Post election in two word snippets

Marriage equality. 


Legalize it. 


Woman senator. 


Black president. 


Moving forward. 


Justice pursued. 


America's beautiful.

Fall in love, get inspired, make art... or babies? My thoughts on Solbeam.

I like everything about this except... why make babies OR art? I know plenty of men and women who are awesome artists and parents. One woman in particular told me her painting improved after she experienced motherhood. I know some folks are weary of or even downright against breeding, but making babies isn't like failing a test or falling in hate and it certainly isn't the antithesis of art-making. Even a physically challenged parent of six could make art if it is their will.

...

After writing the above, I was curious to know who Solbeam was, imagining an older person in paint-crusted coveralls sitting alone with his coffee in a sunny corner of their living room reliving a summer filled with hedonistic joy. So I did a little Googling. It turns out Solbeam is a blogger who has been on an incredible voyage. Someone I would, without needing to meet her and only after a quick browse on her website, call a kindred spirit. Her message to the would-be and fellow wanderers of the world is:
"engage your sense of wonder and think creatively with your life path; it’s your own to create and color."

And then I noticed she blogged about her own pregnancy in March 2012 here:
"Then I thought, surely, pregnancy would [slow me down]. I could say baby would – but those would be poor odds, now, wouldn’t they?"

So what of Solbeam's famed, oft tweeted quote? It is now on magnets adhered to so many fridges, sold on greeting cards in bookshops across the country... aligning parenthood with not dancing and with lying and cheating. These must be the words of a 20-something with a ticket somewhere new and a camera, too afraid of an anchor to consider mothering. If so, I feel you, sister.

Wouldn't it be great if Solbeam could edit this quote, perhaps with a new-found outlook... I would imagine it looks something like this:

Fall in love, get inspired, ace a test, make art and music, write, speak the truth, dance everywhere. Life is divine chaos. Embrace it. Forgive yourself. Breathe. Enjoy the ride... and share it all with the next generation.

Or maybe it is just my outlook that has changed.

Art from the heart,
Sarah