The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice.
`Who are YOU?’ said the Caterpillar.
This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, `I–I hardly know, sir, just at present– at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.’
`What do you mean by that?’ said the Caterpillar sternly. `Explain yourself!’
`I can’t explain MYSELF, I’m afraid, sir’ said Alice, `because I’m not myself, you see.’
`I don’t see,’ said the Caterpillar.
`I’m afraid I can’t put it more clearly,’ Alice replied very politely.”
“What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” For the better part of the last 5 years I have been pleasantly challenged by this question. Facing the enormity of this query is scary in itself, but in reality we pose this existential dilemma to ourselves in other subtle ways: “What would you do if you won the lottery?”, or “What would you tell your 20-year-old self?” Whatever the iteration, this form of self-analysis simply boils down to fear (or the absence thereof).
After 21 years in my career I decided to take a sabbatical to ask myself this question. As a result, my blog went on hiatus too. I didn’t travel the world or sell all of my possessions, but I did pursue some personal goals. I am happy to say that I love what I’ve accomplished and I truly enjoyed the process. Taking that first leap into the unknown was the hardest part of it all. I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me but I know I am on the right path.
I am pleased to announce that I will soon launch a brand new site. I have loved Culture Shock Art; editing this blog has taught me so much about art, design, writing and social media. With all that I have learned over the past 5 years with Culture Shock, I decided to take my love for art in a slightly different direction. My new site is in its “caterpillar” stage and I will be sure to share details on where you can find me once it is launched. I’m really excited about how this project is turning out!
So…“What would you do if YOU weren’t afraid?”
Finding the answer to this question is not as difficult as you may think, especially if you start by deciding to be happy.
Culture Shock Art 
Ahhh! Refreshing… I loved reading this! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Saam! It’s always a good idea to recalibrate.once in a while 🙂
Hugs and best to you always!
Back at you Mel!!! More on the new site coming soon.