Tag: create

Keep Dancing

I see the writing prompt, QUICK, & I hear the voice of my seventh grade cotillion instructor teaching us the samba: quick-quick slow, quick-quick slow… How is it that I remember his voice but not his name? Oh well, he taught me a few basics, lessons well learned if seldom useful in my day-to-day life. … Continue reading Keep Dancing

The Joy of Collaboration

Do you have someone with whom you enjoy collaborating? I am so grateful for the gift of a friend who has become my favorite creative collaborator. Nancy is a full-service creative: photographer, artist, hand letterer, graphic designer - you name it, she probably does it - and she and I have collaborated on assigned tasks … Continue reading The Joy of Collaboration

Want to Be Productive? Add Joy!

When our younger son was diagnosed in middle school with inattentive ADHD, I discovered that I have it, too. Our older son has what most people think of as ADHD: capital-H Hyperactive. Our younger son’s personality is so different that we had no idea. Turns out, ADHD doesn’t always look the same. I thought I … Continue reading Want to Be Productive? Add Joy!

I Write…

To know what I thinkTo work through what I don’t yet knowTo know and be known, to love and be lovedTo acknowledge my feelings To organize the chaos and cultivate inner orderTo connect the dots and create meaningTo noticeTo bear witness To remember the past and record the present for the sake of the futureTo … Continue reading I Write…

Advent 3: Preserve Peace (2019)

True confession: I worked on this post yesterday and got confused on my dates. I thought today would be December 14 and so the invitation should read: "Preserve Peace." My partner in creativity made two beautiful images, only recognizing my mistake after she had them ready. Thing is, I think Jesus does that sometimes. He … Continue reading Advent 3: Preserve Peace (2019)

Creative Collaboration

One of the great joys of my professional life over the last many years has been my ongoing partnership with my friend Nancy, aka The Creative Resource. I write/edit words and she makes them pretty. I hatch ideas and she makes them real and, in most cases, even better than I imagined. She is a … Continue reading Creative Collaboration

Starting Over

My son flubbed another school band audition, even though he played well in the practice room just before. Nerves. Before bedtime, I told him the story of why I quit playing the piano: The last time I performed on the piano was a lovely spring day in April 1988. Fifty or so music professors, music … Continue reading Starting Over

Free to Fail

My younger son is a musician. He’s played trumpet for six years and picked up the tuba a year ago. As a high school sophomore, he registered for two music classes: Jazz and Symphonic Bands. Music is his happy place, the band room his safety zone. His private instructor also works at the school; he … Continue reading Free to Fail

Creativity as Spiritual Practice

I read in The Artist’s Way: Are you contemplative? Yes. Do you allow yourself to go on retreat? Oh, well… Shortly thereafter, I saw a magazine ad for a nearby retreat center. An ad for the same center popped up on social media a few days after that; I clicked, and Julia Cameron, author of … Continue reading Creativity as Spiritual Practice

When One Word Won’t Cut It

My One Word for 2015 was a phrase: Put yourself in the way of beauty. It required action on my part (put) and a goal (beauty). In 2016, I chose Create, which led to a series of connections and blog posts on creativity from various creative friends, many of whom stretched to embrace the creativity … Continue reading When One Word Won’t Cut It