The angel of creativity

It hasn't been easy- --finding time to return to this blog. I keep breaking my own rules about taking time to pause each day. A few days ago I found a marvelous piece of advice in the book, Leading from Within. It came in the form of a question asked by Ted Falcom: How can I learn to say "No" so that my "Yes" has real meaning? I need to write this question on my forehead.

Of course, if I do say YES when, perhaps, I ought to have said NO, I am then in the position of trying to be faithful to my YES. This has been my stance these days---practicing being faithful to the YES. Yesterday some unknown angel (perhaps the angel of creativity) came to my assistance. In straightening up some piles of "stuff to be filed" an old greeting card slipped out of a magazine. It was a photo of dragonfly resting on some long green stems in a pond. Below the photo was an inspiring quote from the poet, Rabindranath Tagore:

The same stream of life
that runs through the world,
runs through my veins night and day
and dances in rhythmic measure.
It is the same life that shoots in joy
through the dust of the Earth
into the numberless blades of grass
and breaks into tumultuous waves of flowers.
~~Tagore

Upon reading these words I experienced a piercing of the heart. Immediately I became aware that it was time for me, once again, to lean into creativity. I need to discern how to facilitate the stream of life pulsing through my veins. Pausing is not an option; it is essential for your health. If you keep the door of your heart unlocked, the angel of creativity will soon or later catch up with you. She will teach you to pause.

BLOG ENVY

Hopefully it is not terminal but I do believe I have the beginnings of blog envy. Since envy is one of the capital sins I would like to free myself from its grip just as soon as possible. I have felt it creeping up slowly when I am surfing blogs. It isn’t likely you will find me surfing TV channels since I watch TV so seldom but I do love words and enjoy reading about people’s lives, their dreams and hopes, their favorite books, even the things they like to eat and grow and who they would enjoy having tea with. It would be easy for me to become part of a blog community if I had the time.

And oh my, as I surf, there are these little voices in my head that begin to talk to me saying, “well look at this creative blog.” (i.e. Lila's photo above) Why can’t you be a bit more creative?” And some blogs have all those neat backgrounds—and features I’ve never tried to use staring me in the face until even my blog starts talking to me, saying things like, “Why don’t you spruce me up just a bit? I’m a little dull next to some of these beauties.”

“Well,” I try to explain, “I’m a beginner and am likely to make a career out of being a beginner. After all, you are a contemplative blog and so you need a lot of white space. Some of these other blogs, much as I love them, are a little busy,” I tell myself—hoping for some consolation.

After all, the most sensible thing to do is to follow the advice given in the name of Beth's blog: Be yourself---everyone else is taken --I find that most consoling so I will try to be myself and stumble along in BlogLand as I am able.

And I do thank Lila for allowing me to use her (what shall we call it) eye poem, dream board, creative collage, whatever: http://indigopears.blogspot.com/ knowing all the while that if I had more time to experiement I could have inserted her blog page so that it would open up to the very page of her creative display above.

Oh well...Enjoy whatever page you are on; and truly as Beth says, Be yourself. Everyone else is taken. And you are just fine whoever you are--wherever you are.

Walking Trees

“To find your creativity
You have to leave the city of your comfort
and go into the wilderness of your intuition.
You can’t get there by bus--only by hard work, risk
and by not knowing what you’re doing
or where you’re going.
What you discover will be wonderful.
What you discover will be yourself.
-adapted from Alan Aida

These words massaged my soul this morning as I sat by my window praying. I asked God to help me go into the wilderness of my intuition. Most of us know more than we think we know but we have to be very still to touch the depth that is in us. And truly, there is a depth in each of us that we have not yet discovered. And so I asked, in prayer, to be given a memory that would stir up my creativity and imagination--a memory that would remind me of who I really am. The memory came very quickly and it is so dear...the face of a little girl arose in my mind's eye.

Many years ago when I was teaching grade school in Dixie, Arkansas (3 grades in one class room) I provided a sharing time for the children to talk about something from their lives that the rest of us might enjoy. A little girl raised her hand and told us that if we wake up in the middle of the night we should be sure and look out the window. She then proceeded to explain that at night the trees, who are tired of just standing still all day, start walking around and sort of visit one another. Fortunately the Spirit was very present to me at that moment and I didn't say, "Oh, that is just your imagination." I said something like this: "You know, I think maybe I've seen them at times also." Some of us talk about imagination as though it is false but that is where our dreams come from. And so I would say to all you grown-ups who are so busy with matters of such great importance, look out your window in the middle of the night (or even in daytime) and you, too, may see the trees walking about. The trees in the photo above look sort of like walking trees and I thank earthshots.org for it. If my Sycamore tree ever decides to go for a walk I hope it remembers to return to my cedar swing.

SPEND TIME WITH A TREE TODAY.

My Wild and Colorful Dream

I have been praying for a renewal
of my creativity.

Perhaps this dream is the beginning.

A group of us were going to Subiaco Abbey for the night. I was driving a huge truck which seemed more like a bus. A few passengers were with me. I cannot recall the exact nature or purpose of our visit to Subiaco but someone told me to be sure and look out the window very early in the morning because there would be some cute little monster-like creatures running around before dawn. It seems they were part animal and part human and they appeared just before sunrise while it was still dark. Early the next morning (in my dream) I was awakened suddenly and literally drawn, like a magnet, to the window. Sure enough—there they were. The yard was filled with pudgy little friendly creatures running here and yon—decorating the trees, the lamp poles. Some were even hanging bright colored paper circles in the air; they looked like little Ferris-wheels and moved in a circle yet hanging in mid-air like magic. Then I noticed that some of the group I had come with were outside walking around with these friendly little creatures. And I thought, “Oh my goodness, they are actually out there in that magical land experiencing all that creativity while I am only watching it from the window. With that thought I went racing down the hall with the intention of joining these unconventional visitors. I woke up just before arriving in that that magical, mystical wonderland.

Now what was that all about?
I sure hope the Subiaco monks
take time to look out their windows at dawn.)