Random Word Generator

 I wrote recently about The Creativity Cure. One of the exercises included in the book was using a random word generator to spark creativity. 

Basically you can use an online word generator or just open any book and randomly choose a word. 

Start with a problem you have been contemplating. I chose I feel a little stuck, and am not moving forward. My random word was pasture. 

I then asked the question, “How is being stuck like a pasture. Here is where the creativity comes into play. Just like brainstorming start making a list of as many ways as you can think of that address the idea of being stuck is like a pasture. 

The first thing that came immediately to mind was the cliche “Being put out to pasture.” This generally happens when you are no longer considered “in your prime.” I didn’t want to think of myself being relegated to the pasture just because of my age. I reflected on this and decided it should inspire, encourage, and motivate me to remain useful and productive.

I also thought of pastures as being a place to roam and graze. I’ve watched our cows curiously check out anything new in the pasture. To me this meant to keep moving, exploring, and to be curious. In other words continue to feed your mind, because of course the pasture also provides a food source to those cows. 

Pastures are generally fenced in to keep the animals safe. The metaphor here is not to be confined by the fences you have erected in your life. Although you may feel safe in the known of your pasture, this is a false sense of safety. The reality is that predators can make their way into the pasture through the fence. 

Leaving the pasture is probably the better way. In fact, recently we added a remote control gate on our property. Leaving the pasture is so much simpler now. No longer am I required to leave my car, manually unlock the gate, open it, drive through, get out of my car, close the gate, lock it again, and then return to my car. Leaving the pasture is now a piece of cake!

During the spring months often the pasture is filled with wild flowers. This is a reminder to “Stop and smell the roses.”  Looking for those opportunities right in front of us to make life more interesting. 

Of course, during the winter months the pasture is eaten down to the ground, and is not able to provide enough nourishment to the cows. During this time extra hay is brought in to provide food for the animals. Is my life pasture barren and needing supplementation to keep my creativity alive? What can be done to nourish my soul during these more barren times?

Also, the winter is a time of rest for the pasture. Rest is an important and vital component of creativity. Being able to just do nothing seems impossible as I am continually plugged in, never allowing my mind to just roam. Making time for rest needs to be a priority in order for creativity to bloom. 

The pasture is also a place where deer sometime come to feed. It is a temporary respite from their home in the woods nearby. It takes risk to leave the safety of the wooded area and come out into the open to look for food. Risk taking is a part of life, and is not something to be avoided at all costs. 

The pasture is a peaceful and beautiful sight to behold from the comfort of my front porch. Looking for beauty in the simple things is certainly the way to go. 

One of the downfalls of the pasture are the grass burrs. These wicked stickers are the bane of our existence. They are not easily removed from the bottom of your shoes or your hand. This goes to show you that in life there is both good and bad. Although, we do everything we can to eliminate them we will never be completely successful.  Life is like that as well, and the lesson is not to overly dwell on the grass burrs, and press on. 

In addition to the grass burrs are the grasshoppers which have been known to come in biblical proportions. Luckily, they generally jump away from you, but you’ll never know that unless you venture into the pasture. When I first discovered them I was terrified. Now I casually brush off the one rogue hopper who didn’t quite get the message to jump away from the human. 

For me the best part about the pasture is pasture rides. We load up the Mule with our grandkids and my dog Cooper, and head out for a glorious ride. The wind in our hair, the laughter abundant, and the splash of puddles is the perfect way to spend time with the ones you love. 

So what have I learned from the random generator exercise. Well first, it sure was a lot of fun to do, and a great outlet for my creativity. As I compared my life to pasture life it opened my eyes to not wanting to remain fenced in to the safety of the known. It helped me to appreciate the beauty already in my life, and that just like the deer to venture out.

Sweetgrass Baskets

 

Over a decade ago my mother-in-law and her sister traveled up the east coast while my mother-in-law had ALS. The two of them made quite a pair, and their love for each other was demonstrated daily. They were world travelers, and continued to travel together even after the ALS diagnosis. 

On this last trip they stopped in Charleston, South Carolina where my mother-in-law purchased a Sweetgrass basket for me. It was quite unique, and came with information about the artisans. Apparently they were descendants of slaves who were originally from West Africa. These handwoven baskets are made from a variety of grasses and were originally used to separate rice seed from the chaff, and to hold household goods. 

After the emancipation of the slaves the baskets became highly sought after by collectors. These baskets can be found in the Smithsonian, and even King Charles owns one. The technique used to create these beautiful baskets is a coiled weaving technique.  The grasses used are sweetgrass, palmetto, pine needles and bulrush. The weaving is done with dry grasses, and the technique can be very hard on the hands of the artisan. 

Earlier this week I stopped by my favorite resale shop in Dublin, Tx. I came across a basket that caught my eye. After closer examination I was pretty sure it had to be a Sweetgrass Basket. I purchased it for $4.00 and when I got home I compared it to my original basket. Although, there are no markings on either basket they are definitely related. 

I was more than thrilled to find this gem. After a search on Etsy I found that these baskets can sell well into the hundreds, although to me mine was priceless in value. I guess now that I officially own two I’m considered a collector!

The Creativity Cure

 “I am creative. I am an artist. I am creating my life.”  Jacob Nordby

You may not know this about me, but I’m basically obsessed with any kind of book about creativity. My bookshelves are overflowing with this genre, and I am always on the hunt for another creativity tome. 

Recently I read, The Creativity Cure by Jacob Norby. His premise is that as we grew up we left behind that innate creativity that was part of our childhood. We “traded” it as he says for predictability and responsibility. 

He places a lot of the blame on our educational system which initially was  formed to create good little factory workers. The need for factory workers today may not be as great, but our allegiance to standardized testing pretty much ends with the same result. 

Perhaps it was some adult in your past that pointed out your failings in things like music, art or dance? For me it was the B in art class in Jr. High which kept me off the A honor roll. Sadly, I never took another art class in my public school career again. 

It wasn’t until I reached college when I was required to take art for my elementary education degree, that I remembered how much I loved it. Between Art Appreciation, Design, an art methods class, and then a class that included cartooning I was in my element. 

Being an elementary school teacher always gave me the opportunity to be creative, and to encourage my students to do the same. I really miss having that impact on those budding young creatives. 

Norby states that the three enemies of creativity are “socialization, traumatic experience, and rejection.” Definitely for me the fear of criticism, aka rejection, often held me back from really stretching my creativity wings. What if my art work, singing voice, or writing were not up to par? What would others think?

Luckily, according to Norby this innate creativity is never really lost. It’s just buried below years of denial. He even states that creativity is actually your birthright.

He emphasizes joy as the route to recapture this long forgotten birthright. “Joy and creativity go together. Joy is your guide and creativity is the method by which you travel.”

Norby encourages pursuing joy to help determine what really matters to you. Just like that well known geometrical principle of the shortest distance between two lines, joy takes you from where you are to where you want to go.

The Creativity Cure includes several exercise to spark creativity. From setting limits to welcoming randomness each idea allows your imagination to roam free. 

He includes Julia Cameron’s Artist Dates (I have included a whole list of ideas in the prior blog post.), not allowing should and shouldn’ts to get in the way, and encourages you to become the ‘author of your own life.” 

Norby’s cure is full of all kinds of creative activities that will allow you to unearth your true creative self. 

“Joy arises from the expression of our true nature.” Jacob Norby