Inspiration From My Homeless Friend.
I have a new favorite person these days - Carlton. A brilliant artist and a genuinely nice human being. I see him each and every day, and each and every day he's there to greet me with a smile and his regular salutation - "what up, what up my man J?! How you feelin' today?". Coming from him, this means a lot.While Carlton follows his passion by creating art all day (that's his painting up there on the left), he's also one of the many homeless here in DC. But rather than roam the streets asking for money every other minute, he finds a curb and he paints. And he paints, and he paints, and he paints! And the most interesting part about it all? He's HAPPY! I've never once seen him complaining or agitated with that brush in his hand - on that street, he's as peaceful as can be.
Now, I'm not naive to think his life is all rosy and without hardship, nor do understand that much about the homeless lifestyle in general, but I DO know that when Carlton paints he's following his passion. He'll sit there for hours sketching on scraps of cardboard, poster board, wood, whatever he can get his hands on. Just this morning I saw him outlining his family portrait on a rug. A rug! Seriously, even if you're not a fan of art you'd be inspired by this guy.
And I think that's what this post is really about today - inspiration. Inspiration to keep moving on when life gets you down. To keep pursuing your dreams and holding onto that positive mentality as best you can. Yes we might be in $XX,XXX of debt, or owe way more on our houses than they're worth, but you know what? Life is more than about making money and working for that next promotion. It's about LIVING. About finding that little piece of happiness every time we awake. Every time we're blessed to have another day on this Earth.
Does that mean we just quit our jobs and go fly fishing all day? No, of course not (unless you can figure out a way to make some money off it :) ) but it does mean we could do better at setting aside a little more time each day to pursue the things we enjoy. We still have to pay the bills and all, but following that passion of yours keeps the flame inside of you hopeful and going strong.
And that's exactly why I put Carlton's eye painting right next to my desk - to remind me to wake up and spend time on living today. Kinda like he's watching over me and making sure I don't forget ;) It's a wonderful feeling seeing that. My friend right there to remind me of what's important.
Labels: art, inspiration, life
posted by J. Money at
8:16 AM
11 Comments:
Isn't it amazing how we can find inspiration in any place? Great post.
I think I'm going to cry. Thank you for that post. I guess no matter where we find ourselves, hope is internal.
"Does that mean we just quit our jobs and go fly fishing all day? No, of course not (unless you can figure out a way to make some money off it :) ) but it does mean we could do better at setting aside a little more time each day to pursue the things we enjoy. We still have to pay the bills and all, but following that passion of yours keeps the flame inside of you hopeful and going strong."
I like your story, but I specifically like this little quote from it. Here's the thing - not everyone can have a job that they are passionate about it. To steal a line from Office Space - no one would clean up ****. Maybe your job isn't that horrible to you, but it might not be your passion. My passion is politics but I'm going into finance. I might never get a job in politics because, well, there seems to be a lot of politics behind it and it's not worth it to maneuver that for such small pay. But I will continue to study politics and spend time pursuing stuff related to it. If I got caught up in the expected $$$ return of that hobby it wouldn't be worth the money. Thing is, it's what I like and I will continue to pursue it anyway.
Funny you should post this story today...I'll be participating in the Cleveland Museum of Art's annual Chalkfest this weekend and it's my chance to be all artsy-fartsy!
Last year I ached from all the bending over the sidewalk drawing on my hands and knees for several hours but ya know what? I loved it and can't wait to do it all again!!! And I'll be doing a lot of soul searching trying to figure out what my passion is since I'll soon be laid off from my graphic design job in the near future.
So kudos to Carlton!
There was a man just like Carlton where I used to live. He lived in the parking lot behind a bar and spent the evenings sitting out front, painting. The homeless here generally get harassed to no end, but everyone left him alone. I don't know why he ended up homeless, but I always respected him. He was living his life on his own terms and free to do his art whenever it pleased him.
There's another story here which is about your kindness is stopping and talking to Carleton. We never know what we can learn from another person no matter where they are in life. Great article!
I'm glad you guys liked this :) Every now and then something/someone makes me stop and appreciate life and our joys even more - and Carlton def. did this for me. And what's nice is that I have that painting to remind me of it! Best $20 I've spent in a long time...
@RainyDaySaver - Yes! I wish we could find this every day too.
@a.b. - you are beautiful :)
@David@DINKS Finance - Amen brother, I like the way you think.
@wldflr - Wonderful, I hope you have lots of fun! Sorry to hear about your impending layoff, that's truly a scary time to go through :( My prayers go out to you.
@Miss M - It is interesting how people end up the way they are. I'm glad your homeless artist is able to do his thing as well!
@Bucksome - Thank you so much, you are correct - we have to do our best to talk with those less fortunate as they all have stories to tell and "feelings too" as cheezy as that sounds.
That's an excellent post... and very timely. I have been having a rough time of things and it's difficult to remember to live. It's also difficult to be inspired when you're down. This post was very inspirational and wonderfully written. Thanks.
Great post, J! I think everyone needs something hanging on the wall, near the desk, etc. that reminds us of what is really important in life.
I love this post. Thank you for sharing. I am an arist myself and you just reminded me why I do it...it has never been for the money. Which is why I have always loved it. I have a similar piece in my art studio, that was painted by mouth from an artist friend of mine who is paralized. Besides the fact that it is beautiful, it reminds me daily how blessed I am.
Wow!!! I would love to see that painting if you have a picture of it somewhere? Talk about inspiration :)
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