Is it me, or does my lifestyle engender a sort of jealousy that seems out of context from how hard I actually work? I was in the library the other day and saw a friend. She said ” I love your life!”. I wondered then if perhaps she loved the version of my life that is described on facebook and instagram.? Or if she loved that whole business of being in the creative industries with a story to tell that had variety and interest. I’m not lying on Facebook, all those smiling faces are the truth, but like any good dinner party story there is editing. Just how much is a debate for another time.
I hear so many people say ” It must be wonderful to be able to make a living doing what you love”. I want to say to them “aren’t you? “. My question to all of you out there is this: “if you aren’t: why not? What is so important that you would spent 8 hours a day being unhappy?”. I had a flat mate once who was like that. He had rostered days off, and a month of paid holidays each year that he’d spend walking in Europe. But each afternoon he’d come home tired and cranky. He questioned this whole “living the dream thing”. Soon I wondered if I would be better off with a regular income and regular holidays. Those Adriatic walking tours were sounding enticing. So I asked myself the question “what would I like to be doing? My answer: making artwork. Every day. In a beautiful studio in a warm climate. Oh that’s right, I am doing that already. My answer wasn’t about how I should be living, but how happy I was doing it. It’s not about what I’m missing out on – there are a thousand of versions of the Mediterranean that I won’t get to see – but what I’m enjoying now.
So now I’m off to the studio to work on living the dream – and yes, thankyou. I feel like the luckiest person alive.  
