Creativity Surge and the Colour Green

Green

I look out my window where I sit to write and I notice that the colour in front of me is green. The leaves on the trees, the bushes, the plants, the grass. On a grey day, like today, and after a thunderstorm, the green is deep and lush and overflowing. I soak in this colour because I know that, in a few months, this same greenery will be covered in white. It will be a different world out there from today.

I feel lucky that I have this view from my desk. For me, it beats the concrete, man-made world, that I have to go to during the week. Peace. Quietude. Solitude. Calm. In this space, I can hear my own thoughts.

Seated in my yellow wing chair, before heading over to my writing space, I felt a vibration coming up through my right foot that was nestled comfortably on the lush brown carpet. The vibrations were coming through from the ground up, and this feeling resonated with the chapter I read from Fruitflesh by Gayle Brandeis.

 

Trunk

Our bodies are like tree trunks, simultaneously anchored in the earth and reaching toward the sun. Creativity surges inside us, green and alive; when we tune into our bodies, we can tap the force, the source, that brims in all our cells.

Gayle Brandeis

 

Coffee sure is good this morning. Ahhhhh.

Enjoy your weekend!

CC

A Paradigm Shift in Trust


Reflection by © CC Dailly

One of the most important elements in any relationship is trust.

And, so should it be with the relationship you have with yourself when it comes to writing.

It is a part of yourself that must be earned, nurtured, and rewarded. You must take care of that part of you fervently to keep it, just like any other relationship. You must spend time with it, you must not be mean to it, you must be patient, you must have love for it. And, in the case of writing, I would almost say that you need to have an unconditional love for it.

A reader can sense where you are coming and going from your writing. Are you insecure, scared, or are you confident and sure of yourself? Are you really giving of yourself, or are you pretending? Are you being honest or trite? Are you writing because you truly love it, or are you writing because you think that at the end of the rainbow there’s going to be a big stash? (Well, honestly, who wouldn’t really want that? — because it would mean that you could do it full-time and not be continuously trying to cram it in between the meals, the full-time job, the kids, the dog, the long commute…) But, inherently, at the bottom of your heart, you must love the craft. The simple art of putting down in letters, sentences, and paragraphs, your thoughts and ideas; the ones that you want others to read.

The more you write the more you learn to trust the path that you are on when putting pen to paper. As in real life, there are times when the path detours, detracts, becomes circuitous, but if you remain steadfast, persevering, loving your craft, as well as determined, your words and your stories will keep you on the right path. If you listen to your intuition, to that little inner voice, to the very core that drives you to write, you will be course-corrected when you detour, you will know which path to take if you reach a fork in the road, you will instinctively choose the right one for you.

And the rest of it is all exercise. Trust must be earned and you must remember to reward yourself as well.

A reward can be as simple as buying a new book, taking an afternoon off and relaxing with a cup of tea or coffee, or watching a movie.

You must be true to yourself in order for trust to grow and become the foundation. Your true self knows when you are lying, conniving, cheating yourself or others when you are putting your words down.

Perseverance, determination, intuition, consistency, and honesty in your writing will lead you to trusting in yourself, your writing, and your motivation.

~ CC Dailly

Imagination and Dreaming

The more you write, the more it flows. It may be hard at first but it will begin to feel easier the more you practice, and at some point, if you don’t write, even for ten minutes a day; it will feel as if something is missing.

Just like with exercise. Set an appointment with yourself, a routine, take ten minutes a day (or more) to write. If you are in the midst of writing a novel, short story, or article, and you need a break; write about something completely different for ten minutes. Even if you’re not in the mood to write; take ten minutes and write about anything.

If you’re truly short on ideas, go to a library or bookstore and pick out a magazine or book about something you would not normally read. Read it or simply browse through the book and it will surely open a window or thought to something new. If you don’t normally read scientific magazines, have a glance. If you don’t normally look through Home magazines, flip the pages, pretend you’re changing your living room or your kitchen, dream a little. Go to the travel section and pick a book about a country you’ve never visited or have always dreamed of visiting; find out about it; look at the photographs; imagine you’re there.

Try something new; anything off your beaten track and it will rejuvenate your mind.

If after all that you still don’t feel like writing; write that you don’t feel like writing and why. Your pen will still be in your hand and the words will be on the screen or paper or whichever method you find easiest to write.

And, if this still does not appeal to you – lean back, throw your feet up and relax. Enjoy the moment.

Imagine and dream.