I just got back from a big old pile of muddled thinking. I was confused, lost, searching and honestly, a little scared. It took a few things to get me out of that pile of grey stuff; a small internal voice, an irritated external voice and my own creativity. It got me thinking about the nature of clarity. How do I listen to the REAL voices that help guide my authentic path? I explore my ideas here, just to get us talking. I suspect there isn’t one solid answer but a series of practices that can create the spaciousness and contrast clarity needs. What do you think?
Today, I explore how spacious stillness helped bring awareness to my creative barriers as I approached building a gingerbread house. I explore how those barriers hinder me in life and in other creative projects. Then I offer means for how to gently remove them.
Because I want creative flow! Don’t you? Take a listen.
I’m on vacation, camping, getting dirty, rock climbing, hiking, playing and bathing in lakes and rivers. It’s amazing. Life feels like its somewhat normal. You should do it too 😉
There are days when I have thought that the last three or four weeks have been harder than the first weeks of this pandemic. Even as we reopen, pandemics and protests and the growing realization that this summer won’t be what I thought it was, has really taken a toll and my and my family’s motivation. Where is it? How does motivation work? What can I do to get the joy and motivation back in the house? These are questions that are occupying me these days. Take a listen for some thoughts and some solutions. It’s a constant moving target, but we can do this.
This is another episode I recorded before the world ended and began again with a pandemic and protests. As I find myself reflecting now more and ever in this unprecedented time, I realize that looking back is a good step is to re-vision my manifesto into the future within this new and unfolding context. In this episode, I retell the story of how I left academia which led me to a life of art, travel and family. Take a listen. What will your next steps be?
I think we should be listening to black leaders telling their history and their experience. I think we should be curious about it and directing our attention to them, especially now. Make them center right now. They have a lot of important, meaningful, uncomfortable points to make about America. They are points, that if we listen with a full and present heart, will teach us to grow. They will teach us curiousity and compassion. They will move us to a more just and equitable society and one that truly nourishes the human experience for all.
To say that you never really understood racism because you were raised to love all people regardless of color is a beautiful sentiment but it is not the point. If you never understood racism, then that is the problem. Racism thrives on this lack of curiosity. I say this with a full and loving heart but set the good intentions aside and be curious, open and listen.
In this episode, I share some of my history of being white. I am very white. I have been ignorant. I’ve awakened. I’ve been active. I’ve been compassionate. I’ve been called a racist. I’ve been racist. I’ve lifted barriers. I’ve witnessed trauma. I’ve taken a break because the work is hard and I’m white so I get to do that. I don’t know everything about this complex puzzle, but I do have some stories to tell.
I share because maybe there is something in these stories that will help with your growth and discovery of what it means to be white in America. This is by no means a perfect account, I’m still learning and growing and pushing into this too. But maybe it will help you listen to those black voices that need your compassionate and open heart available to them too.
What would it be like if we truly put what we value first? Would it change the way we think about money and each other? Instead of measuring what we have and hoard, can we measure what we value by how we invest in it? In this episode, I explore the evolution of my thinking about sustainability, culture, change, love, creativity, economy and hope. I think we can create a system that truly supports and nourishes the human experience and it begins with hope in the present moment and all of our relationships.
Actually, it’s a bit of a mystery to me. I haven’t thought of myself as a collector until recently. Of course, I’m not just a maker and artist, I’ve always collected other people’s art for very meaningful reasons. Art speaks an emotional language and it marks major phases for me. The art I collect are tattoos of meaning in my life and time. Realizing this, has prompted me to reflect; what is it about other people’s art that moves me? How is that different than creating my own? And why, now more than ever, am I committed to creating my own art collection and I’m soooo excited about it?
The conversation about how this pandemic will change us will continue for awhile. Personally, in a couple months, I’ve experienced profound shifts in my relationship with time, mindset, art, the artist as well as my self-worth. At a baseline these shifts have taken me beyond what I thought was possible for me. I’ve found growth and peace in places and moments that I haven’t expected. And it all started when I decided to let this change me. The moment I told myself it was okay to change, growth happened. Have you ever had that experience?
I’m sure I’m not the only one. These stories of change will likely pile up. Let’s listen to them and see how we grow. I’ll tell you mine here, then you tell me yours. Take a listen.
Relationships are complicated. Aren’t they? I find one of the greatest challenges is maintaining and nourishing the relationships I hold dear while doing all the other things. Not to mention my desire to have even better relationships. This podcast is all about some of the things I’ve been thinking about in this complicated process of love and friendship and how it relates to creativity. Its a delicate balance and this is food for thought. Take a listen.
