Week Two Check In

I've decided to run with the spirit of the law, not the letter of it.  If I were to look at what I accomplished last week in Week Two of The Artist's Way and base my judgments merely on what I did in relation to the tasks at the end of the chapter, I would be disappointed.  Have a look for yourself:

• Determine where my time goes by listing five major activities and how much time I spent on them, dividing the list by "shoulds" and "wants." -- I did not do this, even though I thought about it.
• List 20 things I enjoy doing and the last time I did each thing. -- I didn't do this. Or, to be more specific, I started this list. Then I wrote down more things in my morning pages, but I didn't follow up with when I did each activity. 
• Out of that list, find two things to do this week -- even if it's only for 15 minutes. -- I did things that I enjoy, but not based off a list (I didn't create the list in the first place!)
• Re-read my affirmations. -- I'll give this a sort-of. I skimmed the list to re-affirm myself and my direction, but I was not present/intentional in my readings. (Tsk, tsk!)
• List ten imaginary lives (things I think in my dreams, if I were another me, I'd do) and see if there's some activity I could do that's related to a pretend Me. (Confession: One imaginary life is be a singer, like a singer of showtunes or Big Band classics. Today, I indulged in that a big by singing "Don't Rain on My Parade" at the top of my lungs in my car. It was no Carnegie Hall, but then again I'm no Barbara. I think we'll call it even for the week.) -- A bit here.
• List ten "tiny" changes, then see about setting one in motion. -- Nada. Although I will say that the first thing that popped into my mind when I read this originally was "get a new cover for the duvet!" Needless to say, that is on the "sometime in the future" list.

I would be pretty disappointed with myself if I only viewed my accomplishments, my growth as an artist, my journey of self-discovery as check-marks on the way to a goal. Instead I have taken the bold (for me) step to believe that self-discovery, recovery, and becoming an artist is more about the journey and the beauty in the road than it is about the destination.  To that end I can say that in Week Two I accomplished these things:

• I posted on the blog at least once -- sometimes more often! -- each day.
• I wrote my "morning pages" every day.
• I wrote a couple mini-stories, like the one here.
• In addition to the stories that I shared, I started writing a short story for children. It's not done yet, but when I finish I may post on the blog for some feedback.
• I had an Artist's Date that was fairly successful, at least for my first attempt at any sort of painting.
• I spent some time thinking about things that I love and I already have things to add to that particular list.
• I spent some time looking at various crafty blogs, which inspired me to create more art. In fact, in the beginning of Week Three I've already done a few crafty things like make my own recipe for soup and reclaim a picture frame and I am looking forward to the end of the week and my official Artist's Date.

So all in all I think that I am moving in the right direction. Two weeks down, 34 to go. What will the future bring?