Liberating Creativity

Wouldn’t it be great to just set your heart free?

Your passion,

your dreams,

your creativity?

How would it feel to be able to live daily in a harmonious balance within your world and inside your heart?  Personally, I think it would be amazing… and it’s one of the visions I have for my life…

Sometimes chasing your dream may seem uncertain and even a little scary.  At least it does to me. But it’s like getting into a pool, it might be a little chilly or uncomfortable at first, but once your in, you start getting used to it and you realize that it’s actually fun!

And to take it a step further…what if you were involved with  a small group of other people who were also chasing their dreams and getting out of the comfort zones of their lives?

Shaun McNiff, an expert in expressive arts therapy puts forth in his book, “Creating With Others”, that groups of people can generate creative energy and go places together that they could never go alone.

Dreams and creativity go hand in hand…

One feeds the other!

So you can learn to  liberate your creativity to feed your dreams, your desires, your goals, your life’s mission.

You could Start Simply by reading something that inspires you and then write for a few minutes afterward and see what comes out, you might be surprised!

My next step is to reach out to someone or a few people in order to see what kind of creativity we can generate.  I am starting with my brilliant sister who is coming to visit for the holiday… she is a graphic-artist and a creative kindred spirit, plus a safe place to start.

Do you have someone who you enjoy being creative with that you can reach out to?

And it’s important to note that being “Creative” doesn’t mean you have to be “doing art”, you can be creative in cooking, or writing a short poem, or photography or journaling.  Just pick something that lights up your spirit when you do it and see how you can push it a little further and then try it with a friend.

I will let you know how it goes with my Generate Creativity Week! I am going to begin practicing Liberating My Creativity!  Won’t you join me? Let me know if you come up with any cool ideas..

Here’s to More Creative Moments!

Cheers,

Kristi

Life is NOW, Live Your Moments

KJ is me.  It’s a nickname for myself.

It’s based on the first letters of my first and middle name….

(These are two large letters I got from Hobby Lobby and decorated for the pure fun of it!)

It hit me today, as I’ve been trying to really live in this day, in this moment as much as I can.  I’ve been trying to enjoy the simplicity of whatever moment I’m in and place myself squarely in the middle of it.  Because… Life is Now.

My mission is really living my moments

and therefore living my life!

It’s definitely an art and a consistent effort to be mindful of each day.  My days are numbered

and I am practicing the art of living each to it’s fullest.  I know it might sound cheesy or trite, but it’s very

profound to stop and consider your time and your life, down to how you appreciate it or if you

numbly wander through every day.

I no longer naively  believe…

that there will always be enough time to do the things I want or to enjoy

the people in my life, so I have to learn mind-full living and actually live in

each moment.

For me this has taken a good long while, but one thing I have really come to understand

and enjoy about being over 40 is that I am really starting to “get it” and be more of the Captain of my Ship

as opposed to one who is just going where ever the wind take them!

So these are the very moments that add up to be my Life…

Am I doing what I long to do?

Am I making progress towards my dreams?

Am I helping others along the way as well?

Am I making my world a better place?

Am I waiting for someday?

Well, something I am daily comely to understand better and better is…

My life is right NOW, I better live it!

Here’s to Deeper, Richer Moments,

KJ

Welcoming Beauty

Even the word beauty brings a smile to my face.

Who doesn’t love to soak up a beautiful photograph or piece of artwork or pause for a moment, awash in the warm, beautiful rays of the sun? Beauty isn’t necessary to life, but it sure does bathe my soul in comfort and awe each time I experience it.

I was reading today and ran across a lovely bit out of Barrie Davenport’s ebook called a Meaningful Life.

I have been reading a little bit daily for inspiration and encouragament.

You can find it yourself at…

Click to access MeaningfulLife-eBook.pdf

“Beauty is the quality that thrills the soul and makes life vibrant. But you
don’t know that until you invite beauty in to your life.
Beauty elevates us beyond the mundane or even the extraordinary. It
exists as an expression of something divine – whether in nature or human
inspiration. Like love, beauty isn’t fleeting, and its effects are cumulative.
It stirs your heart, your spirit and your intellect. The more you seek and
absorb it, the more profound and essential it becomes to you.
To incorporate beauty into your life, recognize and embrace the fulfillment
and connectedness it provides, and slow down long enough to savor
it. That’s hard to do in a fast-paced world complete with near instant
gratification. Like a fine wine or a great meal, beauty can’t be rushed.”

So today, even though it is rainy and gray outside, I am looking for the beauty around me.

I love to curl up in my cozy, warm bed with a intriguing book and the rain outside gives me a great excuse to do just that.  Maybe that’s the beauty hidden in my day.

See…it’s already working!

Simple Bliss ~ finding happiness in a chaotic world

Simple Bliss…

So where is it… the “good life”, the sweet spot, where is that proverbial place of happiness?

Some say it’s one of our basic rights as human beings….the pursuit of it anyways.  Is it out there or in here somewhere?  Will I run across it someday or is it a lifetime of searching?

I challenge that it is with you right this moment!

If you could stop the doing, stop the thinking, stop the should and shouldn’t-ing, I propose that you would find simple bliss right there beside you, waiting to show itself in it’s quiet beauty.

Simple: clean, mild, quiet, uncomplicated or light

Bliss: extreme happiness, delight, serenity, buoyancy

Quiet delight, Uncomplicated Serenity, it’s a place you find within, inspite of the turmoil or busyness the surrounds you. It’s being able to STOP, take a soft, deep breathe and RELAX your mind and soul for a moment.  Listen for that inner voice to remind you of all the beautiful, little things all around you.  The peace of a quiet moment, the wafting of a gentle breeze through the trees, the fact that you have breathe within you and a loved one beside you.

Quietly delighting in something small and making it a meaningful moment is the beginning of Simple Bliss.  I try to practice it daily and find that just stopping whatever you are doing and purposefully soaking up that very moment somehow grounds me and calms my soul.

Try it today, just once, just for a moment… and see if you can discover a place of Simple Bliss.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised that such a tiny act can profoundly change your mood and your mind.

Looking for Momentum

It’s a Sunday evening and I have to admit…I have totally neglected my blog for the past 25 days. That makes me feel badly, and then I have to ask myself why did I neglect it that long?

It mostly stems from the thought of “what’s the point?”, doubting myself and even more than that, just feeling overwhelmed at the learning curve I have when I look at how much I don’t know about blogging.

These are some of my thoughts, “Maybe I am doing it for the wrong reasons?”, ” Maybe I am just not dedicated enough?”.  Maybe… maybe I am just not sure.  But, I haven’t quit researching, reading other blogs and closing the learning gap, so I must still be in it, just not actively engaging in my blog.  I began to feel like I wasn’t sure that I was using the “right” thing, meaning WordPress.  There are so many to choose from and what if I’m putting all this effort into something that wasn’t right for me.   STOP! I tell myself, all those thoughts and questions are destroying my optimism and my motivation to keep moving forward.  So I stopped thinking and I started digging…looking for encouragement and help from others that are doing what I want to do.

I’ve realized that it doesn’t matter if it’s all “just” right, it matters that I’m doing something, taking action, practicing my writing, moving forward period.  I am still learning that failure is simply part of it and that it’s ok!

Failure is ok!

It doesn’t mean that I’m no good, that I will never succeed, that what I’m doing is worthless…it doesn’t mean any of that!  So, I’ve looked for encouragement and found it, I’ve talked to myself and said… “Let’s just keep doing it for the practice and just see where it goes.”, and then I read a blog post from http://www.chrisguillebeau.com yesterday that really encouraged me…

“So every day, I would focus on exactly that — creating something worth talking about, and then trying to get the word out wherever I could. Everything else is irrelevant, or at least subservient to those two strategies.

If you do that every day, then every day the work will get better and you’ll get better at promoting it. And sooner or later, momentum will kick in and you’ll be along for the ride with everyone else.”  Chris Guillebeau
So now I am back at it, encouraged, more knowledgeable and moving forward.  Thx Chris!