by Heather Plett | Jul 20, 2010 | beginnings, Creativity, journey
vacation feet at dusk
After a week and a half of vacation, I’m trying to give my brain the “get back to work” pep talk today. So far, I’ve had only limited success. Sigh.
I quite intentionally spent little time online while on vacation. It was family time, and so I did fun family things, like hangin’ out at the Folk Festival, going on a road trip, chillin’ by the hotel pool, shopping in big America shopping malls (mostly for the teenagers in the family), watching soccer games, riding a few rollercoasters, floating down a lazy river on an inner tube, eating too much junk food, and watching silly movies. I also managed to squeeze in a few fun things just for me, like sipping chai latte at a couple of bookstore coffee shops (on both sides of the border – yup, books & chai – my two addictions), reading a couple of books, and going to an art fair.
Yesterday was one of my favourite days of the vacation. I spent most of the afternoon reading a book in a lawnchair in a shady spot on my front lawn. About the only activity I did all day was get up now and then to refill my glass with iced tea. And make a ridiculously unhealthy lunch of hashbrowns and bacon. Awww… the luxury!
One of the books I finished reading while on vacation was Artful Leadership by Michael Jones. Yes, I actually read a book on leadership while on VACATION! Go figure. It was just that good! I had the pleasure of hanging out with Michael at ALIA last month and I find his thoughts and ideas to be really, really inspiring. His book hit the spot for me in so many ways at just the right time.
There are lots of thoughts bubbling in my mind after reading this book. One of the things that stuck with me was Michael’s suggestion that, given the amount of clutter and external influence we allow into our brains and hearts, it is extremely difficult to have an original thought that does not become shadowed and distorted by what others say and think. It is even more difficult to trust that original thought and give it life.
Think about it… how often have you had a thought or idea that came to you from whatever original source you believe in (God, muse, self) that you entertained for even just a few moments without quickly negating it because “so and so would think it’s a bad idea” or “it doesn’t fit with conventional wisdom” or “it’s just silly” or “market research would certainly tell me it would never fly”?
I’ve had some of those ideas lately, and there’s a part of me that JUST KNOWS they are the right ideas to follow. BUT… well, you know the “buts”. Every day a few more of them pile on top of me when I let myself be influenced by the “experts” or “well-meaning people” or “my own ego”.
That’s part of the reason I spent this vacation mostly away from some of the influencers – social media, etc. Sometimes it’s best just to sit with an idea and let it evolve in its own good time before we hold it up to any litmus tests other than our own gut feelings. To be honest, I let myself be influenced more by a chance encounter with a horse (more on that later), and an exhilarating ride on a rollercoaster than any other person’s ideas or suggestions.
What about you? How do you guard and nurture those original thoughts so that they have a chance to grow before resistance cuts them off at their tender little shoots?
by Heather Plett | Jul 12, 2010 | Uncategorized
I’m just popping in to say hello. Just enough time for a little game of peek-a-boo. 🙂
I have so much to tell you… SO MUCH! But that will have to wait for a week or two, since I am currently on vacation with my family and will not be spending much time on a computer.
I just had to stop by for a few minutes though, because I’m showing up in lots of fun places online and I wanted you to know about them.
1. I am very happy and excited that I had a chance to be interviewed by the amazing, creative, and warm-hearted Jamie Ridler! Though the interview took place a few weeks ago, I’m today’s guest on her Creative Living podcast. I have long been a fan of Jamie’s, so I’m tickled pink to be her guest. Listen to the podcast, and you’ll hear a little secret about something I’ll be working on this summer – for a Fall launch!
2. Another one of my favourite people online is Christine, a.k.a. Blisschick. Christine recently honoured me with the WarriorChick award! Christine has been a source of strength for me in some really tough times, so when she honours the strength in me with this award, I can’t help but feel humbled by it.
3. And last but not least, I’m also rather fond of Jane Steen, a fellow writer who I had the pleasure of hanging out with in Chicago back in the Spring. We had a wonderful visit to the Art Institute, followed by a photo op at the giant Bean and then a glass of wine. Jane honoured me with a “Versatile Blogger” award this week, and once again, I’m honoured! Blushing, in fact.
Once I’m back to more regular blogging, I’ll try to pass on these awards, but this little game of peek-a-boo is over for now and I have to go back to hanging out with my family now. I hope you’re all enjoying the summer!
p.s. The delightful model for the above photos is my nephew Jack. We had lots of fun together at this year’s Folk Festival, playing with one of my Indian scarves. Just for fun, here are a few more photos from the Folk Festival.
by Heather Plett | Jul 7, 2010 | fearless, journey
I made a big scary decision this week about something I’ve been thinking about for a long, long time. (More on that in the weeks to come.) Since then, I have been waffling between excitement and pure unadulterated terror.
I was cycling to work yesterday when one of those terror moments struck. “What do you think you’re doing?” said the voice of fear. “This won’t work, you’re foolish, you’ll fall flat on your face and end up regretting this decision for the rest of your life… blah, blah, blah.” You know the gig – I don’t have to spell it out for you.
But then another voice showed up. A more gentle and yet bold voice. “Remember whose shoulders you’re standing on.”
When I was at ALIA last month, Meg Wheatley asked us a question that has stuck with me since. “What are the fearless things your forbears have done? On whose shoulders are you standing?”
As I pedalled my bike, my fearless forbears lined up in my mind. My Mennonite ancestors who faced martyrdom for their faith and their commitment to pacifism, justice, and community. Those who’d left Russia to come to Canada because they believed in non-resistance and wanted to live in a place where they could claim conscientious objector status in times of war. Those who’d fought the harsh elements to build homes and livelihoods for themselves in Canada. And then my parents who’d uprooted their three small children (I was one year old at the time) to move to a small town where they knew no one but felt a calling to reach out to people there (and I can tell you oodles of stories of the people whose lives they touched).
Suddenly, my decision didn’t feel so risky anymore. “If these people can risk life and livelihood for what they believe in, then I can take a few chances too,” I thought. “They have paved the way for me – cleared some of the rubble from the path long before I even came along so that life could be smoother and more free.”
The fearlessness didn’t end with my forbears. Later that day, I was amazed at how many stories started showing up (randomly, through links forwarded by friends, people’s blog posts, newspaper articles, etc.) about people doing fearless things that surely gave them many, many moments of terror and self doubt. One of my favourites is the story of the family that sold everything to spend three years biking from Alaska to Argentina. Imagine!
And so I ask you today… on whose shoulders are you standing? What brave things have been done in your lineage that make it easier for you to follow your path and face the things that scare you? Or what stories outside of your lineage have inspired you to be a little more fearless?
by Heather Plett | Jul 5, 2010 | Beauty, journey
Sometimes, one doesn’t know what one needs until that elusive thing has been found. And then, when the unrecognizable hunger has been satiated, the soul sings with delight.
That’s how it was yesterday when I arrived at King’s Park on my way to the labyrinth. Even before I reached the labyrinth, I felt the resounding “Yes!” ring through my body. I walked through the flower garden, smelled the roses, heard the twittering of birds, felt the warm sun and the cooling breeze on my face, and knew that I had come to that place where my soul meets God.
This place – the labyrinth and park that surrounds it – has come to mean so much to me. It opens my heart and my mind. It lifts a shadowy veil from my eyes. It helps me see the world anew. It gives me hope and restores my faith.
It is like an anchor – a safe place in the storm.
I have been reading Artful Leadership by Michael Jones of late, and I have been reminded of how crucial silence and solitude are in the work of a leader, artist, or, frankly, anyone who wants to live more deeply and mindfully. We all need to find our places of stillness where our hearts can sing and we are silent enough to hear God speak.
If you haven’t found one of those places lately, what are you waiting for? Go, seek, and find. Rest, be still, wander, breathe deeply, take pictures, write in your journal, pray, listen, whistle – do what you need to do to feel alive and whole.
And then, when you feel that surge of energy and hope in you anew, whisper a prayer of thankfulness for the beauty that surrounds you and the beauty that is in you.
And don’t forget to read between the lines on the petal of an iris – you might be surprised what secrets lie hidden there.
p.s. if you are new here, you might enjoy this little video I made about the labyrinth last year.
by Heather Plett | Jul 2, 2010 | Creativity
Much too late last night, I finished reading Floor Sample, Julia Cameron’s autobiography. Many of you will know Julia Cameron as the author of The Artist’s Way and many other well-loved books on creativity and spirituality.
What struck me, as I closed the book and headed toward dreamland, was how very flawed and human Julia Cameron is. Despite the fact that she is an international guru on creativity and has written umpteen books, plays, film scripts, songs – you name it – she paints a painfully honest picture of herself as a fragile and flawed woman, often on the edge of sanity. She struggled through crippling addiction to alcohol and cocaine, she hopped around the country like a lost gypsy searching for some place that would give her peace, she survived two failed marriages and numerous other ill-fated romances, and in later life she has been dealing with serious mental health issues that have landed her in more than one psych ward.
The remarkable part of her story, though, is that despite the serious roadblocks that could have sidelined her career (or worse – killed her) long ago, she never ceases to believe that she is a writer who has been called to write and share that writing with the world. After hitting rock bottom from alcohol and cocaine addiction, she is mentored toward recovery by people who teach her that she has to admit her weakness and learn to trust God instead of herself. She begins to do so, and discovers that when she puts her life in God’s hands, not only can she stop drinking, but her creativity begins to blossom in a way she never expected it to.
Since then, she has been committed to serving as a conduit for the creativity that flows through her from God. No matter what comes her way – mental illness, relationship failures, etc. – she continues to write and write and write. She never questions that it is her calling and never lets self-doubt get in the way – she simply trusts that this is what she is being called to share with the world.
There are times when surprising art flows through her. Though not musically trained, and convinced that she is “not the musical one in the family”, she begins to hear songs flow through her and she composes them with the help of a small child’s keyboard on which she’s marked Middle C and a numbering system that helps her figure out the notes. (She later – around 50 years of age, I believe – takes piano lessons for the first time.)
I can’t help but wonder how much more creativity would be shared if we all had the same commitment to following our muses no matter what obstacles showed up.
What if we could all put our egos aside and just trust that what is flowing through us has little to do with us and is meant to be shared? What if we no longer trusted those negative voices that tell us we’re not good enough or not wise enough and just created whatever God put on our hearts? What if we believed that our flaws and our failures were merely opportunities for growth and fresh perspectives? What would we be capable of?
