George Washington Carver, Kittens + Where I find my inspiration

As an artist I am constantly inspired by the world around me.  Little things give me inspiration to do big things.  But I have to admit, lately I haven’t been able to dream.  Being in college is a huge blessing- and I love it.  What I don’t love is the fact that I’m taking 21 credits hours of upper level classes.  Its a growing experience, and I’m thankful… but the artist in me has been screaming for more attention.

I want to write more.
I want to photograph more.
I want to travel more.
I want to dream more.

The beauty of the chaos of school and owning my own business is not only time management, but gratitude: being thankful for where I am in each and every moment.  In the midst that, I found inspiration.I love to read, and in many of my classes, I have to read stacks and stacks of books and write papers and essays on them.  One of my most recent assignments was to read My Work Is that Of Conservation By Mark Hersey.  I started the book, expecting to skim the pages, get the information I needed out of it, and then write my paper.  But, instead, I couldn’t put the book down.  The book tells the tale of George Washington Carver  and his life that was dedicated first to God, and secondly to agriculture.  You may have heard of him before- and let me just say this:  he is more that the “peanut man”.  I found my inspiration among the pages as I read about the way in which Carver lived:

Carver’s one goal during his lifetime was to seek truth.  He was not seeking truth, “as a scientist but also as an artist” (Pg. 192).  In 1956, Henry A. Wallace stated that “’few men combined the scientific and religious world so fruitfully as Carver.  He never knew where one left off and the other one began” (pg. 185).

 Carver was a man who loved God first, and his profession second.  His one objective was written in a letter to a friend, “in 1927, he confessed that he wanted students, and young people generally, ‘to find Jesus, and make him a daily, hourly, and momently part of themselves.’  Only in Christ could they ‘get the full measure of happiness and success out of life” (Pg. 182).  Carver’s confession of the heart was also his own personal motivation within his career.  Everything Carver did, he did as a means to glorify the God he served.

The inspiration I found is right there, typed in these exerts from my essay.  In my life, and in my business, I want who I am to be so captivated by my life’s calling that people don’t know where one begins and the other ends!  There is a peace that comes with that desire as well, and it’s exciting!  We are all called to different things, and within each of our callings is a dream that is bigger than ourselves.  Sometimes inspiration is a sweet reminder to press on and keep going because your dreams and goals are possible.

Thanks George.

xo

AnnaFilly

Oh, and of course, here is my kitten and reading buddy, aero :