As Venus goes direct (last Friday!) and we all come out of stasis and into the glorious spring sunshine, I’ve been thinking a lot about inspiration and creativity.
Elizabeth Gilbert, whom I’ve never given much thought to as I’m a terrible snob when it comes to bestsellers, talks about genius and the creative drive as TINY GNOME-ELVES WHO GIVE US MAGIC CREATIVE INSPIRATION. What? Way to be totally awesome. I will probably read her book now.
Kevin gets mad when I say I’m a genius, I tell my 4 year old nephew he’s a genius all the time (and he, in turn, labels everyone either geniuses or witches.) I love the word and the idea that we are all, in fact, geniuses, with the mere use of our creative muscles. Or gnomes.
I’ve been in a real slump – haven’t felt much of a lift this weekend, but it is a good time, these slumps, to sit back and take stock of what tools we do have.
For me, so much of my get up and go! comes from my friends. I’ve been really feeling the importance of real face to face interaction, I have a whole other post brewing about that one.
I really liked elly’s post about how my birthday tea was a real turning point for her – just being around so many magical good ladies with drive and talent and ambition is enough to redefine our idea of success and inspire us!
My friend Mary Ann has started having “Dream Deferred” parties, her invite reads:
i want to start having folks over
to eat and
nurture dreams
share projects, visions, and resources
and dance the night away (we got the records!)
And Amanda has been hosting “Think” parties – everyone researches a topic and we create links and new thinkings around the topics at hand. It’s fun and really exciting to see how seemingly disparate topics intersect!!
I am definitely going to make myself get out more, attend more of these gatherings, and curate my own. We get really stuck in our work-worlds and internet-worlds, especially here in the Bay Area, and our communities are so important! What do you do to build community with your friends? What projects or inspiring moments have you had?
An astrologer that we’ve referred to as The Warlock for years now (his predictions are disturbingly accurate) has this to offer up;
‘The real joy of life is in its play. Play is anything we do for the joy and love of doing it, apart from any profit, compulsion, or sense of duty. It is the real joy of living.’ So said the theologian, Walter Rauschenbusch. You now seem to be bullying yourself into respecting some kind of an imaginary deadline. You feel that something must happen before the crunch point arrives. No matter what’s so urgent or what’s seemingly so wrong, it’s all going to be fine. Just relax a bit – and allow yourself to play a little more.
I really liked this. Play!!!I forget, and even my weekends seem like work - ok, I have 48 hours, what tasks can I accomplish? Yikes!
Kevin once asked me what I meant by magic, and I said; “Ok, so there’s an endless series of threads, right? And magic is when you decide to pull one of them.”
I don’t think he understood what I meant, but I was really excited at the time by the visual. My idea of creativity, of genius, of why-I-am-here, is to take the threads the world offers up through situations, the mouths of my friends, the random things I discover, the lightning flash inspirations from thin air; and to tie them together in a way that creates new ideas or new paths for us to walk down.
If all that fails, it’s time for kittens.
Nokomi
1 year ago
Um. Hello. I think I love you. Since I first discovered your site I’ve been increasingly enamoured and this post is the ultimate for me. Following the threads is exactly how we (my Mama and I) describe creating magic, and even though I get the sense that you know exactly how delicious and exciting it is when you stumble upon people with the same consciousness and I just had to acknowledge it to you anyway!
Love, love & love!
verhext
1 year ago
That is amazing! Amazing!!! When it came to me it was like a flash visual that was crystal clear and right. Yay yay it is nice to meet you!!!
elly
1 year ago
someone was JUST telling me about that elizabeth gilbert talk, on the way home from work friday. i too am a terrible snob about bestsellers, well, at least about eat pray love because before/during/after my trip india every other person recommended i read it. i still haven’t… but i will watch that talk.
Nokomi
1 year ago
Ok, now it’s even more wondrously super cool! (Lovely to meet you too of course!!!) You know, I read the part about Elizabeth Gilbert without really taking it in, her name not associating in my head with anything else but making a mental note to google her and promptly forgot to do so. Now after checking back in and seeing Elly’s comment I’m blown away cos I’m halfway through reading eat, pray, love! I often forget authors’ names and I had never heard of it before, but to be truthful, probably would have had a similar reaction to both of you had I had a point of reference. Nevertheless, there are some really interesting truths in the book, but what makes my spine tingle more than anything is her obvious acknowledgement of the part she plays in this great big ol’ universe and that she takes responsibility for her choices and outcomes. Gads, I love synchronicity!!!
kali flower
1 year ago
i too put off reading eat pray love until the last possible moment because i was so annoyed by everyone recommending it to me! seriously though, it is one of my absolute favorite books ever. please do check it out when you get a chance.
bulaklak
1 year ago
One of my favorite ways to build community is through trade. I love the idea of participating in an alternative economy, but also of forging new connections. Towards the latter, three (or more) -way trades are particularly fruitful. For example, I traded some bodywork to a friend of mine who is a fashion and fine art photographer in exchange for a certificate for her services that I then gave to a jewelry-making friend of mine for her birthday, so that she could redeem it for some good photos of her wares. On top of and underlying this exchange is the chance for two creative people whose work I admire to meet and begin their own collaboration. Threads crisscrossing: yay.
I find great joy in networking, but not necessarily networking in the sense it is most often used, where one is working one’s own web of connections for one’s own ends (not that there is anything wrong with that as it all goes around and comes around anyway). My greatest joy in networking usually comes when I am able to create an opportunity for someone else, finding just the right peg to fit just the right hole and then quietly stepping out of the way.