Your Creative Spirit: Opening The Windows, Clearing The Shelves

By Mary Curran

Spring brings thoughts to mind (mine,

anyway…and, no, this isn’t a poem) of

“RE” words…regroup, restore,

reenergize, refocus, reconsider, replant…relax, release, refresh.

It also brings thoughts of spring cleaning.  I don’t actually do spring cleaning; I’m more like “year-round, hey, that’ll work.”  However, this year, my sisters are having a whopper rummage sale, and I’m making generous contributions, so there will be spring cleaning (cleaning out). I dare not say, “I hope to,” or, “If I have time, I’ll…,” or it will be more of “that’ll work.”

Spring Cleaning the Mind

Susan Wooldridge, in Foolsgold, suggests taking time for a little list action.  “List what you wouldn’t do if you didn’t have to.  List what you’d do if you had the time.”  She says to check the have-to list…are there any ways to get help (delegate, ignore, reduce scope) for any of them?  Are there any that can just go away?  Any that can be put off? (if so, actually assign a time in the future…on your calendar.  When you reach that point, do it.  Or, notice that it has gone away on its own!) 

Susan says that making room (by clearing out) creates space for new things to enter.  We’ve talked about that before, haven’t we!  She further suggests that we actually empty a drawer, shelf, even a day (yes!) to make room for the new offerings from the world.

Check the if-I-had-time list.  Do more of these things (Susan).  Actually select one, and give it some kind of attention for 5 to 20 minutes each day, every day (me).  I suggest that you start your day with it, whatever it is.  Have just a small taste of what you’re wishing for, to keep it hydrated in your mind.  It will grow, become a “normal” part of your day.  Tasting will make the rest of your day better (even if it is the small intentional act of looking up a “more information” phone number), and you may find that you’re able to get several small it-related things into your day.  It is not stealing time; it will give you time by creating an “accomplishment” boost.  Focus on the doing, the process, not “making perfect” (remember, you are building a relationship with something you want to bring into your life…the objective at first is to get to know it…then fine-tune your skill).

Solvitur Ambulando…It Is Solved by Walking

St. Augustine knew what he was talking about.  Objective, in this case, is to find a stick.  A stick that feels good in your hand, and preferably, one that has been “given to the ground” rather than needing cutting.  I like to walk to see what has been uncovered after the snow melts, what has fallen in storms, what is just waiting for me. (Not that you need to know this, but I do have several pet sticks that just sort of hang out in my work areas.  My husband finds them too, particularly the curly ones that sit above book shelves, now.)

So, take a walk, check your yard, any brush piles there or along the road, in the woods, parks, or, if you have one, the swamp.  Pick them up; bounce them in your hand to see if there is a connection possibility.  It should feel “right” to you.  Ultimately, after you’ve worked with it (or, them), you’ll end up with a piece of stick about three to five “hand widths” long.  Longer is OK.  It is your stick.  Send off a mental thank you, take it home, and get acquainted.  Decide whether to peel or not, cut or not, sand smooth, oil, paint (or not).

Take your time.  The stick will wait.  If you like, look through your treasure collection in search of an embellishment or two that will “attach” a bit of you and your experiences to the stick.  Adding something personal will help you to focus, to settle down to think.  It could be a ribbon, piece of fabric, orphan jewelry piece, even a small copy of a photo.  You may have a symbol to add to the stick with paint or wood burning, or to hang as a charm.  Using paint, stain, and/or wax may be a possibility.  Doing nothing at all may turn out to be your choice.

Keeping the stick feeling comfortable in your hands is important.  Take care of rough spots, slivers, and sharp pointy things.  They don’t necessarily have to go away, just be softened enough to prevent discomfort.  Your stick will become a tool to help you to plug into yourself, to check out how you are, to clarify what you’re thinking about something.  It also will help you to simply relax and let go.  It is sort of a spirit handrail to use as you move in and out of your mind.

It will take a while to connect with your stick, to get comfortable, to get to a point where it easily slides you into your mind.  Think of it as a flameless candle. Simply holding it, looking at it, and feeling its contours soothes you (not all that different from stroking your pet).  As you work to make it your own, it is good to remind yourself that this is a stick that appeals to you (not just something to “get done with”), that the way you are decorating it has personal meaning for you (you like your choices)…and then, tell yourself what that personal meaning is.  For example, “This fabric is from my grandmother’s apron.  I loved to sit on her lap.” Or, “I found this branch on my way to the library.  When I go there, I always discover something new.”  Or, “I’m adding stars because I love to look up into the sky at night.  It is so peaceful.”  Try,” I’m scraping bark off here so that I have a place to smell the wood itself.  I love that smell.”

Promise yourself that you will seek and speak truth to yourself when you use your stick.  (It is a “talking stick,” after all.) Make up a personal transition step or ritual.  For example, sit comfortably, take a few gentle to-your-hips breaths (in and out).  Pick up your stick, feel its contours, its weight, and take a few more focused breaths.  Add a prayer, or think a favorite quote, have a gentle hum.  Then bring to mind whatever you want to think about – whether it is a decision in progress, a favorite memory, or a vacation revisit to just relax.

Keep your stick handy for easy pickup and frequent mini let-it-go breaks, as well as for focused mind work.  Use it as a way to talk to yourself, to look yourself in the eye (and in the heart), with gentle acceptance.  If you are a note taker, use that paper you keep by your nesting chair (you know you have one of those!).

Adjusting Your Dial

There is something about walking around – inside or out – that increases our absorbency, straight into our being, bypassing our brain (giving it no chance to judge the value of the incoming material).  Walking is good for all parts of what is you, be it meditative, sheer pleasure, or pacing in turmoil.  The act of walking clears your channels, reseats your connectors, and brings insight to both conscious and unconscious parts of your life.

Periodically, just for the richness of it, take a heart walk (an old Celtic practice is to gently breathe in and out through your heart).  Visualize a connector thread from your heart to what you see around you.  Imagine your thread exploring and being a conduit for exchanging information.  Tell that tree, flower, insect that it is beautiful and that you appreciate it.  Allow it to speak back to you, sharing its beauty.  As you wander, keep your eyes (and your heart’s ear) open for little messages…the leaf that reminds you of grandpa, the perfect flower color to use as a table cloth, the new plant poking through that suggests a little “garden time” (yours or someone else’s).  An aside: try extending your heart string to someone you care about and who is in a different place.  Send some love.

Remember, “Everything is made of hidden stuff.  The world globes itself in a drop of dew.”   (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Notice the birdsong, the scent in the air, the flash of a bit of litter that you pick up and take home to add to your “what I found on my walk” box.  In your mind, add the parts of the world that you encounter to your extended family.  When you’re all fuzzy and relaxed, and your heart is open, follow Susan Tuttle’s writing workshop suggestion (Kaleidoscope, by Susan Simanaitis):  “Listen to your heart. (Paper and pen if you wish) ‘I am your heart, and I want you to know ____________.’  Listen and pay attention to what it says to you.” (Your heart has brain cells, too.  It knows what is going on.  It is a worthy observer.)  Ms Tuttle further suggests, once you’ve done the initial listening, that you work with, “and, if you follow me, your heart, I will lead you __________.”  See what your heart suggests.  See if it fits, fits into what is possible for you. If you are in a bit of a funk and your walk is message-less, consider this quote, ”We need experiences larger than our problems.  We need to see we’re wearing ruby slippers all the time.”  (Richard Bartlett) 

A Walk in the Barrier Blasting Zone

Did you run hurdles in high school or college (or on your own home made track)?  If you did run, that itself was a huge accomplishment, never mind adding anything like leaps or relays.  Hurdle jumping is a pretty positive image (as opposed to hurdle crashing… probably more my speed).

Have you seen ideas, your own included, at the tender trial-balloon stage, sent hurtling toward the rocks by an offhand, negative comment (maybe you said it about your own idea?).  Randy Pausch, a man about to die of pancreatic cancer, in a speech to his students, said, “Obstacles are not there to keep us out.  They are there to show us how much we want (whatever) it (is).”  New seasons bring new ideas, so remove the following words and thoughts from your new idea considerations vocabulary: “I’m not able to ___,” “not now,” “maybe someday,” “there is no way that I can see, to ___.” Labeling anything as a barrier or impossibility dooms it. 

Theo Stephan Williams, in Creative Utopia (and, don’t discount her because the title suggests “impossible, no such thing” to you, either!), reminds us to be patient with our ideas.  We should give ourselves, “time and resources to succeed,” and give ourselves rewards as we make progress.  She recommends speaking of our new idea or goal in present tense, keeping other people’s expectations, interpretations, and timeframes out of it (that means don’t tell people who you know will judge you based on their criteria instead of your own).  “Remove ‘limit’ and ‘boundary’ from your vocabulary.”  “Boundaries are obstructions that we buy into because they are visible and thus convincing,” according to Theo.  In other words, we can easily believe a mirage.  Solution?  Rename these sorts of things “factors.”  It is foolish to tell yourself that they don’t exist.  If you think/know they do, they do.  Calling them by a name that keeps them down to size (factor 6, for example) acknowledges existence and keeps the inquiry/ consideration road open.  The factors get their turn after the new idea has expansion and bloom time.

It is better, in the quality arena, to think big and limitless, and then adapt, prune, fit to your resources.  If you start with the constraints, let them have their way with your idea early on, the idea is doomed to being small, dry, and seedless…no hope of propagation and new variations.  As I work, I like to think that if I would “let” or encourage someone else to go for it in a particular situation, that I should let myself do it, think it, too…not be a wuss with my own ideas.

Dr. Bernie Siegel, in the preface to Small Miracles, by Halberstam and Leventhal, reminds us to, “Behave as if you have coincidences in your life, expect them, when you are ready to receive them, they’ll come.”  (courtesy of Theo, who says, “It is wonderful to think that they are right out there, waiting for you.”)  So, as you walk, in search of stick, heart connections, or are out blasting barriers, keep an eye out for the small miracles…look, there’s one.  See it?

Realistically, every coincidence or idea isn’t a winner (inner gardens need weeding, too), but if you aren’t awake, you’ll miss them – and they won’t hang around waiting for the next opportunity to install themselves in your mind.  And, remember, when you encounter a barrier (one of those “factors”), don’t run into it, discover a detour around it, and back to the main road.  When you face a “factor,” it is a good time to have an imaginary conversation with your alter ego, your favorite auntie, and/or your puppy to check out a different point of view.  That factor might be an opportunity in costume.

Finger-Walking in the Word File

“Following your dreams is only possible if you have dreams in the first place.” (Holiday Muthis)  Everyone dreams.  Tune in.

“A lot can be told by what happens between the main moments.”  (Annie Leibovitz)  Remember those spaces we cleared?  There are spaces for ideas to nest between them.

“We do not stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” (George Bernard Shaw, cited in Nita Leland’s, The New Creative Artist)

And, finally this one, an idea that often gets forgotten, “There’s someone out there who needs you. (needs you to be you, perhaps?) Live your life so that person can find you.” (Balinese Dancer, courtesy of Susan Wooldridge)

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Mary Curran is an artist, writer, and creative process specialist.  One of her summer classes, “Going Back to the River: a mini creativity retreat,” will be held at Sievers, on Washington Island, July 11-13 (www.sieversschool.com. 920/847-2264).  Mary also teaches at Swanstone Gardens, Green Bay (www.swanstonegardens.com.  Or 920/866-9367 to request a catalog). Contact her at crow.41@hotmail.com about speaking or teaching for your group.