I know it’s part of human small talk, but I really don’t like being asked:

This Question

This very simple inquiry keeps getting me.

What do you do?

This seems to be getting to the whole – how are you living on Earth and able to fund ish? question. I straight up told someone today it is complicated. Then gave the breakdown as quickly as I could before losing their attention. I still think I lost her attention – but aye I tried.

A couple months ago, I was walking around Menards – getting my steps in while dressed up in a sparkly outfit. A staff member that was behind me asked me where I worked to be dressed so fancy. I turned around and responded:

I work for Jesus.

She said, ” Oh really.”. I replied Yes and then kept on with my walk. I was actually shocked at my response yet settled in it.

I don’t ever want to come across as too deep, too spiritual, too extreme – like some people may say – but it is what it is. If you feel that way – perhaps you are too shallow, too worldly, too moderate. How does that feel for you? We could just let each other be, right? (talking to my own self)

Go tell the sun it’s too hot.

Go tell the moon it’s too cool.

Will they switch up?

Idk what I do for a living at this point.

For a living I am Lonisa Mari.

Would you go up to a lion and ask what it does for a living? A lion is just being a lion – it doesn’t even know what it is LOL. It’s just doing stuff based on how it was raised and it’s core programming.

Go yell at a lion for being being unable to articulate that it is a lion. Get up close and do it. You’ll find out first hand what they do for a living. Toodalooo motha suckaaaaaaa!

Sometimes I’m dancing, writing, singing, drawing, acting, modeling, teaching, ranting, doing fashion – I mean I’m just doing stuff. The painful part is that these things I do have not been monetized – which has me like – forget this just be me ish – cause where is the payment?

I’ve had loved ones that know I am not clocking in to a job and have acted like I can be available whenever…on some ” You have nothing to do” type ish. I’m thinking – so me being me….doesn’t count? Wild, but coo coo.

But isn’t me being me for a living even if I’m not being compensated monetarily for it (yet) – still purposeful enough of an answer?

An ant that is never seen, gets ran over and dies – still did something purposeful for a living.

My goal is to keep expanding into the healthiest most truest version of Lonisa Mari to give God glory, serve others, and to be compensated from that space of non-performance.

What label do you we give that, dang?

Do tell.

I have used edutainer, artist, entrepreneur (but it’s turning out like a wantrepreneur and that is too painful to say out loud without playing my own self). I also am not big on saying I’m a creative….cause we are all creative even if we punch numbers all day. God created both structure and flow.

Some of us identify with what we do to make money and/or roles as what we do for a living. Some of us identify with the gift we operate out of the most to serve others. But what happens if the role/job/career goes bye bye or we aren’t able to use our gifting/talent for a period of time. Then what? What do we do for a living? Unravel? bahahahaha

Go ask a four year old what they do? Try to put a label on their unresponsiveness or rambling? bahahahahaha

Then…aren’t we just being ourselves or at least working to identify and remove the many masks we have worn to bury who we truly are to fit into molds? #mildew

Perhaps this is why transitioning from “working” to being “unemployed” can feel like such a shock cause it’s like – now – how do I answer that question.

How do you respond to that question?

Love,