Who are you trying to please?

I saw a pending post in one of our Facebook groups. It began, “My work may not be very good…”

When I read it, I felt a pain in my heart.

The post continued by stating that the member really enjoyed painting and that was the important thing.

While we love that idea, it hides a need we all have. The need is unconditional love — for ourselves.

We’ve written before that artists are their own worst critics.

I love e.e. cummings’ quote.

“To be nobody but yourself in a world
which is doing its best day and night to make you like
everybody else means to fight the hardest battle
which any human being can fight and never stop fighting.”

It seems like we live in a society that only values us if we are like (or unlike) someone else. We don’t seem to be valued for the precious human beings we already are.

We’ve written before that we are born divine — in the image of God. If we are born divine, would that not also mean that what we do is divine?

I fear, sometimes, we forget about our divinity.

Why would we care what others think about anything we do? We have only one person to please. If what fulfills us — brings us joy — also makes others happy, so much the better.

The next time you think about saying “My work may not be very good…” ask yourself this question. “Am I doing my best?”

If you are, then you do not need to be anything but proud of what you do.

If you are not doing your best, then ask yourself why not? Are you trying to please others at the expense of your own integrity?

Stop it! Life is too short to play that game.

If you want to improve your art skills, we can help. We have art courses and resources to help you become the artist you’ve always wanted to be. Click here for more information.