Balance

What is the secret to finding balance between art and life? I'm pondering this question at the moment as I sit here recovering from a bout of bronchitis and wishing I had the energy to get myself to the studio. But this question will remain prevalent even after I am healed. Over the past few months I have been working part time for a local non-profit organization called Haiti Community Support (www.haitisupport.org). My job, as Managing Director, is to create a new infrastructure that will allow the organization to grow in order to fulfill its mission of helping forgotten remote Haitian villages through educational, health and economic programs.

It's a tall order for a part-time job in which I play strategist, web master, administrator, public relations consultant and marketer. But I do it because my heart is in it, and I enjoy bundling all my business skills into one cohesive package.

The challenge comes in switching gears from left brain to right brain, from task-driven and results-oriented to process-inclined and mood-prone. A seemingly good plan involved doing business in the morning and art in the afternoon, but I haven't had much art to show for this plan.

The downtime with bronchitis has afforded me this insight: art requires time, lots of focused, uninterrupted time with the muse. So I've got a new game plan: create a balance in terms of days, not hours.

This coming week I'll put it into action: block out entire days devoted to art, and structure work and other chores around this block. It looks good on paper. Life is not so linear, but if I stand my ground, I bet it can be done.