For me it came with an 8th grade English project. My son was assigned the "Time Magazine Man of the Year Project." Being artistically and mathematically talented, he chose Leonardo daVinci. He started with the cover, followed up with some colorful ads, and then the copy.
I don't remember how I got involved, but I do remember taking photos of Leonardo's projects, helping with layout, typing and captions, and overall using my journalism and photojournalism skills to help him create the magazine. Of course it was an outstanding project; no doubt he received an "A."
For me, it was a lot of fun, but I also had to stop and ask myself: What are you doing?
Basically I was having a midlife crisis. I wasn't sleeping well. Children were growing up, needing me less. I was into my helicopter mom mode with the Leonardo project, and it made me realize that I had to make a change.
Of course there were starts and stops. I've made mistakes, I thought. I had opportunities I didn't grasp. I had gone for an interview for an unpaid internship in public relations, using my journalism background. But the result and underlying message was very negative. I was already 40. Younger people just out of college were preferred. I felt my opportunities were limited. I was not in a good place.
My husband was concerned, and if not for him I wouldn't have taken my first job, my first step back into the world of work. I had seen an ad for a job as a clerical assistant at the local university, which was walking distance away. I had a resume, but I didn't want to send it in. I thought: I have a master's degree in journalism; what am I doing looking for a clerical assistant job? I felt it was beneath me.
Well, my husband dropped the resume off right before the deadline, and before I knew it I had a job working for three professors on a gifted education project. I did that for a year; I still had insomnia and was working on my emotional issues. But it was a start.
While there I learned of a master's program in counseling psychology. I spoke to someone who had gone through it, and she reported it was "Micky Mouse," and very "touchy feely." Being more of a thinking, intellectual, head person, I immediately decided: that's exactly what I need. Something "touchy feely." So I enrolled and had a wonderful three years of learning not just about educational psychology, but about ME. And so I began my journeys in personal development.
Lately, in decluttering the garage, I came across some of my son's schoolwork, including the Leonardo project. I was reminded of my younger self, of the need to reinvent myself at that point in time. And of the ongoing reinventions during different periods of our lives. Recently I heard of a book called "The 100-Year Life: Living and working in an age of longevity" by Lynda Gratton. 100 Years! That's going to take quite a few reinventions.
And as Ernest Holmes says: "In mental work, we must realize that there is One Infinite Mind, which is consciously directing our destiny. Declare every day that: 'No mistakes have been made, none are being made, and none CAN be made.' And know that we stand at the point of limitless opportunity; that opportunity is right here today; that we see it and grasp it. We exist in Limitless Opportunities, which are forever seeking expression through us."
Leonardo seemed to express limitless creativity throughout his long productive life. So can it be for us. And so it is.
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| One of the ads in the Leonardo project. |
