Expanding my Vision.

As a military spouse who has moved five times in the last ten years with a record of four solid years in one location, it’s been a struggle to maintain a career. Let’s add in my adorable 3-year-old twins and a husband who is always gone (single parent much?), and did I mention I’m in a foreign country? I’ve always, always volunteered but I am so excited to have recently secured an actual paying position!??

I found this new job, of all places, through my adoring and all-grown-up niece, Annaleise, as I made a sideways comment about needing to maintain relevancy, hone my skills, and make a difference in the world.??

At first, glance, Paint the World? a 501(c)3 aimed at building the creative capacity of and understanding between communities around the world, seemed like a kind of cool idea.??

True, I don’t know a single thing about art, let’s be honest, I can’t even draw a straight line and I get bored in art museums, but yeah, art is cool and I’ve always admired the peace that comes with being artistic and after reviewing Paint the World material, I look forward to finding the artist within me.??

Changing communities, well yeah - I can get behind that. In fact, Suzanne Tovo and I heated up things at Army Special Operations Command with our Mentorship Initiative.??

And non-profits, well that’s my niche!?

So okay, a little more spark and I start reading about Paint the Worlds Symbols Series and I ask myself what would my unconscious symbols be? What would they say and how would they connect me to my environment? Well, that’s just too deep. Okay, let’s skim the surface.

Conscious symbols and my military world. Hmmm…??

I pick up my necklace and start dragging the charm back and forth across the chain in a repeated motion. Mostly, it is what I do when I’m thinking. I feel the outline of my Special Forces Crest.??

Oh yeah, a symbol. My wheels start turning. The crest! What does that symbolize? To many: a green beret, a fairbairn–syke, arrowheads, to free the oppressed. How about heroes, honor, and professionalism? If I sit back, close my eyes, and let it all sink in, still rubbing my fingers across the now warm metal, I feel loss and heartache. Pride and sacrifice. And more than anything else: admiration.??

This tiny little symbol, this crest holds so many emotions, so much power, and as I go further down this thought of consciousness during my daily walk to the post office, I start to take notice of the symbols on the uniforms around me. Each one is decorated with different symbols (we’re at a joint command now so I can barely tell the difference between Army and Air Force anymore) but the symbols on the uniforms all tell a different story. A combat patch, a current unit, combat infantry badges, special tabs, and tridents are just the start. There are rockers and chevrons and stars, oh my.??

Suddenly, all of these patches around me take on a new meaning. What story do they tell? What fabric do they weave? What do they say about our community? And these are just the conscious symbols (when we actually stop to think about it). If these symbols are examined through a creative capacity - their meanings and feelings - and then recognized by the American people we represent, then it could help to create connections between our military and civilian communities. So, I’m all in!??

Add in my wonderful introduction to Bethany - the founder and director of Paint the World - where I first heard about the mission and her passionate ideas which sealed the deal.??

So, here I go on a new and wonderful journey of taking an intriguing project to the next level. If creative confidence empowers social progress, then I’m excited to apply its magic to my community, and hopefully to yours too!??