When I first moved here from California a short time ago, I thought for sure I’d jump back into the workforce fairly easily even though the pandemic was still raging on. I have a wealth of experience and 10 years at Apple as resume ammo to back me up. But I soon found out it was not going to be business as usual. With little to no real hiring going on, it didn’t seem to matter what I was bringing to the table and my conventional approach at life and income was soon exposed as faulty in these very unconventional times.
So, to fill my days as I continued to send in unnoticed resumes, I turned to what I love most, art. I’d always done my art “on the side,” not as a career but rather an avocation, a “hobby.” And though I had sold some of my art, I hadn’t taken it seriously for myself. I’d seen some wonderful artists making a living at being an artist and always thought, that can’t be me, I have to live in the real world. So I continued to look for work while “playing” at fine art and creating a kindness rock garden in the front yard where people passing by could pick up a painted, kind word for free.
However, I’ve recently learned the real world is what you make it. As Mike Dooley states in his book, Infinite Possibilities, “thoughts become things.” A negative viewpoint in life will draw negativity to you, and so a positive one will draw the good. I began to meditate on what I really wanted, what I’ve always wanted…to do art. And the more art I did, the more I poured myself into it, and the more rock art I did the more artful they became. I suddenly realized I WAS spending my days doing exactly what I wanted…art. Now I needed to figure out a way to make a living at it.
Not long after, while taking a neighborhood walk I noticed how many people use rocks to adorn their gardens and I secretly confided in my friend/roommate and artist pal, Jessie as we passed some particularly large rocks, ”what if we came and painted THOSE rocks,” and an idea was born.
We have just launched a new artscaping business called Rocking Your Garden. Now, you can enjoy our art in your garden. For a fee, we will pick up your rocks up to a certain size, paint them and return them to you, or paint on-site large planted rocks. No rocks, no problem. We will include rocks in our estimate up to a certain size. Later, we will turn this into a brick and mortar business and include other types of found objects in our artscaping designs and sell pre-made pieces as well.
Thoughts do become things…you just have to figure out what it is you want and take small steps in that direction. The Universe will figure out the “how’s” and “when’s.” In this unprecedented time only unprecedented thinking will move you forward to accomplish your dreams. When in doubt, do what you love.
If you’d like more information on how you can start Rocking Your Garden, please contact us at: www.rockingyourgarden.com
