Ordinary Life, Extraordinary Living

Creativity That Comes Through You

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the best-selling book, "Eat, Pray, Love," gave a talk at the TED conference this year about adopting a new mindset on creativity, one that doesn't give full credit or blame to an individual, but to a greater force. Call it the Divine, God, Muse, whatever. The point is that creativity is borne from a partnership with something greater than oneself. Photo by creativedc

Here's the link to the TED video.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

The first half of this 20-minute talk can come across as self-absorbed. The second half is where Gilbert makes a compelling case for looking at creativity in a new light. She's spot on and in sharing her truth on creativity, it moved me to tears.

Why tears? Because I know that feeling when something is moving through me, that is utterly pure and wonderful. I have no idea where it has come from. I can't trace it to anything I've said or done before. It's just there. A phrase. An idea. A seed of a blog post. A knowing about the truth of someone's situation, without consciously putting all the pieces together. When I blurt out what's moving through me or quickly type on my laptop before I lose that feeling, I'm not so much the author or the speaker as I am the scribe. Yes, the scribe.

A favorite quote from Martha Graham says it all:

"There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost."

This is not a new idea, that the genius guy or gal is the vessel or channel for something magical which humans can't fully comprehend. We may not be able to understand creativity, but we love it when we see it. Photo by alicepopkorn

Both Gilbert and Graham make another point that is often lost on individuals struggling through a creative endeavor. Your only job is to show up. That's it. If you are writer, make time to write. Even if you think what is coming out is no good, or that you don't have enough time, or you aren't in a good enough mood. Just write. 

Photo by ms.Tea

Same goes for painters, dancers, computer engineers (yes, engineers can be creative as well!) Just show up. That's it. 

My thanks to Deb Siverson, a friend, collaborator, and colleague, who emailed me the link to Gilbert's talk, with the subject line: "I watched this today and thought of you."  Deb also is no stranger to working with the Divine. 

How does creativity come through you?

Photo by Bohman

Awakening Again to Life

This morning, in the midst of getting ready to take my sons to school (yes, the kids are back at school again!), I received an email that made me pause and take in the essence of life. It's that same feeling when I see a weepy movie. I remember that my heart is meant to soar and be broken and feel elation and sadness, all within a matter of seconds. As human beings, we are meant to feel, as much or more than we are meant to think. When I am jolted out of my "Step A leads to Step B" thinking mode and dunked, head first into the tank of deep emotion, barely able to get a breath before going under water, I am grateful. So very grateful. Photo by marieantuanetta

The email was from a friend of over thirty years, a kindred spirit from my days at music camp as a teenager. His wife died this morning, after a long fight with breast cancer. She left not only a grieving husband, but four children, the youngest being a grade schooler and the oldest being a college student. My friend was eloquent, only hours after his wife's death, in describing what her passing meant to him, his children, and his in-laws. He also professed his faith in God and His wisdom in choosing this to be her time to go. Photo by silver and gold.

I didn't know my friend's wife at all. We met only briefly while my friend was dating her in college. We've lived in different states our entire adult lives.  Yet, I'm sad this morning, even weepy, because I can sense the impact that she had on those closest to her. I know from my friend's email that this was a woman who was loved and loved others, deeply. I know that her friends and family will miss her, not just today or next week, but for a very long time. This awakens me to life again.

Another friend once told me that the whole purpose for our lives is to love and be loved. My left-brained engineering side can never quite comprehend this. Until I see an email like the one my friend sent me this morning. And then I feel it, deep in my chest. Yes, that's it, isn't it? So simple and so powerful. Photo by David Paul Ohmer.

Today, as I go through my schedule of calls with clients and vendors and write marketing copy for a website and manage the details of implementing a new CRM system, I'll be aware of those sacred feelings inside of me. I may even continue to be weepy. I'll stop to hear the sounds of my husband in the kitchen, making his morning brew, with a new appreciation. I'll greet my sons, after their first day at school, with more than a brief appearance from my home office. I'll be genuinely happy to have them home again.  I'll be more patient with the stranger on the phone, trying to sell me something I don't need or want.

Life is right in front of us, in this moment, ready to be savored, deeply appreciated, and loved.

When Dissenting Voices Are Quashed, Be Very Worried

Thank you, Peggy Noonan, for telling it like it is.

Noonan's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, 'You Are Terrifying Us,' is the clarion call that we are in trouble as a nation, not because of our economic woes, but because we have lost our objectivity around what it means to be a nation that is governed by the people, for the people. When dissenting voices in a national debate are meant to look like the enemy, we usually think of Capitol Hill rhetoric. When this happens in a town hall held by your local congressman, we all should be worried. Photo by Editor B

Difficult problems, like health care, can be worked through when there is honest discussion and when all the voices at the table are heard. It's not easy, but there's a chance of a reasonable solution. It's no different than the fight you might have had with your spouse last month or a disagreement at the office. More dangerous and harmful is when one side decides that they are right, period. And then decides to defame or call into question the legitimacy of the opposition.

It's no way for the President of the United States, or all the President's men, to behave. But that's what we have. (BTW--Longtime readers of this blog know that I don't discuss my political views here. This posting is about freedom of speech, not an expression of my politics.)

One of the most shocking things I've seen in a long time came from Noonan's op-ed:

"....most damagingly to political civility, and even our political tradition, was the new White House email address to which citizens are asked to report instances of "disinformation" in the health care debate: If you receive an email or see something on the Web about healthcare reform that seems "fishy," you can send it to [email protected]."

This is no joke. I wish it was. 

As a voter, I'm insulted that someone in the political system would think this tactic of intimidation and painting the opposition at town halls as agents for large organizations would work.  Do they really think people are dumb sheep, believing a charge that goes against common sense? Photo by Duchamp

Every side in a debate will color their argument to persuade others. That's not disinformation. That's freedom of speech.

The disrespect for the common citizen is amazing. Noonan sums it up nicely. Referring to the charge that people showing up at town halls were sent by insurance companies, lobbyists, and the Republican National Committee, she states,

"....you can't get people to leave their homes and go to a meeting with a congressman (of all people) unless they are engaged to the point of passion....People are not automatons. They show up only if they care."

Show up. Care. As a nation, we all have a lot at stake.

PS. One of many YouTube videos of town halls being held around the country by members of Congress:

Take the time to do your own research. Go to YouTube and search on "town hall, health care."  You'll see a number of videos uploaded in the last week, showing what people are saying and the passion that they have for their voices to be heard.

How to Change Your View on Life

If you want to change your view on life, move a thousand miles away to a blighted urban city, work for a men's homeless shelter for not much more than a roof over your head and three (sort of) square meals a day, and write--about what you see and feel and think. 

Photo by Diego Cupolo

Observe individual behavior from the viewpoint of a humanist, someone whose job it is to uncover the facets of what makes us human and how we are all so alike and so different, at the same time. Add in humor, when you would rather cry than laugh, when the irony strikes you, when there's no other way to accept what is.

Write about what it's like to live in a city where people show their frustration not just with words, but acts of violence and where flipping the bird is a mild form of self-expression. Write about the dignity and honesty of individuals who own up to their faults and misdeeds without flinching, because it's what they know to be true. Write about seeing hope, one moment at a time, one person at a time, and then realizing that hope is ephemeral and dissolves when you step back into the war zone. Write about living on a budget, without cable, and with Hamburger Helper as a nightly routine.

In between the chaos and despair of trying to make life better for those at the bottom of society's food chain, retreat into the serenity of nature. Let yourself be enveloped by beauty.  Read what the zen masters (and a few smart aleck writers) have to say about life and living. Be silent. Be compassionate with yourself and others. Photo by Ryan Want.

Do this for a year.

This is exactly what my nephew, Ryan, did, when he took a position with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps last August, in Oakland, CA.

Last night, I stayed up past my bedtime to read about Ryan's year in California. You can read about it too, by visiting the blog that he kept throughout his experience. That's him in the picture on the left.

Ryan's writings go back to the roots of blogging, when it truly was a "web log" and a pure expression of one's thoughts, minus the self-absorption that you see in many blogs today.  This is no small feat. Kudos to Ryan for pulling this off with grace and a clear, honest voice that we can all relate to. He has a gift for telling it like it is without being self-serving or maudlin and with a maturity that most of us don't find until we are in mid-life.

It also doesn't hurt that Ryan has a streak of humor that has earned him the title of "family smart-ass." Biting humor can be a relief when faced with bleakness.

While I'm not about to move to another part of the country and volunteer my time to help the homeless, Ryan has me wondering what's possible if I shake things up a bit, get out of my routine, and live on the edge a bit more. Thanks, Ryan.

How are you purposely changing your perspective on life?