A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What one can be, one must be. ~Abraham Maslow
Creativity and wellness message for today: Be who you are.
In my last blog “New Thoughts on Self-Promotion” I used a metaphor of the great heron, who waits patiently for its meal to swim by. The stately white bird stands seemingly immobile at low tide, then at just the right moment snatches up breakfast. Have you wondered how it knows exactly when and where to strike?
As a bird living in the wild, the heron naturally is keenly aware. It uses its body to guide its actions, not necessarily its brain. I believe the heron uses all of its senses — sight, sound, smell, touch, taste as well as instinct. Many humans have lost their internal navigation system.
Like a baby, the heron uses its senses to explore, discover and master the world around it. Sadly it is our sensory perceptions that are systematically trained out of us by family, schooling and society, as we mature.
To reclaim this power for yourself, take a moment, right now to sharpen your senses. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, then:
1. Be fully aware of how your body feels, notice the temperature of the air on your skin.
2. If the air had a taste, what would it taste like?
3. Feel your breathing, is it shallow or deep? No judgement, just observation. Is your heart fluttering or calm?
4. What do you hear? Can you stretch your hearing to receive the farthest most sound?
5. Smell the odors around you, an animal’s sense of smell can save its life.
6. What do you feel like doing at this very minute? Will you give yourself permission to do it?
7. Over the next week, invite yourself to simply observe a situation in your life, with all your senses. Then let your observations help you intrinsically know when to act (or not). Let your body, not your mind, direct you.
Creativity and wellness message for today: Learn how to be body smart, reconnect with your senses. Then just like the heron, trust your instincts.
Today I’m thinking about the regal white heron. If you live near the water you have witnessed the majestic and stately grace of the heron waiting patiently at low tide, watching in the stillness for its breakfast to swim by. No ripple appears around the heron’s legs, it seems immobile. When the right fish ventures too close the heron rapidly thrusts its beak into the shallow water without hesitation and immediately snatches up its meal.
In today’s world of power marketing and social media we are bombarded with what I call the “all about me” mentality. I’m shifting my focus and learning from the great white heron. It draws no attention to itself, as it stands, stock still keenly observing. Its sustenance comes to it, not the other way around.
As an artist and writer I am guilty of the “See Me!” method of promoting my work for the return of dinner on my family’s table. Currently I heed the great white heron’s wise counsel. I am standing still.
Creativity and wellness message for today: Be patient, silently observe, then strike with precision at just the right moment.
I headed out for my walk this morning wearing a pale yellow sweatshirt, frayed and loose around the neck, with one shoulder partially exposed, Flashdance style. My skin was cool and the air was quiet when I left my house. I felt footloose and fancy free. Taking a route different from my normal routine, I trekked up one hill then down another to reach the water. As I approached Long Island Sound the wind whipped up and I saw tiny white caps.
My morning of life/work balance was already pleasantly euphoric. My sneakers beat a steady rhythm on the asphalt and I thought back to art school. A college professor taught all the students in my Design class to turn every artwork around, to view it from all sides. This way the artist can see and change the composition from every angle. What I learned is that when I changed something from one perspective, it changed the whole piece. The finished artwork was completed by drawing a line or changing a shape that I never would have considered if I had not viewed it upside down or backwards.
Today, the surprise of seeing white caps on a day that started out calm and simultaneously feeling exhilarated by the increasing winds put me in a place of deeper gratitude.
Creativity and wellness message for today: Look at your moment from a different view, break out of your routine and be delighted at how the change affects the whole.
Hello everyone, I’m back to writing my creativity and wellness blog, after enjoying a break from it this summer. If you are a regular subscriber to this blog, welcome back! If you are reading it for the first time, I hope you find something you like and visit again. In once-a-weekish short essays I’ll share inspiring quotes, messages, and revelations geared to enrich your thinking and sometimes soothe your soul.
After having a busy summer, filled with deadline-oriented professional responsibilities and a truckload of personal ones, I’m getting my feet planted in this new season. I was reminded over the weekend how easy it is to slip back into old habits, ones that aren’t good for me. My vulnerability is going into an emotional place that I call the wounded victim. It’s that place in which I consider my glass half empty instead of half full. It’s an old familiar place of discomfort and I see that I have more work to do digging myself out of my own pit. Writing this blog entry actually helped me clarify my thoughts and in turn my spirit lifted.
If you find yourself in an old habit that doesn’t serve you, use the metaphor of going back to school as your guide. Start again changing your frame of mind or commit to applying paint brush to canvas, or hands to wet clay. Pick up your unfinished manuscript and start where you left off.
Creativity and wellness message for today: Just like an artist with a sketch pad full of empty pages, let yourself create a new sketch.
In Twyla Tharps’ book The Creative Habit, she talks about the importance of stopping before you become exhausted. As creative individuals we can get caught up in the verve of our endeavors, and can tire ourselves. Tharp shows the value of stopping before that point. She says that while she works herself, and her dancers hard, she always ends a rehearsal before everyone is fatigued. That way a bridge is built to the next day.
I know a minister who takes July and August away from emails. He responds to emergency calls, but in the summer, he takes everything down a notch in order to have time for reflection and rejuvenation. I feel the same way about this blog. I am going to take a break from writing it this summer. What’s funny is that I am not exhausted or burned out. In fact I have a pile of 26 purple, blue and white handwritten notes in various sizes and shapes on my desk, ready and filled with ideas for this blog. I’m glad to end the season on a happy, fertile note and to build a bridge to September.
During the summer months I will still be working and writing. If you miss me you can follow me on Twitter where I write about creativity, wellness, art, books, writing and reading. Or just tune in when I return in September. Until then, I hope you enjoy your own summer.
Creativity and wellness message for today: Take a breather before you need to.
Watching a scarlet cardinal splish and splash in the bird bath this morning caused me to stop my responsibilities of the moment and just be delighted by the scene. The image of the red bird wriggling from head to tip of tail in the cobalt blue ceramic dish, with a background of emerald green lawn appealed to me.
I was struck by the bird’s total immersion in its activity. It reminded me of my day last week at BookExpo America. BEA is the largest North American publishing trade show. Just like the cardinal I dove into the trade show experience full on. You can read more about it in the Fairfield Writer’s Blog where I penned a report.
This morning, the ease of the cardinal in the bath reminded me of those things that help an artist or writer be in their zone of creativity. At BEA I heard the author Cornelia Funke speak about her writing process. What fascinated me was learning that she started her career as an illustrator. This explains her use of visual objects to inspire her writing. She writes in what she calls her “writing house,” a small building on her California property, formerly owned by the actress Faye Dunaway. Built-in shelves originally lined the walls to hold Dunaway’s dramatic awards. Funke now uses the shelves to hold bits and pieces of color, texture, symbol, and shape as fodder for her imagination. As an artist I can relate to the comfort zone of using the visual to enhance the written.
Creativity and wellness message for today: What is your zone of creativity? What can you use to expand your awareness and deepen your expression?
In the Women’s Center of a local college there sat a group of women, similar, yet different. Courageous women who were all breast cancer survivors. My program for them was “Guided Meditation for Insight and Joy.” After we shared a bite to eat and lots of hearty humor we moved into the evening’s event. I gave a brief introduction on meditation then led the group through three customized guided imagery exercises.
The room calmed as the women released stress and anxiety, and the green plants lining the window sill seemed to perk up. Each person tried something new and reaped the benefits. Some comments after the program included: “soothing; relaxing (x4); peaceful; personal; interesting; nice . . . how nice; reflective; time you give yourself.”
I congratulate The Breast Cancer Survival Center which offers unique programs throughout the year. Their founder Susan Santangelo epitomizes living life to the fullest. The women in attendance had endured trauma, fear, and loss as well as recovery, transformation and joy.
Creativity and wellness message for today: Healing is creating an environment in which your mental, physical, spiritual and emotional bodies can integrate.
“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.” -White Elk
Creativity and wellness message for today: Take inspiration from how you want your story to end. Then work in reverse to make it happen.
It’s cool and wet here in New England today. Isn’t May supposed to be mild? I keep on adding layers to get warmer but my hands are still cold. There’s a lesson for me in this and that is to stay open. I can’t change the weather nor will Mother Nature lift the lid of her suggestion box to read my opinion on the matter. In temperature as in creative endeavors, if I can refrain from trying to control the situation, I may be surprised by the outcome. When I fully accepted that it was chilly and that May should not be this cold, a light bulb went off in my brain.
My shoulders no longer shiver and my fingers are more flexible because immediately before I sat down to write this blog, I turned on the heat. What a simple solution, one that took me several hours to get to. All morning, while working at my desk, I kept on fighting the cold. Once I opened to its reality, all I had to do was turn a switch.
Creativity and wellness message for today: Be receptive to what is.