Inspiration

I don't have a finished daily painting to post today. It's been filled with errands and paperwork. Oodles of paperwork. So, I thought I'd post a sweet email I received the other day, one that nearly brought a tear to my eye:
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"Just thought you would like a smile. My little daughters - ages three and five respectively - took such delight in your paintings! Especially the ones of the delicious sweets and goodies! Your art captured their imagination - they look forward to sitting at the computer and looking at paintings. Your sweet paintings inspire them to create their own little works of art! They look at the world differently now - they draw and paint what they love to look at and what they love to eat (we also get inspired to bake delicious treats for dessert!) When you paint, know that your gift is bringing joy and delight to the world, one painting at a time!"
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When I was a little girl, my favorite thing to do was to lay all my crayons, pencils and colored pens out on the table before me, along with paper and coloring books, and create to my heart's content. Recently, I had the opportunity to contact my former college mentor to thank her for sharing her time and her talent with me, that I carried with me her teachings to this day, that she inspired me and that I hoped to do the same for others. Receiving this email today reminded me of both my childhood fascination with art and my mentor, and I felt a certain blessed privilege to be a part of the domino effect of joy that creative expression can bring. In one moment, I was both the student and the teacher combined, and it was like an out-of-body experience, a delight to the senses that nothing else can bring. I am humbled and grateful.