Today’s shared stories come from American photograher Kat Sloma.
You don’t have to do what love to make a living, but you need to do what you love to truly live.
A few years ago, I had a conversation with a good friend. She and I worked together at the large corporation where I’ve earned a living as an engineer for the last 19 years. She asked, “Do you want to stay working here forever?” I laughed and said, “I don’t know, I don’t have anything I’m passionate about. I don’t know what I’d rather do. I guess I’m here until they don’t want me anymore.”
Looking back, that conversation is a significant indicator of how I was living (or not living) my life. I was floating along, letting other people plot my course. I was expecting someone else to fulfil me. Was I alive or just going through the motions of life? I had given up my power. The power to choose, to decide, to own my life. I wasn’t even seeking to find what I would really love to do.
Since then, much has transpired. Layoffs at work made me realize I couldn’t float along any longer. Watching the same friend leave the company for something she truly loved forced me to acknowledge there are other ways to approach life. Such as, approaching life with intention. I was ripe for a change, so when the opportunity to live and work in Italy for two years came along, I took it. And it cracked me wide open.
I finally did the work I needed to do, digging through the hidden corners of my soul, to find what it is I love. I discovered I love to create. I love to capture the beauty of the world around me, through my camera lens, words, paint and pencils. I also discovered, more than anything else, I love to teach and encourage others to create too.
Today, I’m still at the same corporate job. It is still how I make my “living” and support my family. But I’ve found what I love to do as well. I’ve taken back my power and the ownership of my life’s happiness. Along this journey, I’ve found it is doing what I love that makes me truly alive.
[All images courtesy of Kat Sloma]
Kat is an artist and photographer with a passion for inspiring others to find their unique vision of the world. For the last two years, she has been living in Italy and traveling Europe with an eye to finding the beauty of the everyday, whilst also working in the corporate world. You can see more of her photographs, read about her creative journey and learn about her e-courses at The Kat Eye Studio.
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