sculpt your masterpiece.

once upon a time,
over half a century ago,
a baby girl was born.

snow still on the ground that morning in april.
an odd mixture of winter’s remains
and the new growth of spring.

she grew up, mostly happy and whole.
she had many friends, but wasn’t the most popular.
she was funny, though few people knew it.

they saw the scholar, the good girl
who always studied and only sometimes spoke out.
when she did, those around her were often surprised.

but she knew the truth.
that she had much to say, and was highly imaginative.
though even fewer were aware of that.

she had vibrant and vivid daydreams,
envisioning her future in fascinating scenarios,
verbally sketching alternate lives on paper.

but in reality, of course, she followed the path.
she graduated second in her high school class,
attended the same state school as her siblings.

college was interesting, but typical.
she changed her major, worked two part-time jobs,
had a rather tumultuous relationship with her future husband.

she graduated (with a double-major even),
and began a resume list of mediocre
hopefully-leading-to-her-forever-career positions.

she got a second degree, in another direction,
and an advanced one as well.
the beginnings of introspective experimentation.

then one day something shifted.
despite her follow-the-conventional-path appearance,
she started dreaming again.

and changing, and evolving.
and wanting to live her life the way
the long-ago-heroines she’d inked about had.

she was no longer content.
and she was glad she wasn’t.
she had a partner who felt the same.

(because, by the way, she and her prince charming
weren’t such polar opposites once married.
turns out they had similar aspirations after all.)

she made mistakes, oh so many mistakes.
but she’s proud now of the woman she has sculpted,
the cinderella-in-bloom of her stories.

and she marvels at the way she continuously
keeps smashing down the clay
and rebuilding an ever-more-perfect design.
 
 

 
 
refining, reshaping, retooling,
even starting over when needed.
and watching the figure rise into the clouds.
 
 

 
 
there are many ways to lead a fulfilling life.
it doesn’t always have to look like your neighbor’s.
it doesn’t always have to be the society-agreed-upon plan.

walt disney said: “if you can dream it, you can do it.”
yes, walt (or whoever should actually get credit for this quote).
yes, you can.

despite not being independently wealthy,
or amazingly brilliant, or drop-dead gorgeous,
i’m creating a life i love.

it’s a choice.
a choice anyone can make.
to make your life your own.

despite the odds,
despite the naysayers,
despite the setbacks.

if you’re trying to measure up or keep up
with the accepted way of doing things,
if you don’t like your life or who you have become,

if you’re doing things only because
you think you should be doing them,
this message is for you.

it’s time to change the trajectory.
it’s time to claim your power.
it’s time to sculpt your masterpiece.
 
 

 
 
according to the italian anthropologist/journalist luigi barzini,
in the heart of every human being,
“there is one small corner which is italian,
that part that finds regimentation irksome . . .
and dreams of an impossible liberation
from the strictures of a tidy existence.”

it would seem i’m being called to my heart’s dreamland.

*******

all artwork above – clay, computer graphics – created by my son, alexander.

interestingly, i’d already written this blog post before i realized
just how perfectly his art would complement my words.

to see more, please visit his website: alexanderleeart.com
 
 
*******
 
 
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