Good Luck Catching Creativity

I like to think of myself as a creative person, and I am, but I am creative in spurts.  I will catch a creative wave, ride it, and then get back to everyday living.  Take decoupage for example.  I saw a magazine photo of a reader's use of the magazines nature photos to decoupage a bench and I was hooked!  I quickly found some trashed chairs and stools and I used the technique on them to create colorful and functional furniture.  After 4 or 5 projects, I was done with that!

I have always wanted to make a living utilizing creative energies but I never found anything that would translate into marketable objects.  After all, who would pay a sustainable wage for a magazine-plastered chair?

And then on November 13, 2015 I went to a retreat with two of my soul friends.  I had found the retreat and the description suited all of us.  We would receive one hour of spiritual direction within this program.  No where did it say it was to be a silent retreat (or we probably would not have signed up).  But it was wonderful because I sat in a recliner for hours journaling.  In the midst of it I watched the day unfold from my third floor window and was inspired by the sights.  I even wrote a poem that the spiritual director encouraged me to submit to a spiritual journal for possible publication. 

At the close of the retreat we had a prayer service themed around the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving.  We could each pick a piece of folded paper with a quote written inside about giving thanks.  Mine said, "Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more.  It makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. - Melody Beatty."  I didn't know who she was so I asked the group and no one could say more than "she writes books." 

So after the retreat I used that paper as a bookmark and eventually looked her up.  I did know of her work after all..  The description of her book Journey to the Heart, written in 1996, really hit home.  It said that this book "guides us on a sacred journey as we learn to expand our creativity, embrace our powers and open our hearts." 

"Sign me up," I thought.  So I ordered this book on-line along with some other books.  I read the other books first but then came across the bookmark with her quote once again.  It was time to open the book, right now.  I say right now because with creativity you must strike while the iron is hot.  If you have an idea, you must act on it, or at least write down the idea; otherwise it floats away and good luck catching it!

Because the book is set up with daily meditations I thought that I could comment on some of the entries.  Comment is probably not the right word because what I mean is that I would use her thoughts as a writing prompt.  It would help me tell my story.  And so I began on page 360 with a meditation for December 18.  That will be posted on another day.  But for now, let's reflect on creativity.

Reflective questions:
1.  Do you remember any of the creative ideas you had?  Is it because you wrote them down or you kept them alive inside?

2.  Are any of your ideas worth pursuing?

3.  Is it in your best interest to let the ideas go for now?  Can you do so without regret?

God, what do You want me to know?

I love making new friends.  I find people so interesting, their way of life, their habits, their preferences, their dislikes.  Sometimes people will tell you all about themselves readily.  Most often, you need to invite them to do it.  This happens by asking questions.

Of course when it comes to having a more personal relationship with God*, this approach never crossed my mind.  When someone suggested it to me, I immediately thought, "Why didn't I think of that on my own?"  For me, I think it's because I was taught to revere and praise God from a distance, that there is an invisible line between my space and God's hallow ground, and that I was not to cross it.  But then the suggestion seemed so natural and made sense and was so simple.  To have a more personal relationship with God, I just needed to engage in conversation by asking questions. 

What I learned is that the simplest question to ask, and the one I use most often is this: "*God, what do you want me to know?"  Then I give God the room and the time to answer.  It might not happen immediately, but eventually I get a response.  The trick is to figure out how God is trying to reach you.

It might be through your dreams.  Maybe, for example, you wake up with a song on the brain.    Maybe it's images of a story that plays out in the night.  Either way, pay attention to the words or the images or how it makes you feel or of what it reminds you.

Maybe it's not just songs from your dreams, maybe it's songs on the radio.  You keep hearing the same song on the radio and it's not one that is popular right now.  Maybe it's the words from a piece of music that your teacher has given you.

It might be that someone or something crosses your path multiple times.  For example, maybe the answer comes from an individual.  It could be immediate or maybe you keep running in to the same person over and over and you get an answer from these interactions.  Maybe you get "poked" or "pinged" three or four times, either explicitly or implicitly.  For example, maybe the answer is in a book that one person recommends, another person has sitting on their coffee table, and a third person, a total stranger in front of you, is checking out from the library or purchasing at the book store.  And if you are not a reader, God knows that's not how to engage with you.  Maybe the title of the book you keep seeing tells you the answer.

The point is there are endless ways that God may be answering you and these ways will change as circumstances change.

The main things is to ask the questions you seek answers to and by all means PAY ATTENTION to what crosses your path. 

Reflective questions:

1.  Have you ever felt like you were being  "poked" or "pinged" by God or the Universe?

2.  Do you ever ask God what He or She wants you to know?  Why or why not?

3. Do you want a personal relationship with God now?  Why or why not?

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, etc. better suits you for today.  It is not for me to decide.

A Way of Living That Doesn't Include Hubcap Hell

Cardinal Touch, huh?  What's in a name?  To me, Cardinal Touch simply means essential (Cardinal) connections (Touch) - to the earth and to each other.  It's a way of life that fits me and connects me:  God* first (listen to my heart), take care of me second (listen to my body), and then give back to the world and everything in it.  It is also a life that maximizes my abilities while allowing me the greatest sense of enjoyment.  I didn't always live this way.  I have struggled, and still need to remind myself some days to not revert back to going solo on my own path.  What I've learned is that if I don't kick and scream and fight the simpler life, I find that the path that God guides me to is much more pleasant and life-giving for me.

Not sure what I mean?  Let me tell you about Hubcap Hell.

After I gave up a lucrative career, I made a not-so-short stop in Hubcap Hell.  I knew this place was not part of a simpler life, but I could not break free of it, and stayed on the treadmill a bit too long.  The basic fact of the story is that I kept losing hubcaps.  Was it dreadful driving?  Did I brush too many curbs or hit too many potholes?  Yes, no, maybe?  Who knows.  But whatever it was, I kept losing hubcaps left and right.  It was always one at a time, and not having a hubcap bothered me TREMENDOUSLY!

It bothered me because I felt that my car looked less than which made me look less than.  It screamed, "you are not successful", "you are incomplete" each time I went to drive it.

And this conceit drove me to considerations that wasted my creative time and energy. For example, I would consider how I should park my car at client locations so they could not see that my car lacked luster.  If it was a time that the driver's side was missing a hubcap then I would make sure my approach to the building was from the passenger side.  If it was a time when the passenger side had a missing hubcap, then I would make sure I parked in such a way that the driver's side would be in view.

At first I did recognize this as a problem.  And so, unfortunately, my first solution did not lead me to a simpler life.  I went to Hubcap Heaven (there really is such a place!) and I got a replacement.  But it was never long before I lost another one.  And it was never the same one so I drove myself crazy with approaching and parking the right way, trying to remember which side of the car contained the flaw. 

Each time I lost a hubcap, I would go back to Hubcap Heaven, a one hour round trip.  I did this three or four times at $25 to $30 a pop so there were actual and intrinsic costs.  Finally, I came to my senses!  I knew I had to stop this insanity!  I had a true change of heart, a real desire for simpler living.  I realized it's such a time and esteem guzzler to care about how others viewed my car.  For me, my car simply became the gift of transportation.  Whenever I saw the naked wheel, I thought to myself, "hubcaps are not important; this doesn't matter to me."  I have transportation, see me drive to a simpler life!

And then the universe tested me.  Was this change temporary or permanent?  As fate would have it, my work took me near Hubcap Heaven.  My head said, "Just stop by.  You are in the area.  You don't have to pay personally for gas, it is a work expense.  It is only $25, and you are worth it."  But then my heart spoke up.  "Set yourself free.  Take this baby step.  It will take you one step closer to a simpler life.  Start now, you will be happier for it.  Don't let things run your life."  And then my head spoke up again, and then my heart, then my head, then my heart.  In the end, I listened to my heart.  I chose not to stop to replace the last hubcap that had fallen off.  And let me say that I knew right away that this was the right choice.  But the universe confirmed it for me anyway.  You see, soon after passing up the chance to buy a replacement, I lost another hubcap!  Now I had two missing hubcaps.  In fact, I now had one missing on each side!  Had I replaced the one, I would have had four perfect tires for only a short time, and then I might have stayed on the replacement treadmill.  Instead I decided that two hubcaps were just fine with me.   

When I told someone the story, they suggested I move one of the hubcaps to the other side, that way each side would be uniform.  But I stuck with my mantra and said, "Ahh, it doesn't matter to me."

Reflective questions:

1.  Do you have an approach to daily living?  What do you think about *God first, self second then world?

2.  Do you have an item (person, place or thing) that runs part of your life?  Is it possible to put less emphasis on that item for good or for a short time.  What would you lose by doing so?  What would you gain?

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, etc. better suits you for today.  It is not for me to decide.

Sustainable Living

Today my topic is sustainable living.  I’ll explain what it is, why I like it, and one way I participate.

First, what is it?  Sustainable living is a lifestyle, a way of acting on a conscious decision to reduce the amount of natural resources we use as individuals.   People do this by altering their activities related to transportation, use of energy, consumption of goods, and/or diet.   For example, someone who invests in solar paneling to reduce the amount of natural gas needed to warm their home, practices sustainable living.  Another example would be someone who opts to dine out locally, and strolls instead of steers, to nearby restaurants and shops.   

Why do I practice it?  For me, it gives me the opportunity to reduce negative impact to the planet while simultaneously increasing the positive benefits to me and my family.  Positive benefits include less money out-of-pocket, fewer errands, the opportunity to build community and to make an ecological impact.      

My husband and I have done this in many ways, but my favorite example is the creation of a variety of gardens on our property by using sustainable living practices.  This has led to fewer store runs, and therefore fewer purchases of packaged goods.  Let me give you more detail about these gardens.

Our home sits on about one quarter acre of land.  The very back third of the yard was not getting used for anything; we simply mowed the grass here and mowed the grass there and mowed the grass even further over there.  Eventually we decided to reduce the amount of lawn space and created ornamental gardens instead.  Doing so reduced the amount of time and the gasoline we needed to cut the grass.  But we didn’t run to the nursery to purchase plants.  We utilized what was already growing on our property first.  We started by thinning and transplanting overgrown perennials, like daylilies and liriope, from the front of our yard to the very back. 

Of course we didn’t want the same plants everywhere so we spoke to neighbors and friends about trading some of our ornamental perennials.  This has been a huge success and is on-going!   For example, we have a beautiful deep pink Rose of Sharon bush that produces many offspring each year.  This year we dug up the offspring, put them in used flowerpots, and shared them with neighbors, friends and family.  In turn, we have received back many different ornamental perennials such as ferns and bleeding hearts, to name just a few.  And we transfer plants from one house to another by reusing the same flowerpots.  We educate everyone to use them over and over again.  This trading keeps us from traveling to the nursery to make purchases; it also creates a sense of community among our neighbors, family and friends. 

Next, we dug up other portions of our yard in order to plant separate vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens.  We’ve come a long way.  About ten years ago we had one small vegetable garden, with little more than peppers and tomatoes.  Every few years we doubled this space.  The vegetable garden is now about 900 square feet and we plant many more veggies than peppers and tomatoes.  We have also conscientiously selected the vegetable plants we grow, selecting as many perennials and self-sustaining plants as possible.  For example, rhubarb and Swiss chard return every year.  Another example is garlic, which is harvested, and then some of the heads are set aside and replanted.  You just need to be sure to buy starters from a manufacturer that doesn’t genetically modify the bulbs so as not to reproduce.  The fruit garden includes raspberry patches which delight us by producing lots of fruit every year.  And did you know that many herbs are perennials too?  Rosemary, oregano, mint, chives and sage are a few examples. 

Having fresh fruit, veggies and herbs on hand gives us plenty of dinner ideas, and keeps us from running to the grocery store so often, especially during the summer.  But sometimes the yield is too great and we can’t consume everything.  Then we freeze some and give some to our neighbors.  This makes for great community. 

Sustainable living then is acting on a conscious decision to reduce the amount of natural resources we expend and generally results in living more simply.  One way we participate is the way we garden.  Hopefully you’ve gleaned that it’s not difficult to live this way, we use less of our planets resources, and we have built community.  Maybe it has piqued your interest and you’d like to learn more.  If you do, just ask me, because I have more to tell.

Reflective questions:
1.  What does sustainable living mean to you?

2.  How do you or would you benefit from sustainable living?