Give 52 - Week 2: Quest

Love is Kind for Chris Guillebeau
Give 52 - Week 2
Drawing by Cheryl Houston 2015

I don't know Chris Guillebeau. The only connection I have with him is me reading his books, The $100 Start Up and  The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest that Will Bring Purpose to Your Life.

The post I originally wrote is below but that all seemed not to be as important after I read this post written by Chris. Chris lost his brother Ken this year and the story he so bravely shares makes my heart ache for him and for everyone who loses someone too soon. I never know what to say in these times of mourning other than I'm thinking of you and praying for you. 

Chris' post talks about wanting to be kind like his brother Ken and how he believes that he wasn't as kind as Ken. I didn't know Ken so I can't compare and again, I don't know Chris either. But, I don't believe for a minute that Chris isn't kind. He writes books encouraging and inspiring others to believe in their dreams and to seek greater meaning and purpose. His kindness in authoring those words of encouragement have touched me to create this blog and this one year quest. It's a small thing. But, it's my thing. It's my hope that my art will encourage and lift up others.

So, Chris, I'm so sorry for your loss. You are in my thoughts and my prayers. May you find peace and know that there is a world of readers that believe you are kind. I'm one of them. Thank you for sharing your gift with me. 

Now, back to the original post...

2014 was my Year of Purpose and just like in my Year of Love, I dove into books about purpose. It wasn't that I necessarily needed more purpose but I just felt like something was missing. My home life was good. My job was okay but I just wanted something more. I'm not sure where I heard of Chris' book The Happiness of Pursuit but I immediately thought I had to read it. Except, I didn't read The Happiness of Pursuit. I listened to it on audio, to and from work everyday but same thing, right? And, then I listened to it again.

Chris' book is full of encouraging stories of other people's quests. I particularly like when he quotes Carrie, a hospice care worker speaking about patients under her care. She says, "when you're at the end of your life there's no time for bullshit."

One morning I was journaling and I wrote:

My God! I need a quest! I need a quest just like Chris describes in his book.

But what would that quest be? I don't have the travel bug like Chris does. I'm not going to go to every baseball stadium in the US or cook meals from countries around the world or knit 10,000 hats like the people in book did because those are not my things but drawing and painting and creating art. That's what I do. That is what I cannot not do. I don't know why I'm drawn to create art. It's just who I am. 

Pablo Picasso is quoted as saying: The meaning in life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. 

If I had not listened to Chris' audio-book, I may not have ever been thinking about finding my own quest and Give 52 would have never been born and my artwork would be molding away in a drawer. So, thank you Chris Guillebeau for sharing your shine with me and the world and encouraging us to live a better life following our dreams.

This is my gift. I give it to you.