A Beauty Entry With a Philosophical Bent

Hello fellow beauty-nistas! (Hey, did I just coin a new word?!?) Hope you all are having a great day, and if it hasn't been soo great, I hope it will improve soon. I've been preparing all week to move to another store location--not that I've done a bad job managing my current store; far from it. I was asked to take on another store because one of our other managers is retiring due to medical reasons. An assistant manager in our district is being promoted to manager and is taking my store, I am being moved to a larger, higher volume store (a step up for me and a plus) and the manager of the store that I am moving to is being relocated to the store that has the retiring manager. I will be about 10-15 minutes away from my new store (a god-send with the price of gas these days), which is another plus for me. While in some respects this is definitely a step up for me, I am still feeling something missing in the midst of this--as much as I love working with my customers and yes, even though some of the admin stuff is a huge hassle right now because of all of the corporate changes that we've undergone in such a very short time, I still feel a part of me that is empty--unfulfilled.

I characterize myself as basically a creative, "artsy" personality. I love the arts in general: music, theatre, fine art, literature, dance--you name it, I'm there. On a very personal level, I absolutely love the needle arts: knitting, sewing, quilting, crocheting. I don't cross-stitch or tat, but I can certainly appreciate the art. And I love teaching these skills/honing these arts in/to others. My being seems to be most happy and "in sync" when I am able to do these types of things, even if I'm not making money hand-over-fist. Does anyone here really subscribe and follow the philosophy of "do what you love and the money will follow"? Does anyone reading this really, really, REALLY do this? If so, how do you do it? How does it really work? Does the money really follow? Not that I'm SOOO into money that I think it's everything, but let's face it--we all live in a world in which it takes a minimum amount of money to survive at some type of basic level. I feel that within the artistic side of me lies my vocation, and I don't feel as if I'm honoring that with what I'm doing. From time to time I really feel the conflict and this conflict, in part I'm sure fuels my bouts of depression. About ten years ago, I had the physical stamina to work a "regular" paying job during the day and pursue my heart's vocation at night with my own part-time custom sewing business and for all the lost sleep completing customer projects at the last minute, I really felt like I was doing what I was meant to do. At this stage, I really don't feel as if I have that same physican stamina--I really need to concentrate on either continuing to work for a corporation that is involved in the home sewing market, or I need to make a complete break and go on my own--sans benefits--and hope that I can build a base quickly. I have no savings to fall back on and no one that could/would bankroll this venture as a stop gap. Which again, contributes to the depressive moods. What's your take on all this? Who here has lived this and conquered? Clue me in! I truly believe that if one is doing one's "right task" then the beauty generated internally from feeling as if you are in your "right place" radiates from you and produces the outer beauty. Think about it...be blessed, hugs, and peace...janel