tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555143565211060055.post7790574690930205722..comments2024-03-27T11:32:33.877-07:00Comments on marie z johansen: Ponderings On A Milestone and A Life Collagedmzjohansenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099656264060749484noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555143565211060055.post-64180455643115007642011-05-26T12:49:53.035-07:002011-05-26T12:49:53.035-07:00This was very interesting to read, and well-writte...This was very interesting to read, and well-written. I am turning 55 this year, and I often think many of the same things. I am not going to handle it very well, I believe. Even though I've never really been thrown by any other birthday (it's just a number, I'd say), this one has me thinking about my mother who is gone and the times in my life I feel I wasted a bit of effort, even though all of it has made me who I am! I'm very thankful, too, but it's natural to think about the inexorable march of time and feel powerless and a bit frustrated. But it's good in that it's helping me to remember to enjoy every minute! My life is really wonderful right now!Parabolic Musehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08293896881451344660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555143565211060055.post-34996155017431986912011-05-26T10:52:21.391-07:002011-05-26T10:52:21.391-07:00Turning 50 was hard for me. Not because of my age,...Turning 50 was hard for me. Not because of my age, but because that is when my body started showing it wear and tear. My 60th is near also. I am looking forward to it because I really haven't enjoyed the 50's. I am learning to be more accepting of what I can do rather than focusing on what I can no longer do. I have found my voice and no longer jump when other want me to. I am also struggling with the "artist" name tag. I try not to dwell on the fact that I "should" have taken art classes when I went back to college in my mid thirties. My rational was that accounting pays the bills, art does not. But I still wonder - what if......Jeanniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11367949314724875797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555143565211060055.post-38264646649036664732011-05-25T15:12:42.820-07:002011-05-25T15:12:42.820-07:00Such touching candor, Marie. I'm sure you wrot...Such touching candor, Marie. I'm sure you wrote much of what so many of us think at some point in our lives. <br /><br />I'm just past 50 and due to the scare of my life (breast cancer) a few years ago, I, too, have reviewed my life and considered my own mortality. I, too, feel compelled to create more and to "work for the man" less. I don't dwell on "might have beens" even thought there are so many mostly because I've had a pretty good life and have been lucky in so many ways. I've had so much more in my life than I ever imagined possible. Now I'm working hard to find the energy and time to "leave a legacy" which, for me, is my blog and quilts for the people I love.<br /><br />I so appreciate your putting these thoughts on your blog. You're not alone. SO not alone.<br /><br />And, by the way, you ARE an artist. You don't have to go to school to be one. It will make a world of difference to you to be able to say "I'm an artist". You should practice saying it out loud ... to yourself over and over again. And one day when you meet someone new and they ask what you do, say, "I'm an artist" ... and then talk about your medium. <br /><br />I heard my daughter and her friends talking about this very issue and they're all about 23 years old. When do you start calling yourself an "artist" or a "writer" without being afraid that someone will challenge you or call you a fraud? What they have discovered is that by believing it of themselves and by projecting that confidence in being an artist of writer to others, it has meant that others take them more seriously and doors have opened that might not have otherwise. <br /><br />Just sayin ...Heather Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10225483666564626507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555143565211060055.post-71928504389410334602011-05-24T17:34:38.037-07:002011-05-24T17:34:38.037-07:00What a great post, Marie, and so filled with that ...What a great post, Marie, and so filled with that longing we all seem to feel with each milestone. I want to affirm that I love your art work and think of you as AN ARTIST! (But I also have those doubts and insecurities.) And I believe that the busy career days you experienced somehow gave you a deeper well in which to dip for your creative flow now.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13026969923882243495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555143565211060055.post-36072753670493880932011-05-24T14:26:17.915-07:002011-05-24T14:26:17.915-07:00I remember 30 being a horrible shock, and 40 being...I remember 30 being a horrible shock, and 40 being very freeing up - I decided I wasn't going to be pushed around be anyone and would make my own decisions (and did so for a surprising amount of the time after that); sixty was a time to pause and take a different course (with care I was able to retire a short time after that). And I'm still 19 inside my head!Sandra Wymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04513871393590385611noreply@blogger.com