So much of what we do is walled into pigeonholes by societal expectations.
We start our creative journeys for the joy they bring to us and slowly realize there are many more that are doing the same thing. The way we are trained in our military based, authoritarian education, is then, to not find happiness and company in our interest sharing kins and learning from them but feeling competitive and constantly lacking in our abilities.
Its not easy, but also very important to protect our initial joy and expand on it. Disallow others to judge your connect with your crafts and passions. Don’t allow them to pitch you against a ’pro’ or anyone doing a better job. Don’t even allow anyone to make you feel better from someone they consider doing a lesser job. Just focus on the joy your craft brings you. The dialogues you have with your tools are the ones that allow you to understand yourself more deeply, and through yourself, the whole of humanity. Don’t let these voices be polluted by other’s concerns of where they should place you in their value spectrum.