Comparison began this work, compassion completed it.

Far too often in life, many compare their own lives to others lives without knowing anything about the other person. This might begin with seeing a snapshot and creating a story of what that snapshot means. That snapshot omits anything from what they have gone through in life, what is currently happening in their life and even where they might be headed.  Many important details are filled in with imagination.

Painting helps me process emotions. I was going through a particularly challenging time in my life when I painted this. After months on the road and my other business struggling and piling van build out costs, I was doing a lot of comparing and I wasn’t painting.

In early 2021, I let go of much of what was holding me back in life. After hearing a quiet still voice, while having coffee with a friend, I felt God asking me to trust him in all aspects of my life and let go of a life that I knew for one that I was destined for. There was a peace beyond all understanding that I can’t describe about the path I was about to embark on.

For context, I LOVE cars and LOVED my Audi S4; I even painted a work called “4 Rings” to celebrate it. It was my canvas before finding my love for regular painting. I also LOVED and appreciated my home. I bought the highrise in 2006 “on paper” after seeing the architectural drawings. My home was in the Heart of Tempe, another work I did. Something deep inside KNEW I had to, so I did. NOW I know why…I had NO idea at the time.

After months on the road, I was comparing being a homeowner to living in a van, from driving a sports sedan with a 6 speed manual with an exhaust that was a symphony to my ears, to driving a van with an automatic transmission and a diesel sound, from having a consistent schedule with familiar environments to being thrown into daily and weekly changes. Professionally, I was comparing my entrepreneurial journey with other entrepreneurs and where I thought I should be after 10 years. I didn’t stop there, I even compared myself with friends that had corporate jobs thinking about how much more stable the income could be. The more I compared, the more frustration compounded.

After sharing this with a few friends, they asked me “when was the last time you painted?” It had been over 4 months, and I realized the very thing that helps me with emotions was the thing I wasn’t doing. They stated, “what if you wrote down all of the challenges you are facing on canvas, even if no one ever saw what you wrote?” After the question, I told them I would start a new canvas and this was the work.

I wrote the emotions I was experiencing in 2021 down on the left and wrote empowering words on the right. I turned each of the negative into empowering words:

• Comparison to Compassion
• Loneliness to Connection
• Frustration to Discovery
• Shame to Redemption
• Disappointment to Appreciation
• Sadness to Joy

When I saw them written down, I felt like my artist journey picked right back up where it left off with a richer depth and insight into life. I also realized there is another comparison that bubbled to the surface, one I struggled with for years…the comparison to another “me” that might have chosen something different than what I chose that might have worked out better than the choice I made at the time.

After painting this piece, I found compassion for myself and found new insights to build and grow my business.

I hope you have enjoyed hearing a story that might connect in some way to something you might be doing. As a result of this work, I am inviting you to look for compassion for yourself, not comparison to others.  Don’t compare where you are in your life to what anyone else is doing…you are on your journey. Enjoy going from “Comparison to Compassion.”