There have been a recent slew of books and articles written about connection and conversation. It appears that everyone has finally realized that the damage from this combination of the massive rise of social media and our isolation because of a global pandemic might have affected our ability to talk to each other. We are, as a species, designed to be in community with each other, which does require, to quote the Irish, a bit of “the gift of the gab,”
Love is the Ultimate Creative Act Love is in the air. It’s February! It’s easy to think that the opportunity for creativity around Valentine’s Day is in crafting cards, making homemade valentines cookies or planning the ultimate date night. But, what if the actual act of creativity for Valentine’s Day is the process of creating… Read more: Love is the Ultimate Creative Act
I recently was asked, “How can I improve creativity in my life if I’m not an artist.” I was delighted by this question because the reality is that most of the time when we are asked to employ our creative minds, it is not in the mode of creating traditional art. There are a few among us who make their livings doing art professionally and a decent number of folks who regularly engage in hobbies that involve art, but all of us solve problems, all of us have to think of new solutions, all of us have to invent new pathways to get to an endpoint. So, how do we strengthen that portion of our creative minds?
I recently was asked, “How can I improve creativity in my life if I’m not an artist.” I was delighted by this question because the reality is that most of the time when we are asked to employ our creative minds, it is not in the mode of creating traditional art. There are a few among us who make their livings doing art professionally and a decent number of folks who regularly engage in hobbies that involve art, but all of us solve problems, all of us have to think of new solutions, all of us have to invent new pathways to get to an endpoint. So, how do we strengthen that portion of our creative minds?
How is the river of your life journey moving right now? Is it flowing, rushing, babbling, churning, roaring, raging, tumbling? Or maybe its meandering. We never judge a river for the twists, changes and shifts of tempo—in fact, it’s what we find beautiful about them. So, why would we judge our own lives for having phases that are raging and others that are meandering?
It’s all part of the journey.
When I work with folks on accessing their creative selves, oftentimes, the first thing they tell me is that they aren’t creative or that they used to be but aren’t creative anymore.
I see two issues in these statements: 1. We have limited the definition of “creative” to only encapsulate a level of excellence that is recognized on a huge scale and 2. We are all “doing” too much and not taking time for “being.”
I think it’s time we face the truth. Curiosity did not, in fact, kill the cat. Actually, studies will say that staying curious for as long as possible can actually have positive effects on your long term health and well being. If you want to cultivate a creative mind, your first job is to cultivate a curious mind.
We Need Play! Start Your Play Journey Today Without play, we cannot find joy or happiness. We need play. But, as adults, almost none of us prioritize play. We calendar in time for exercise and work and we might find ourselves mindlessly scrolling through social media or watching the latest streaming content, but play rarely… Read more: We Need Play!
Creative Consistency to increase Creative Capacity Recently, my eleven year old decided to start journaling. He had never journaled before, but he was chatting with me about all the thoughts that he had in his head and how they sometimes can get stuck. I suggested that he could write them all down and that might… Read more: Creative Consistency to Increase Creative Capacity
Why Michelle Obama Is Right About Knitting The start of a creative journey can happen at any second. It’s just about diving in and starting something new. But sometimes, getting started can feel incredibly daunting. We stop ourselves from trying new creative modalities because of fear of not being “good” or looking silly in front… Read more: Why Michelle Obama Is Right About Knitting
In Case You Need Some Creative Inspiration The start of a creative journey can happen at any second. It’s just about diving in and starting something new. But sometimes, getting started can feel incredibly daunting. We stop ourselves from trying new creative modalities because of fear of not being “good” or looking silly in front… Read more: In Case You Need Some Creative Inspiration
Little and Big C Creativity In creativity theory, there is a concept of the 4C’s: Mini-C, Little-C, Pro-C and Big-C. The idea behind each one of these is that creativity within our society serves different purposes and functions. Big-C is talking about creativity through the work of individuals who have had a national and international… Read more: Little and Big C Creativity
Turn Your New Year’s Resolutions Into Systems James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, says one of my absolute favorite quotes about goals: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” As we enter the season of new year’s resolutions, which are basically goals in bunny… Read more: Turn Your New Year’s Resolutions Into Systems
Finding Creative Rest in a Busy World I was recently listening to a podcast featuring Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith in which she was discussing the seven different kinds of rest that we need. One really stood out to me: Creative Rest. Her definition of creativity is any time we need to solve a problem. Dr. Dalton-Smith… Read more: Creative Rest
Calling All Moms. We are Enough. Calling all moms!! I have a radical proposition. Let’s just stop with our mom-guilt. The guilt over: Not Doing Enough Not Being Enough Not Providing Enough Not Giving Enough What if for just one minute, we let ourselves stop and breathe. Close our eyes and tell ourselves, “I… Read more: Calling All Moms. We are Enough
The Fear of Not Being Perfect Two weeks ago, my 6 year old daughter was all set to do a fun art project. She was going to make an animal pet rock. In front of her was a pile of small rocks to select from, acrylic paints, googly eyes and some bit of fake fur.… Read more: The Fear of Not Being Perfect
Creative Habits We all know that habits form our day to day lives. In the end, we are just a sum total of our habits. So, if we want creativity to be a part of our daily lives, it has to become a habit. According to James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, “You do not rise… Read more: Creative Habits
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