Sharika Roland

To ask yourself that question, you have to know what the alternatives are. Is it worth it to exert all this energy on something that only has a slim chance of working? The alternative is don’t expend any energy on it and  see how that feels.

It probably will drive you crazy. to even have the thought of doing something hard, really hard, is not a normal state of affairs. We don’t want to do anything hard. WE want to be comfortable. You only have that drive if it is something that is compelling.

Nine times out of ten, if it compels you it will compel others. At least it will compel enough others to make it worthwhile.

If  you are like me — and I know you are — I am constantly looking for new things to grow, new ideas that I can use to help the compelling idea get off the ground and fly.  That is why you are reading this right now.  Sometimes I do post things you can use so that is why you are back. You want something.

Here it is. We all want the same thing. Help. We want to have a conversation with anyone who can help. And you don’t know where that help  will come from. Here is an example. My husband has invented this thing and does  not know how to go about getting patent for it. No clue. I was casually talking to my friend and she mentioned that a couple in our church do that all the time. Who knew. That just happened a few hours ago. Now he is on his way with step two of the process.

This happens thousands of times in ones life. And it all comes from a conversation. So my advice for today is Look , talk, look , talk ,write it down and then act. And it will be worth it.

Yesterday I was hanging out with my friend who is so different from me but in a good way. She is like a tight weave and I am like a loose weave. I was thinking how interesting it is having that combo in a relationship. We have known each other for years and years and have gone through a lot together. She has always been a loyal friend that never never forgets to call me on my birthday and keeps tabs on what is going on in my life. It is always so great to find what she has been up to and how time is treating her.

Together we make a nice potholder. Her tightness and my looseness combine to make a strong and flexible cloth.

Sort of like our lives. When she is down I am up and visa versa. She is a constant encouragement to me and I hope I  make her feel safe and secure . That is what she needs so that is what I give her.

Some friends need other things and we need other things from them. How wonderful to be here and not be alone in the world. On this Lords Day  think about how many people you have that care about you and know that they are not there by accident. It is not a fluke that we are where we are.

This morning I am talking about being glamorous. It is very late in life that I figured this out. The more glamour the better it is for everyone around you. I am a firm believer now in making yourself look really flashy for your husband and making your house feel glamorous for everyone who comes to call. That is because glamour is nothing less than joy of living. It is living with style and panache and joie de vivre and passion and all the good and beautiful things.

I started doing small glamorous things when I started wearing big beautiful bracelets. Every time I would look down and see it I felt better about everything. Taking that a step farther led me to thing well if a little is good more is better.

I heard a story about Jan Crouch once. She is a televangelist that is pretty far out there but she looks way way glamorous. At first I thought she looked silly but then I heard that she dresses like that because she once suffered from severe depression and when she came out of it she decided to live in a way that showed her appreciation for life.

When you hear the rest of the story it changes how you see someone doesn’t it?  Her fake eyelashes and wigs a mile high all really elaborate but they take on new meaning/ Well you don’t have to suffer sever depression to figure out that some glamour goes only to a good place for your life and everyone who looks at you and your house.

Be Extravagant and with audacity  and live live live. Or as Liza Minnelli said “Say Yes to Life!”

And then I got my first real break. She knew someone in the city that could help me and the rest was a string of wonderful events that lead up to my first show.

No that did not happen right away. I got all this encouragement from this woman and started to do something concrete about it. That is when I started to sell on the side of the street like a bum really. How come nobody was buying my drawings? Could not figure it out.

I got a scholarship to art school and went two weeks and dropped out. They couldn’t teach me anything.
the path I chose was pain. There are always two ways to learn: listen, and pain. I always chose pain. Seemed more real like that.

I did sell some paintings in coffee houses so that was fun but I did not do the gallery show thing till much later. It took a lot of living on the edge to give my work an edge. When I look at it now it is so much like my true self that I cannot believe it. So rough around the edges. Which I like. Otherwise it would be a lie.  More tomorrow.

source photos from mloskot and Josh [unemployed IT dude]

When I was young and lived in San Francisco, I could have just gotten a job and been fine but I was determined to be an artist and nothing else.

The arrogance of youth is astounding. Not only did I refuse to work at a normal job, I thought people would just magically come to me and buy my work . I just waited for something to happen. I lived in a hotel room  in a cheap part of town and and painted in my room.

Looking back I cannot believe I did not die. the people that lived there with me in that wonderful hotel were everything from prostitutes and drug dealers. All the cream of society.

I did get a job eventually when I could not even pay the hotel rent that turned out to be a total answer to prayer(even though I never prayed back then) A woman called me and asked me to be a live in cook for two people. In exchange I would get some money and a place to live and Get this= An Art Studio. I never had one of those before. Even though I did not know how to cook I said yes (also the astonishing wisdom of youth). I went to the library and got Joy of Cooking and read it. Every meal was the first time I ever made it. The people I worked for had no idea.

One night I had to make a dinner party for 6 as some famous person was coming. It turned out to be a woman who had been married to a famous artist which I cannot remember now but it was a biggie. Anyway she was connected  with the art world.  She heard I was an artist and  decided to check out my work. Guess what happened next. to be continued…