Life Is Like A Cupcake

Life is like a cupcake.  You want the cupcake.  All you can think about is how that cupcake is going to taste.  And it’s hard to pick because all the cupcakes look good.  The  expectation of the frosting, and the pure pleasure of each morsel. The sweetness surges through you and lifts you up onto a white fluffy cloud of happiness.  This is what you wanted. And then,  the sugar low hits, if you want too much or should I say “munch”.  The cloud turns grey.  It begins to rain, thunder strikes and the cloud becomes dark and full of rain.  You feel yourself falling  down to earth, soaked to the gills, sloshing around, looking for your umbrella.

It is natural and healthy to want that cupcake but most of us  have no desire to bake the cupcake or to experience the sugar lows.  It is so much easier to buy it.  And we don’t want to get wet or walk in the rain. And sometimes we don’t want to share the cupcake.

Being an artist is about baking the cupcake.  It’s not just about getting it.  Oh sure, you can buy a cupcake at any market or bakery if you have the dough (excuse the pun, bun,  couldn’t help myself).

The cupcake for me is a metaphor for life.  We have  goals, dreams, hopes.  But wait, what happens if you bake a lot of cupcakes but only a few come out right.  Well, that’s life. But are you willing to bake the cupcake or buy it already in the box?  If you just want to buy the cupcake, you’ll never really taste it.  And you will still experience the sugar low.

In life there are always ups and downs.  The goal achieved is a cupcake.  Baking takes time and there is no guarantee.   The trick is to bake lots of cupcakes and let go of the expectations.  Once in a while you’ll make a good one.

Ingredients for a Jodi cupcake:

 

Be purposeful for yourself and others

Forgive yourself and others

Work on skills everyday and always know there is more to  learn.

Accepting that life is up and down. That’s why the cupcake tastes so good at that moment

Be true to your word and your work.  Always push yourself to be better.  I make it a practice to just work on a random exercise, a warm up before my actual studio time.  It is an exercise in patience.

Producing work consistently

Exercise

Read a book that has nothing to do with art

Enjoy dinner with a friend

Meditate or do a task that requires your complete attention

Do a good deed and don’t tell anyone.  Then you will know it is from the heart and not just to prove you are good.

Make lists and structure your time.  Cross goals off the list as you go.  Those not completed will be for the next day. Pat yourself on the back for each goal completed.  I even put “Walk Pickles” on my list.

Prioritize and don’t put off what you can do today.  Do what is hardest first and then reward yourself later.

Focus. Turn your gadgets off while creating.  Don’t let your cupcakes burn while hitting the “like” button.

Show up early

Enjoy the success of others. Support your art friends.  Collaborate with them.  Is there an artist whose work might play well with yours?  Their success is yours!  It’s like a great song.  Soon you’ll be singing it too.

Understand that each of us is on a separate journey and that we each have something incredible to bring to the table.

Be good to yourself and others

Be  kind to yourself and others

Always do your best.

Know that each of us deserve cupcakes and be happy when someone gets one.

When you make a great cupcake, enjoy it.  When ever you see a great cupcake for someone else, share it.  It’s fun to have cupcakes together.  Then have a new goal, and bake a new cupcake.

For all the cupcakes that burn, there will be a perfect one so just keep baking.  For every “no”  there is a “yes” at some point. Keep making  cupcakes.

Love and live your life the best you can.

Keep your emotions centered.  If something good happens, great.  If nothing happens, that’s fine too. Just keep baking.

Never add expectations, bitterness,envy, comparison, regret, cunnings or cravings to the batter.  These ingredients are much too spicy or bitter.

Accept that there is no perfect cupcake all the time.

If you tried to bake a cupcake and it didn’t come out. Keep going.  I have had many cupcakes that didn’t come out over the years.  We bake until the oven goes out.  Every now and then I make a cupcake that comes out perfectly.  Savor that delicious moment. Take small bites,  eat slowly and hang out on a fluffy cloud.  You’ll still feel the sugar low that is life. And it is wonderful to have all the feelings than to feel nothing.
Life is joy, pain, surprise, giggles, loving our pets, loving our friends and family, birth, loss, grief, sadness, acceptance, forgiveness, elation, passion and much more.  Use the best ingredients and start with yourself. Be true.