**This is a guest post by the very talented Laura of The Kwerks–I enjoy her writing style; it just makes me smile. I have loved following Laura and Ryan on their journey to simplification and creativity over the past few years. They recently put themselves "out there" and were rewarded greatly. Ryan was a great friend of mine in high school and it's wonderful seeing how Laura and Ryan work together to grow and create --read on!**
“We’re gonna win this.”
I typed it quickly and sent it off. Moments
later, Ryan replied.
“Yup.”
So, my husband and I have begun a new endeavor
recently. I won’t lie; it’s terrifying. But it’s also good. And it’s the good
that I find myself fighting to focus on, to remember, to repeat to myself in
moments when the terror creeps in.
Three short years ago, we were a family of five
living a pretty usual suburban life. The house, the yard, the two cars, the
commute, the three kids. We home schooled our kids, which was great and
challenging, and I suppose that removed us from the “typical” label, but
regardless, we were on the path laid out by our culture as the ideal.
Work your
way up the ladder. Rent, then buy property, then buy bigger property, then live
happily ever after with your happy family.
There came a point at which we stopped doing
that thing - that typical life thing - because we looked at each other and
asked the question, “Do we value this lifestyle?”
It turns out we didn’t.
And through a number of months, conversations,
debates, arguments, deliberations, we came out with a list of our core values.
It was these things that we wanted to actually live our life for. Community,
family time, adventure, generosity, simplicity, frugal living. These were some
of our key values and when we held them up to our life, we found there were
some things that needed changing.
Fast forward three years and here we are now,
having downsized, relocated, travelled, purged, simplified and blogged about
the entire process.
It was a completely crazy few years, and yet it
wasn’t until we reached the point of settling into our new home and attempting
to normalize our new way that we realized that these values weren’t set in
stone. No, they evolved. There were new values emerging, even as we lived fully
into the original list.
And it was one of these new values that brought
us to this new endeavor. The value of “pursuing your gifts”.
Okay, I’m going to be honest. The word “gift”
when used to describe myself is one of the most uncomfortable things I can
imagine. One of my deepest fears is to be perceived as being arrogant, or
cocky, or like I’m special. And so when someone refers to me as “gifted”, I
tend to shift the language to “impassioned”. I have a passion. That is where I
feel comfortable. I’ll let the world decide whether I’m gifted or not.
So this new pursuit? Music. Singing and
songwriting. Performing.
Yes. I know. Dreamy right? I feel like the
teenage girl who wants to grow up and be an actress.
And what’s so wrong with that? I have some kind
of shame built up around the idea of pursuing my PASSION, (erm, my gifting)
that says to me, “You’re not really allowed to do that. That’s for young,
energetic idealists. You’re 36 - way too old to believe you should be following
your dreams.”
Isn’t that a horrible voice? I’m learning so.
And so, here I am, here we are, my husband and
I, “The Kwerks”, at the beginning of an adventure, at the dawn of discovering
what it feels like to step into something that feels like it was designed for
me.
When I write music, I feel like my whole self is
involved. My whole self is being used and being lit up and being fully whole.
When we perform I feel excited, not terrified. When we step off the stage I
feel like saying, “When can we do it again?”
But as I mentioned at the outset, it’s horribly
frightful to put myself out there. To write from the depths of my being, then
perform it for people, and be expected to talk about what I wrote about? Imagine!
Imagine that for a minute! All of your deepest stuff coming out for who knows
who to take and analyze and judge! It’s terrifying!
And yet, it’s extremely liberating. I’m learning
that.
Not so long ago, my husband and I received an
email from Dominion Lending Centres, of whom we had been mortgage clients. They
were holding a contest. Make a video about your experience with DLC. Make it
interesting.
And as if we had been throwing ourselves into
the spotlight our whole lives, we casually sent a couple emails back and forth.
“We’re gonna win this.”
“Yup.”
And then we did.
Can you believe it? We scarcely can.
**You can win the soon-to-be released single "Better Together" by The Kwerks by entering in the Rafflecopter below. I cannot wait to see the commercial; way to scrap "normal", Laura and Ryan!**
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Love,
Louise
This is very inspiring. Jason and I took the plunge to live our dreams over a year ago now and how rewarding it truly is. Yes, most people think we're crazy that two BC raised kids can love an Alberta lifestyle, including the weather. But its amazing how much joy you can find in something that is not so pleasant when you are doing what you are called to. Even after a year here we already feel like we have too much "stuff" and a purge has once again begun. So great that these stories can be so easily shared and that maybe other will take the plunge to follow their true calling.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Kim! I've been following you on Instagram :) I think it's important to re-evaluate our goals and values often!
DeleteThanks so much, Louise!
ReplyDeleteThank YOU for sharing your creativity with the world :)
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