Creative Dreams - What Winter Driving Taught Me

Home
>
Creativity
>
Creative Dreams - What Winter Driving Taught Me

Creative Dreams - What Winter Driving Taught Me

We had a winter storm the other day here in Toronto. And as I was driving, I started thinking about what my winter driving had in common with my creative dreams. Here's what I came up with.

1. Being grateful to be in my car, pointed in the right direction and moving (however slowly). Some days I don't accomplish as much work towards my creative dream as I set out to. Other days it seems like I'm moving backwards.

And I know that as I:

~ Get in the car (show up every day),

~ Point it in the right direction (have positive intentions and goals that I've expressed, written down and shared with someone), and

~ Keep moving (spending time on my creative dream every day, even just five minutes),

I'm doing the right things to protect my creative dreams and keep them alive.

2. There will always be someone in front of me and there will always be someone behind me, and where I am is just perfect.

When I come upon a person who is living out a version of my creative dream, only they seem to be farther along with it than I am, I need to let go of any feelings of jealousy, fear or discouragement that may come up.

I need to learn from them, admire them, connect with them and offer them my support. And I can do the same for the person who's just starting out and for whom my almost two and a half years in business seems like a lifetime.

I need to accept that my fate is already happening, and it's happening at the perfect speed, even if I don't always see it at the moment.

3. If I try to do more than one thing at a time I risk derailing myself ? and my very survival. A winter storm day is not the time to open a water bottle, make a phone call or jot down my grocery list while I'm driving.

I have many creative dreams and many things I want to accomplish everyday, every week and throughout my life. I can do them all. And I can only do one at a time. Spreading myself thin makes it harder to be effective and I risk giving up on one of my projects.

One worry is that I'll "lose something" ? completely forget about a project or my excitement for it. I have to keep faith that the really special projects won't be forgotten.

And that if something is jumping in front of me and distracting me from the task at hand, maybe the truly exciting thing about it is that it's taking me away from the "drudgery" of completing what's in front of me. I need to complete what's in front of me.

4. I have to keep my reservoir full. By practicing healthy self-care habits every day, my reservoir of energy (adequate nutrition and enough sleep, rest and activity) will get topped up.

It's when my reservoir is full that I'll be the most creative and the most open to my muse and to spiritual guidance.

And as I use it I need to constantly replace it.

Because any change we make needs to be reinforced with our actions every day. And every morning is a brand new start and the beginning of a whole day's worth of choices to make.

5. God's in charge (and I'm not). I can make all the plans in the world, and, as we all were reminded on December 26, 2004, plans (and lives) can be washed away in an instant.

So while I set positive intentions, create goals and practice positive visioning of what the future holds, I also aim to be open and accepting to whatever God's plan is for me and for my creative dreams.

Prayer, meditation, talking things over with someone I trust, all of these help me to separate *my* plans from what God seems to be telling me.

And last Wednesday God planted the seeds for this article by providing a winter storm, extra time in the car, a good dose of inspiration from my muse, and the willingness to listen to it.

Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. To receive her free monthly newsletter, "Everyday Artist", subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/artist-n ewsletter.html

In The News:

Creativity in the garden: Found objects, artworks can add whimsy, fun, beauty
Washington Post
SEATTLE — I feel like Alice in Wonderland. Sprinting past an alligator drinking a soda pop and a T-Rex playing guitar, I lean toward a family of colorful metal toadstools that come to my knee. “Aren't those great?” asks Jim Honold as he ushers me ...

and more »

Sydney Morning Herald (blog)
Can creative entrepreneurs really make money?
Sydney Morning Herald (blog)
Can creative entrepreneurs really make money? I'm talking about people like artists, sculptors, writers and others who are pursuing their creative passions. There's a widely held belief that it's very hard to make money as an artist.

and more »

Factory Design Labs Names Andrew Price to Top Creative Role
MarketWatch (press release)
DENVER, CO, May 23, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Factory Design Labs, a full-service agency delivering innovative advertising campaigns for premium lifestyle brands, today announced it has named Andrew Price Vice President, Executive Creative ...

and more »

Baltimore Sun
Creativity runs wild during Destination Imagination
WVLT
(WVLT)-- Teams from all over the world are in Knoxville for the Global Finals for Destination Imagination; a program that lets kids use their creativity to solve problems. Chuck Cadle the CEO of Destination Imagination said "It's an educational program ...
Number Of Teams Earning Spot At Global Finals Up 10% From Last Year! Data Says ...MarketWatch (press release)
Kids will get creative in Destination Imagination finalsLexington Clipper Herald
15000 Students Descend on UT KnoxvilleWMOT

all 23 news articles »

Just Jared
Kelly Clarkson: Having a boyfriend 'is ruining my creativity' for writing songs
New York Daily News
The “American Idol” winner, known for girl power anthems like “Since U Been Gone” and “Stronger,” tells People magazine that having a boyfriend is “ruining” her creativity. “It is killing me,” she told the magazine of penning songs about breakups and ...
Kelly Clarkson: My Boyfriend is Ruining My CreativityPeople Magazine
Kelly Clarkson's boyfriend Brandon Blackstock is 'killing her creativity'Daily Mail
Kelly Clarkson: Relationship Is 'Ruining My Creativity'Just Jared
TheCelebrityCafe.com -Digital Spy -earsucker
all 140 news articles »

Richard Florida Is Wrong About Creative Cities
Forbes
Moretti also points to Berlin, which he calls “one of the world's coolest cities”, and “a magnet for creative people from all over Europe”. He paints a picture of Berlin that is decidedly Floridian: “Berlin's well-established progressive attitudes, ...

Creative Commons Qatar celebrates first anniversary
Gulf Times
By Peter Townson/Staff Reporter Creative Commons Qatar has celebrated its one year anniversary, with officials outlining the successful work carried out by the community organisation and its hopes for the future. Initiative leader Brian Wesolowski ...

OregonLive.com
My Workout: Creative movement in Nia rounds out exercise routine
OregonLive.com
"Nia has brought creativity and openness to my life. You go at your own pace. I bend in ways I never have before. I don't even get sore gardening." Nutrition: Johnson enjoys being the cook at his house and he treads the straight and narrow, food-wise.

3 Ways to Save America's Black Boys, Pt. 2 of 3
Huffington Post (blog)
So, it's surprising that while Black Americans recognized the need to invest in creativity in 1934, and produced a ground-breaking platform of showcasing innovative entertainment that's copied to this very day, we're now Moonwalking behind today's ...

and more »

Check Out the Bold, Creative Nominees for the 8th Annual Restaurant Design Awards
LAist
Kleiman, we're told, noted the nominees' "bold quirky choices" in design, and Voltaggio appreciated clever uses of funds to create impressive spaces: "We chose the nominees that got creative with the money they had, we also chose the nominees that got ...

Google News