Have you ever asked yourself, why does it matter that we do the things we do? Why do we care that things are done a certain way, and that our habits and choices are reflected in those of others? We all go through life one day at a time, trying to do the best we can with the time we have. The one universal currency that we all share across the globe is time. Yet there are as many different meanings attached to it, as there are people in the world.
What we do with our time, how we prioritize it, and who we share it with, is indicative of our personal values and deeply rooted in what matters to each of us. WHY it matters, is shaped by common universal truths that we, as humans, have the privilege to explore.
I have been asking myself “why does it matter” a lot lately as I go about my day, habitually executing the routine tasks that keep my family, my house, and my career running. Maybe I’m entering a midlife crisis as I exit my third decade of life and reflect on who I’ve become…and haven’t become, or maybe I’ve just reached a point in my life where experience, maturity, and awareness of the world finally crash into each other. It’s not always a happy place to be, as the innocence of youth gives way to an awakening to the truths of what goes on in the world, from the love and hate that propels people forward, to the raw power of mother nature and our small existence within it.
Amidst all that, as I hunch over a painting that’s taken me fifteen years to finish, I can’t help but ask myself; why does it matter? Why does it matter whether I finish this piece of art? In the great scheme of things, why does it matter that I paint at all? I can easily answer why I paint, but why it matters that I paint…that has tugged at my soul these last few years as I scramble to keep up with the chaos of family life, work, sleepless nights, and worrying about the current state of humanity.
And yet, sometimes as we ache for a greater purpose in our choices and how we spend our time, a simple validation from your loved ones is all it takes to make you realize why what you do matters. I love watching you paint, my husband said to me after the long awaited painting was finished, there is pure joy in your face, you get completely lost in what you’re doing, as if the rest of the world doesn’t exist. That’s when I know you’re at peace with yourself.
THAT’s why it matters
-Jo-
