, and move from there.

What do you think?

anita