On being a woman, and artistic freedom..

The movement into creativity, specifically creativity as occupation, has not come easy for women, as it comes with a trunkload of guilt. One hears "Why isn't dinner ready... you were doing what?" Or this classic statement:
"Now dear, remember, your art is a hobby."

It takes tremendous courage to overcome this subtle put-down from friends and family. After all, isn't my first job to take care of others? To put others' needs in front of my own?

Another thing I find somewhat troublesome and interfering is the so-called self-help industry. And the well-meaning "helpers" and "healers" who constantly remind me that I have this affliction or that latest flavour-of-the-month affliction.
I mean, come on, if someone tells you "don't think about an elephant", what pops in your mind first? And what stays there?

It is more important to my sanity to carefully monitor what I allow into my mind.
Following along with this trend or another because its the latest discovery key to "wellness" can quite often lead a person into getting stuck in the muck of society's bottleneck.

As Robert Frost wrote in the poem "The Road Not Taken" :

Two paths diverged in a wood And I--
I took the one less travelled by
And it has made all the difference

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