Being Creative in Prayer...

If I learned nothing else over the past 15 weeks of family chaos, trials, tribulations and joys, it is that I need to focus when I pray.  I have one of those brains that is more like a habitrail than a hamster wheel.  My worries and prayers run off on all kinds of tangents, twists and turns until it forms some mobius loop of angst in my soul and functioning becomes difficult.

We don’t have rosaries or worry beads in the United Church Tradition, but as I began to look at how many cultures use beads or stones to help focus for meditation and prayer, this little idea began to grow in the back of my mind.

What if I could create some anchors to help me keep on track as I prayed?  What if I could break the basic things I tend to pray about on a regular basis into categories that would repeat in a cycle which I could separate with special beads.

So... I’ve begun to explore the idea, making little shapes out of Fimo.  I will have to rummage through my stash of special beads or have an excuse to visit beading places!

I’m not quite sure where this will lead yet, but exploring the Spiritual side of my Creativity is just another fun part of this adventure.

INHALE:   Faith is something that we may grow up with, we may change how we experience, we may question or we may finally make our own instead of just accepting the beliefs of our parents.  It is something that many of us use as a foundation on which to base our value system, our outlook on the world and even our hopes for the future.  Above all, it is something intensely personal, even if it is celebrated in community.  Thinking about where we fit in relationship to the world, the cosmos and all things eternal puts us in great company.  Many of the most creative people in our history have explored this side of their lives.

EXHALE:  Whatever faith you celebrate, or even if you are still asking yourself questions about what you believe, think about how you could practice that more creatively.  Could you make a quiet, inviting space somewhere in your house?  Could you make a candle to light during your devotional time?  Keep a prayer or gratitude journal?  The possibilities are almost as the Universe in which we live.

Eggstremly Enjoyable...

My fingers now have several layers of paint that will be difficult to explain tomorrow morning at church.

Friday after church, Erin and I went over to her high school to help paint two young men in their unitards for the upcoming CATS musical.

This morning, we sat down as a family to dye our Easter eggs.  For Erin’s friend, Holly, who had slept over the night before, this was a first.  She had never dyed eggs before so we introduced her to just how many colours a family of artists need to prepare for this eggstravaganza.

We showed her how to use a white crayon to do wax resist patterns and she proved that creativity lives within us all as she made her very first Easter egg ever.

Bethany thought this one of hers was worth showing off...

and Erin liked how this egg of hers turned out.

I always take the longest to do my eggs because I keep trying to get as many colours and as much detail as possible on each egg.  For me, it isn’t about how fast I get them done but how much fun I have as I play with the possibilities.  This one was really neat with several layers of wax crayons over the different colours.

My favourite egg cracked when I dropped it from just a few inches above the table as it slipped from my hands... a reminder of how fragile egg painting can be, even when working with hard-boiled eggs. in the end, it is worth all the work!

Tonight,  I helped my best friend spray paint pieces of styrofoam to turn into a fence on the CATS set and added yet another layer of paint to my fingers and no doubt sacrificed a few brain cells to the fumes...but it was enjoyable.

INHALE:  How we celebrate the special occasions in our lives gives us endless opportunities for creativity if we just look for them, give ourselves time to savour it and experience it, ultimately making it part of the celebration itself.

EXHALE:  Whatever way in which you celebrate the turning of the seasons, Easter or Passover, find a moment to make something, cook something, plant something or share something with those you love.  If you have never played with crayons on hard-boiled eggs, buy some kits when they come on sale in the next few days and sit down to play.  You may get messy, but you may also discover that the child within you is not as buried as you thought.

The Seven Month Itch...

A funny thing happened since my last blog post... I forgot how to breathe.  As life threw one curve ball after another at me, I felt as if I was sucking small gasps of air through clenched teeth instead of nice, deep inhales and exhales.

I felt as if the only thing I had to say was a scream or a sob... and I felt crushed.

I’d had such grand plans when I dove into this experiment 7 months ago.  I had wonderful visions of filling each day with more joy and creativity than the day before.  I envisioned the wonderful, enviable person I would become as I shared this wonderful adventure with an eager, waiting world out there in cyberspace.  It was like a honeymoon!

This past month has definitely been more like a couple who have been married at least 7 years... the sparkle was starting to wear off as life kept crashing down around me.

I started to resent my Creativity when it whispered that I should take a bit of time out of the chaos to just breathe.  It was like a partner suddenly pointing out an annoying habit of leaving the cap off the toothpaste or socks on the floor.

As I threw myself into the colouring book illustration project with all the changes and approvals, the shift in personnel and the inner demons of self-doubt, my Creativity waited patiently, like a faithful lover waits on the couch on a Friday night for their partner to come home from overtime at the office.

As I scrambled to finish a knitted afghan for a member of my faith family struck down suddenly only to have them die before I could finish it, my Creativity hugged me in comfort and whispered that there would be someone else to appreciate the gift in time.

As I drove my hands, eyes and body to the brink with multiple deadlines, my Creativity chided me to find a better balance the way a spouse would point out that too many cookies is bad for the waistline.

I tried ignoring Creativity’s voice reminding me to just inhale and exhale, to imagine a bit, to dream a bit and to just ride this rough patch through.  I felt I had nothing to say to it, to myself or to the world.

Now with some of the deadlines passed and a crop of new pressures on the horizon, my Creativity and I have entered a new, deeper relationship.  I have learned that I don’t have to justify this adventure to myself or make it live up to some impossible standard, I just have to go through the process.

One breath at a time.

Inhale...

Exhale...

Repeat 

As I look back on what I did during the past  41 days of my life and the silence here in cyberspace, I can see how my Creativity prodded me, encouraged me and pestered me into living this adventure despite myself.  Here’s how I know.

• the lap quilt that would have been for Betty if she'd survived the stroke and heart attack...

• the scarf I finished for Erin just as the last of the snow melted...

• the ornament I designed and stitched for next fall's JCS ornament issue... sorry, you only get a tiny peek!

• the denim blue moss stitch scarf that only worked in the car and not at the volleyball games.  I kept forgetting to K or P!

• the logo designed for a friend's family reunion this summer...

• a glimpse at two of the quick sketches I did on my tablet hooked up to the smart board during a school visit where

Paul Burns (author of Owen & the Dinosaur) and I did an enrichment workshop where they created stories as a group while I illustrated the panels.

• the pink wool I picked up to knit a baby blanket for my cousin's little daughter who was just born a few weeks ago.  It is half done thanks to a 2 day tournament in Halifax as well as the drive there and back...

No Inhale or Exhale tonight... just the whisper "I'm Back!"

Be Creative In Your Failure...

It was a rough week.  I filled in for a resource teacher at my daughter’s high school again this week which meant that I was not only filling the new SEP information (Specialized Education Plan) into the computer systems for the new terms that just started, I could also be pulled out for any emergency supply work in the building.

Part of that included shepherding a group of 14 students down to a conference at a downtown hotel where they were fed lunch and then became test subjects for a new pilot program to help Grade 10 students determine their career paths, their dreams, their goals and their FOCUS.

As someone who has tried to live my focus for 33 years now, I found this both inspiring and incredibly depressing.  

Inspiring, because there are so many more choices for young people than there were in my day going through high school and anything that helps them figure out where their gifts, talents and passions lie is a good thing.

Depressing because I have tried to be true to myself throughout my whole career path in all the ways I have juggled Creativity with other work, motherhood and daily tasks... but I watched my income from something I had built up over 16 years crumble to almost nothing thanks to the Internet and people who felt no guilt about scanning in my cross stitch patterns to share illegally with others. 

Sometimes, in the darkest moments of the night, I wonder if I have somehow let my family down by not having a “regular” job that would have built up more job security, benefits and pension over the years and just done my art as a “hobby”.

Then I take a deep breath and remember that working from home gave me time with my children that no money could ever buy back.  I see the proof of those years in the young women they are becoming.

I exhale and remember that I have had the joy of seeing my name in print in magazines and on bookshelves.

I inhale and realize that I have tried more often than I have failed...

and that is what being Creative every day as a way of life is all about.  It is supposed to be as easy as breathing. It is supposed to be something we just do without thinking.  It will probably take me the rest of my life to learn how to do this without my own daily worries, frustrations, criticisms or failures getting in the way.

So be Creative in everything you do... even the moments you think of as failures.  If you look at them from another angle, you’ll probably discover a new perspective.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” - Thomas Edison

INHALE:  Remember not to judge yourself by the current world standards.  I see kids who think that they have to be “discovered”, become as famous as Miley Cyrus or as wealthy as the Olsen Twins before they become adults.  They dream of being on television, in movies and of taking You Tube by storm.  Adults think that they must live in huge homes, drive flashy vehicles and have all the outward trappings of SUCCESS... in order to prove that they have lived their lives right.  They need all the right things and logos in their lives or  need to become brands in their own right for the world to stand up and take notice.  The recent disaster in Haiti and other world events keep reminding us that we need far less than that to stay alive, far more basic things to truly be happy and that the basic human, creative spirit is a powerful, creative force in its own right.  Take a deep breath and just take each day at a time.

EXHALE:  Today’s exhalation is in honour of the Olympics underway right now in Vancouver and the overwhelming Creativity displayed last night during the Opening Ceremonies.  Find a quiet corner and take some time to think about areas in your life that you are truly satisfied with.  Not all successes can be measured in monetary means or by the world’s standards.  With Fimo, tinfoil, glitter, ribbon, Photoshop or anything else that inspires you, make a medal or a trophy to celebrate at least one achievement that you are proud of and tuck it into your keepsake box, sketchbook or put it out on display.  Be proud of the ways in which you’ve been true to yourself, your beliefs and your Creativity!

Creativity In How We Share Our Faith...

I wish I’d brought my camera to church today!! 

It was a snowy Sunday and our Annual Meeting right after church, so some members of our congregation stayed home today, but we began a new unit in our BLAST rotation (Bible Learning Adventure STations) downstairs for the kids during church.

After they chose whether to put their offering in the “Helping Here At Home” or “Helping Around the World” boxes, we sat in a circle and introduced the passages from Matthew and Mark where Jesus said “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” 

We talked about what it would be like to leave everything you know behind and start over.

We talked about what it must have been like for the people of Haiti who had to race from their homes into the streets.  My best friend and her son described what it was like to run from their house while it was burning to the ground and starting over from scratch.

Then, we went into the kitchen and made huge fish shaped pizzas.  We spread sauce on flat bread that had been cut in the shapes of fish, sprinkles the cheese on our fish, used pepperoni to make scales on 3 out of the 4 fish and used sliced black olives for the eyes.

Not only was it a creative way to share the stories of our faith... it was DELICIOUS!

INHALE:  How do you pass on your faith to those around you, especially the next generation.  However you celebrate what you believe and where you draw strength from, fewer people are attending services in many different faiths around the world.  Worship is becoming an increasingly personal and private thing for many people, yet we cannot ignore the importance of gathering together to celebrate that there IS more to life than just the number of our days.

EXHALE: This week, as the world focusses on Valentine’s Day and LOVE, remember to find time for yourself as well.  How can you be Creative in celebrating what you believe?  Can you set up a space for yourself in which to meditate or pray? Can you hunt for books, prayers or music that inspires you?  Can you share your faith journey’s story with someone who has never heard the adventure before? Can you write a prayer of love for a planet that needs it?  Can you celebrate the blessings that you have by sharing your time and talents with others?  Be Creative as you follow in the footsteps of the One who sculpted the Universe.

Traveling Creatively...

I am all packed and ready to get on a variety of planes tomorrow to head from Moncton, New Brunswick to Geneva, Switzerland.  “Aunty Dragon” is needed to look after my niece and nephew for a week while by brother and sister-in-law are away on business, so between the two families, we are getting me there on a combination of airline points.

I will be waiting in one airport for almost 7 hours, so I have already planned how to travel creatively.

My small carryon bag has my iPod touch, my sketchbook, my journal, my old gameboy colour with Pokemon Blue in it (nostalgia gaming) and a pair of socks that I have been meaning to finish for a while now but got distracted by other projects.

My suitcase is full of craft supplies to do with my wonderful dragonlets over there, graph paper to chart a magazine design in cross stitch that I will need to stitch when I get home, two big sketchbooks, watercolour pencils, a manuscript to read over and a knitting project that I have been hoarding for quite some time now.

Now I just need to find enough hours in each day!

INHALE:  Traveling isn’t always easy, even though we can now fly around the globe in shorter times than ever before.  There can be waits, delays, turbulence and unplanned events.  Learning how to travel creatively can go a long way towards reducing stress.  Having things to do and read can make the hours go much more quickly.  I love writing long journal entries or working on projects while sitting in an airport because I so seldom get that time to just focus on one task.  Maybe I should learn how to carry some of that traveling creativity back over into my everyday life!

EXHALE:  Traveling teaches us a lot about ourselves and the incredible world around us.  Drop by a travel agency and pick out brochures that intrigue you.  Clip out photographs from magazines, the internet or articles in magazines that show places where you’d love to visit.  Make a list of your top ten destinations in the world and then start saving or planning for a trip somewhere. We have our coin jar ready for our next big family trip and you can bet that our children keep an eye on how often we add to it!  When we take it to the bank and add to the trip account, they learn that dreams can come true bit by bit if you just plan for it!

Finding Creativity In Silence...

Maybe being back in a school environment, among kids who seem to be constantly plugged into music, their phones, the drama of teenage life, that prompted this post.  I’m sometimes not sure what drives a certain topic to the forefront when I fully expected to write about something else, but I learned a long time ago to listen to that inner voice.

It sometimes gets drowned out by all the other noise.

I’m not even sure if this post would have been possible to write until now... when the rest of my family is fast asleep, the clock is getting closer to striking midnight and I have moved beyond the panic of everything that needs to get done before I get on a plane Saturday morning.

There is very little noise in my world right now other than the tapping of my fingers as they race across the keyboard, trying to keep up with my scattered thoughts, and the faint sounds of the plows out clearing driveways now that the latest snowfall is done.  All is calm, all is quiet.

How often do we allow ourselves to just listen to nothing anymore?

Moments of stillness and silence are sometimes very needed when the world rushes around us at a dizzying speed.  Sometimes, instead of finding a fanfare of ideas or rushing about in a firework burst of activity, we need to just listen for the little whispers of our innermost soul... and for that, it must usually be quiet.

Don’t be afraid of the silences in your life... they are the rests and pauses in the song.

INHALE:  Some people fear silence more than others.  My grandmother kept a police scanner in her bedroom after my grandfather died so that she could not only hear what was going on in her little community, but there were other voices to fill the void after his cheerful whistling about the house was silenced.  Nick often keeps the TV on in the background while he gets work done and both my girls love having music blaring in their rooms, listening to playlists that seldom sync with each other.  I absolutely LOVE moments when I can hear nothing but the world around me or the sound of my own breathing.  Today was a reminder of how much I need to have that quiet reflection time to keep myself in balance.

EXHALE:  This will be harder for some of you than others.  Find a quiet spot and just sit to listen and think for at least 15 minutes.  Pay attention to the random thoughts that pop into your head, but try to turn off the “to do” lists.  Listen to the sound of your own breathing.  If you find it hard to have your hands empty, you can pick up needles to stitch or knit, doodle something or twiddle your thumbs... but just listen to the silence which is full of other sounds.  How comfortable are you with the quiet?  What thoughts or ideas scurry through your head most often?  What inner truths about your life right now have you been trying to keep from hearing?  This is what quiet contemplation can be all about.  Turn down the other noise and turn up the quiet... it might just spark something unexpected!

Creativity in Exercise...

Zumba.   

Who would have thought that two syllables would have been such a workout and so much fun!

Ever since discovering that I had degenerative disk disease two years ago, which forced me to give up any exercise that involved a lot of impact, I have been searching for an exercise routine that would be fun, challenging and not hurt me.  Tonight, Nick and I went out together on a “date” to the Zumba class at St. Pat’s Family Center .  42 people shook and shimmied and sweated for an hour as the instructor put us through our paces.  41 women and Nick.  He was VERY brave and actually enjoyed himself!  Two women came up to me afterwards and told me that I had the coolest husband in the world and I agree!

Zumba mixed Latin dance moves, bouncy music and a LOT of upper body work.  I kept modifying the routines so that I wasn’t breaking contact with the floor the way some of the younger, perkier people there were, but I love dancing and it was still an awesome workout!  The only problem is... my bum hurts.  I can’t wait until next Friday!

INHALE:  Staying fit shouldn’t be about locking yourself into a routine or type of exercise that becomes a chore... it should be about celebrating how your body can move and taking joy in that.  Kids are rarely still. They move like hummingbirds, graze at food and crash for naps when they get tired.  It’s too bad that we learn to override all that as adults.

EXHALE:  If you have been going through the motions with your exercise routine or avoiding having one at all, it’s time to be creative. Find something that feels more like PLAY than  a chore!  Think back to the type of activities you used to do as a child for inspiration or browse through the brochures at your local fitness centers.  I was able to try tonight’s class for free since it was my first time. I would pay just $6.00 or less for any future sessions and don’t even need a yearly membership.  I also adore the Wii Fit Plus game we got for Christmas to go with our board because it has new games to try, new challenges and more ways to tailor individual workouts.  Whatever you discover, remember that creativity can apply to ever part of your life, even getting back into shape or staying that way.

Creativity in Chaos and Quiet..

It’s been a busy time in our household.  I am now substitute teaching 3 to 5 days a week until Christmas because of the 3 day a week position and other days that had been booked way ahead that I’d accepted.  It is also volleyball season, so our whole family jumped in the van right after school on Friday and drove up to Bathurst , just over 2 hours away, to stay overnight before yesterday’s huge tournament.  Erin’s team played an exhausting 13 games in the 9 hours of the tournament (winning 9 and loosing 4) going right down to a 15 point tiebreaker for 3rd place when both teams were literally falling down with exhaustion.  Along the way they overcame some real challenges, played some truly beautiful volleyball and gave all the parents a lot to cheer for.  I manages to knit scarves without too many changes in tension... though the metal needles got a little slippery when my palms got sweaty!  I discovered that creating amid chaos and noise not only helps keep me calm, it gives me something to show for all those hours on the court side.

My mom was at a retreat all day yesterday entitled Making Way for Advent  where she got to think, create and celebrate fellowship in far less noise.  It was an event that I really wanted to attend, but I’d already missed 2 weekends of tournaments while teaching in Toronto and being at the cross stitch retreat a few weekends ago.

Don’t misunderstand.  There is nothing wrong with any parent or person putting themselves first now and then to follow their dreams, conduct business or indulge in something they really need.  Being a parent or being in a relationship with a partner (or both) means that you have to find the balance between the needs of self and the needs of the other(s). It means finding ways of being Creative whether you are in chaos or quiet.  It means knowing that there can be a certain peace or satisfaction found in almost any moment of our lives if we start looking for them.

Just make your choices and go with them instead of looking over your shoulder or wondering what could have been.

Inhaling Creativity is teaching me to live in each moment more fully.

INHALE:  I think that we need both Chaos and Quiet in which to create... just not at the same time.  Anyone who has ever spent time at an event where people are being Creative knows that people with energy can get a little noisy.  That energy can pump us up and push us on to new heights of inspiration and exhilaration when we understand that almost anything is possible.  Quiet moments on the other hand, allow us to get in touch with our inner selves, recharge our batteries, sort through our supplies, organize our thoughts or creating spaces and dreams of next projects or possibilities.  Nature reminds us all the time that both stages are part of the circle.  As the Fall meanders slowly into Winter here and prepares for a sleep, I know that on the other side of the world, the frenzy of Spring is leading into the warmth of summer.

EXHALE:  Many of us prefer one part of this cycle more than the other, even though both are necessary.  Maybe I’ve been studying too many plant life cycles for the Biology class I am supervising with the diploid(2N) and haploid (N) stages of things, but it really rings true for me.  Divide a page in your book in half and label the two sections QUIET and CHAOS.  In each area, write down, doodle, collage or identify the things you like about each stage.  What Creative acts do you like to do in chaos with others or what creative things do you like to do that involve chaos?  What do you enjoy about having quiet time in which to create?  Do some creative things lend themselves to being done in both quiet and chaos?  Like discovering that you can actually enjoy using a colour you didn’t think you liked, you may find that there are quiet a few things about being Creative in Chaos or Quiet that you didn’t expect you enjoyed as much as you do!

Hating Certain Colours...

Hate is a pretty strong word, but many of us have certain colours that we really don’t like as much as others.  Mine has always been orange.  Orange crayons are always the pointiest ones in my box and I avoid wearing the colour at all costs.  It makes me look like Mr. Spock with the flu!  I think I’ve destroyed most of the photos from the summer where the only swimsuit in town that was long enough for my torso was black with big orange and red flowers on it. Total Yuck!

On Saturday, however, I noticed something odd.  Every second picture I took of fall colours were the really orange trees against the deep blue sky.  I know what the artists out there are thinking... “Of course you liked that image.  Orange and blue are complimentary colours and thus more dramatic!”  Blues and greens are my favourite colours to work with, but maybe I have been avoiding their complimentaries more than I need to.

So I decided to play around this week to see if I could be creative with colours that I didn’t like!

INHALE:  We humans tend to form opinions on things very quickly.  We call them gut reactions.  Spread out a bunch of coloured markers or papers on a table and ask people to choose their favourites.  Most people will find more than one or two colours that they instinctively gravitate towards.  There are many cool places on the web to read up about colour theory, but the Colour Matters site and Wet Canvas were two of the neatest I found.  Think about your favourite colours.  Do they change with the times or have they remained constant in your life.  How to your favourites make you feel?

EXHALE:  Today’s project is about taking baby steps with the colour that you dislike the most.  Find some pens or markers or coloured pencils in several shades of the colour you think you dislike the most.  Spread them out next to your sketchbook and look at the variety.  What objects can you think of that come in those colours? Are there any that you like?  I don’t like orange, but I do like fall leaves, pumpkins and oranges.  Scribble a patch of each colour then write what it make you think of next to it or draw things that come in those colours.  Write your name in that colour.  Write the word LOVE in that colour.  Doodle one of your favourite patterns in that colour, but basically fill the whole page with shades of the colour you think you dislike.

I expected to dislike the process more than I did.  It was actually kind of fun.  Maybe now my orange crayons won’t be the last ones with points.

Taking the Leap...

Creativity is NOT safe.  It is not the easy choice or the tame one or the one that won’t ruffle any feathers.

I stayed home Monday to get over the worst cold I’ve had in a few years but then the antibiotics kicked in and I began to feel semi-human again.  I’d been pre-booked for today, so I headed in to cover for some computer classes today while the administrators were out at meetings.  Two of the classes were starting a new assignment where they get to make up a comic strip.  It was in the middle of explaining the parameters of the assignment and watching the expressions on the student’s faces that I began to understand their panic.

To be really creative, to come up with something original instead of following a step-by-step pattern or set of instructions requires that you take a leap.  It requires that you throw yourself away from the safe and predictable into the risky and unknown, that you take a chance.  It demands that you try, even though you may not succeed.

In many ways, that is the very essence of Creativity... inviting more RISK into your life by taking CHANCES.

INHALE:  Being Creative challenges us to try something new, to look beyond the ordinary and to begin to see things in new ways.  It also means carving out time in an already overfilled and over scheduled day,  No wonder it is far easier to sit down on the couch, put your feet up and vegetate! The most amazing thing about Creativity is that when we give ourselves the time, it ends up recharging us more than draining.  When you take the leap, sometimes you get those moments where you discover you can fly!

EXHALE:  Set a timer for 15 minutes.  That’s less time than it takes for a frozen pizza to cook.  Find a cozy spot where you won’t be interrupted and jot down TWO responses for each of these questions/statements.  Try not to think too long and hard about the answers, just take a leap and scribble down the first things that come to mind.

1) Would you rather be able to fly or breathe underwater?

2) Which two people in your life make you feel like a BETTER person when you spend

     time with them?

3) Who was the first famous person that you admired?

4) What toy did you play with most as a child?

5) What is the first joke that comes to mind?

     Sometimes Creativity has nothing to do with what we produce, but rather what state of mind we allow ourselves to be in.  Small children live there wholeheartedly, but by high school, I can see the hesitation.  They are afraid of looking foolish instead of just taking a chance.  Go back to thinking like a little child.

    Don’t be afraid. There are no right or wrong answers.  Just new steps on the journey.

A Time For Everything...

There’s nothing Creative about being sick.

What started as a sore throat and tickle exploded into a raging sore throat Saturday morning that sent me to the weekend Medical Clinic.  One glance at my tonsils had the doctor writing out a prescription on a little pad for some antibiotics.  Apparently the virus that Erin had last weekend (and gave me so much supply work at her school last week) falls somewhere in between the standard rhino virus and an influenza, but in some people it is going to their throat or lungs.  My body’s battleground has always been my tonsils, but this time the dry cough that goes with this bug is making them feel more raw than ever.

So I kept myself home this weekend, sooked and slept and drank lots of liquids.  Eating just hurt too much.

Creativity still found a way to make our family marvel at how differently everyone can see things.  It started out with this interesting pepper that came in a batch we bought at a local produce stand.  My girls forbid me to chop it up with the rest because it had a face.  The interesting thing was, two of us in the family saw the face THIS way...

and the other two saw the face here...

Like one of those reversible optical illusions of the two vases and the profiles or the old woman and the young one, each of us saw one face stronger  at first until the others pointed out where they saw it... and then we could see both.

Creativity is pretty unstoppable once you start looking for ways that it creeps into your life.

I, on the other hand, felt very stoppable as I honked and snorted my way through an entire box of kleenex.  I moped around the house in my big fluffy bathrobe and fuzzy slippers and even Nick admitted I looked pretty pathetic.  The only thing that seemed remotely creative were the wild dreams last night when I broke down and had a swig of cold and flu drink to clear my nose enough to breathe.

Breathing really is about each INHALE and EXHALE...

INHALE: This past week has been a huge lesson in how you cannot plan for what Life may suddenly throw at you. It has also taught me that you can’t always live on a Creative high.  Despite a sudden burst of warmer temperatures and sunshine, I can tell that my gardens are winding down for the season.  Fighting the cold this weekend, feeling so miserable and unproductive compared to just a week ago, reminds me that every Creative period must also have a time to lie dormant or fallow.  Everything needs a chance to rest now and then to recharge.

EXHALE:  Create a comfort plan, even if you are feeling at the top of your game.  I opened my sketchbook after supper tonight as I curled up on the couch Create a comfort plan, even if you are feeling at the top of your game.  I opened my sketchbook after supper tonight as I curled up on the couch and wrote out a list of all the things that brought me comfort... from clothing and food to music and activities.  You can write this, collage it, photograph it, doodle it... but think of how you would create a comfort NEST for the next time you have to just take time to recharge and be still.  Knowing what brings you comfort can be an important part of  taking care of yourself on a deeper level.  Think of it as Vitamin C or echinacea for your soul.

Patterns In Nature... and Presents In Mailbox!

The last two days were absolute blurs of teaching, meetings, Explorers starting up for Bethany, more volleyball for Erin and Nick recovering from being kicked in the jaw while trying to calm a student.  I think that a few of the kids at the high school thought it was odd that their substitute teacher kept looking at ceiling tiles or floor tile patterns while they were writing an assignment down, but that’s OK.  Have you ever noticed that, once you start being aware of something, you see it everywhere?  That’s how I feel about finding images in random patterns now.

The next step was then to go looking for patterns in the great outdoors... and it helps that it has been absolutely beautiful weather here.  I doubt I will get this urge in January when it is below zero!

Take a good look at Mother Nature and you will find an infinite variety of colours and textures, even in something as plain as rocks.

Flowers become studies in mystical, mandala-like patterns...

or studies in exotic shapes and rich colours.

We miss so much beauty all around us when we’re rushing to cross things off our to do lists.  I feel as if I have suddenly given myself permission to slow down a tiny bit and really look at what magic and creativity exists around me already.  How overloaded will my brain feel in another 50 weeks?

Just when I felt as if I was hitting sensory overload, I came home to discover a delightful surprise in my mailbox.  My birthday present from my sister had finally made it through customs!

Look at how beautifully it was wrapped once I got it out of the padded envelope!  Creativity, Elegance and Inspiration combined.  My fingers were just itching to rip everything open in a frenzy, but the blogger in me remembered to take a photo!

Inside lay the coolest present...

Jennifer Lee is an artist who also does Life Coaching.  Her ArtiZen website is full of incredibly cool stuff like this Unfolding Your Life Vision Kit.  Oh my gosh! I can’t wait to start playing, but I am going to use this as a reward for geting all of my Toronto stuff done and ready to take with me to the CreativFestival in 21 days.  At least that’s what I tell myself right now!

INHALE:  When we rush through everything, we end up feeling more frazzled than fulfilled.  The Amish saying captures this chaos perfectly when they say “The hurrier I get, the behinder I be!”  In our instant messaging society, where we expect replies to e-mails and phone calls almost right away, taking things at a reasonable pace is becoming a lost Art.  There are so many moments of wonder that can slip by if all we are doing is racing from one task or meeting to the next.  Searching for Creativity in my life is already causing me to discover other truths.  My SuperMom, Type A personality is having trouble adjusting to this need to give myself time, but the sense of peace and deeper energy that this Creative adventure seems to be releasing is well worth it.  I am sleeping better and I’ve been more aware of my dreams during these past 13 days. Only 352 to go!

EXHALE:  Take time to go for a walk with your digital camera and hunt for patterns or textures in your neighbourhood.  Don’t worry if all you have is an urban jungle to explore, I shot some really cool pictures of wall textures in France.  Just practice LOOKING through the viewfinder for a second or two before you push the button.  These aren’t forever photos to tuck in an album, they are just meant for play.  I am going to print my favourites out on photo paper at home and collage them into my black sketchbook, but you can leave them in their digital world if you want.  Just get out there and go for a walk to see what you find. You’ll even get some exercise in the process!