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Posts tagged ‘Creativity’

Jul 5

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The Sum of Small Things

“When tea becomes ritual, it takes its place at the heart of our ability to see greatness in small things. Where is beauty to be found? In great things that, like everything else, are doomed to die, or in small things that aspire to nothing, yet know how to set a jewel of infinity in a single moment?”― Muriel Barbery, The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Today marks 916 days of posting daily.
It’s my morning ritual and practice.
Weaving together thoughts, quotes anchored in honesty, optimism, what I strive for and miss often, and light.
Sometimes it flows, sometimes it needs to be pulled out.
Clunky and smooth.
Random and ordered.
A mix of it all.
The commitment, the daily practice, the small steps add up.
It sets the direction and intention for each day.
Rituals. Practice. Imperfect action.
Hopefully it helps in our shared journey.
To lighten the load for a few minutes or more.
To extend belonging.
To deepen connection.
Do small things daily.
Explore. Create. Play.

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh

May 23

Create Today

“To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.”― Osho

“Basic Principles:

  1. Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy: pure creative energy.
  2. There is an underlying, in-dwelling creative force infusing all of life — including ourselves.
  3. When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator’s creativity within us and our lives.
  4. We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.
  5. Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.
  6. The refusal to be creative is self-will and is counter to our true nature.
  7. When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction.
  8. As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected.
  9. It is safe to open ourselves up to greater and greater creativity.
  10. Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity.”― Julia Cameron

We are all creative.
24 hours in day for each of us.
Our life made up of our decisions or indecisions, our choices, our imagination.
Open the door to possibilities.
Cross the threshold.
Move toward your divinity.
Anchor in awe, exploration, expression.
Create this day.

“I never made one of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking.”― Albert Einstein

Mar 20

Whitespace and Margins

“The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out.” – Dee Hock

Invite, allow, open to space, margins, unwritten, unknown;
Where old thoughts don’t limit and rule;
Where beauty and mystery deepen;
Where opinions, assumptions, judgments are put down;
Where imagination, play, holy, poetry, sacred, expanse and delight dance together in the quiet, wide-open field, a top a mountain, in the deep sea;
Wide margins and whitespace to create, dream, become.

“Make an empty space in any corner of your mind, and creativity will instantly fill it.” – Dee Hock

Jan 29

Radical Silliness

“You will find truth more quickly through delight than gravity. Let out a little more string on your kite.” – Alan Cohen

“You will find truth more quickly through delight than gravity. Let out a little more string on your kite.” – Alan Cohen

“Oh my God, what if you wake up some day, and you’re 65, or 75, and you never got your memoir or novel written, or you didn’t go swimming in those warm pools and oceans all those years because your thighs were jiggly and you had a nice big comfortable tummy; or you were just so strung out on perfectionism and people-pleasing that you forgot to have a big juicy creative life, of imagination and radical silliness and staring off into space like when you were a kid?

It’s going to break your heart.

Don’t let this happen.” – Anne Lamott

Take a break from your rules and requirements.
No permission slips.
Let go of mindsets and stories that say you can’t do it or even try it.
Try and fail and do it again.
Fun is a worthy pursuit that compounds joy.
Explore, iterate, slap paint on the canvas.
Never will we regret having too much fun.
We can’t carry everything.
Hold what is necessary and put the rest down.
Imperfect and beautiful.
Dreaming and loitering in delight required daily curriculum.
Fly a kite. Skip rope. Dance the polka.
Small acts of frivolity and radical silliness to unjam, uproot and loosen.
No do-overs. Start today right where you are.
Big. Juicy. Creative. Life.
Let this happen.

“The familiar and the habitual are so falsely reassuring, and most of us make our homes there permanently. The new is always by definition unfamiliar and untested, so God, life, destiny, suffering have to give us a push—usually a big one—or we will not go. Someone has to make clear to us that homes are not meant to be lived in—but only to be moved out from.”— Richard Rohr, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life

Aug 9

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The Blank Canvas Awaits

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.” – Shunryu Suzuki

A clean, blank canvas lays before you each day.
What will you draw, paint, create?
What threads will you weave together to create the tapestry?
With your thoughts, words, actions to yourself and others, you author this day.
The pen, brush, paint is of your choosing.
Bright, bold, vibrant, outside the lines – go there.
No permission slip needed.
Begin with gratitude and move out imperfectly from there.
Stroke by stroke, fill the space with what only you can do.
Word by word, plant seeds and bring sunshine in.
Action by action, offer peace and love.
The blank canvas awaits.

“Dream, struggle, create, prevail. Be daring. Be brave. Be loving. Be compassionate. Be strong. Be brilliant. Be beautiful.” – Caterina Fake

Jan 3

Create and Restore

“You will enrich your life immeasurably if you approach it with a sense of wonder and discovery, and always challenge yourself to try new things.” – Nate Berkus

It is in the pursuit of discovery and rediscovery that we unfold and expand. Learning, unlearning and relearning create space for growth and transformation. What new things do you want to start this year? What has fallen away to restart?

Years ago, I used to refinish and restore furniture. Stripping layers of stain, sanding the wood smooth and applying fresh stain to reveal the grain and character in the wood.

My favorite restoration project is a library table which belonged to my Grandmother who immigrated from Poland. She was a talented seamstress, using the table in her sewing room. She could take bolt of cloth and transform it into beautiful dresses, no pattern necessary, sheer craft and imagination.

“A tree’s wood is also its memoir.” – Hope Jahren

Each piece of furniture is rich with stories and memories. Both of my Grandmothers passed away before we could meet them so these antiques have a deeper meaning, to connections that transcend time.

While I enjoy restoring antique furniture, I’ve always wanted to learn woodworking, creating a piece from scratch. My brother has done it for years. Last week, he showed me and my niece Emily how he built a sensory table for Liam. Since other people are interested in getting these, Emily and I are going to start a new hobby this year and explore other items to create as well.

“It is the accuracy and detail inherent in crafted goods that endows them with lasting value. It is the time and attention paid by the carpenter, the seamstress and the tailor that makes this detail possible.” – Tim Jackson

Each of us has innate creativity waiting to be released into the world. Keep searching for ways to explore and express your imagination. Design your days. Create and restore.

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