Tomorrow’s post will feature a Bereshit Bara Creativity Series meditation from Diana Huey. Listen to the Podcast on iTunes by clicking here.
Creativity To Watch:
Re:Generation Music Project
Summary: The documentary, directed by Amir Bar-Lev, celebrates musics past, present and future by candidly revealing the artists creative process as they use technology to mix the musical styles of generations and bring to light the originality of electronic music. (thx Alina for the tip)
Creativity To Participate:
Summer contest. Mail Art. Send letters, or other mail on the theme of invention. Details at Spark My Muse.
Creative Meditations To Read:
As a pediatric ICU nurse, I am surrounded by a great deal of darkness. There exists, in my patient’s room alone, enough heaviness to tip the scales for a lifetime. I walk down the hallway and as I pass one room after another, I remember that there are at least 23 more stories, lives, families, that have been severely disrupted with undescribable sadness in our unit. This is for just one point in time in just one shift. A patient may transfer or pass away; another patient, another story, eventually comes to take their spot. These are the stories that their families will tell with the unavoidable break of heartache in their voice. These are the stories that many of us try to avoid. These are the stories I am surrounded by, and often deeply involved in, every day when I go to work. My eyes have grown accustomed to the dimmed light, and I am afraid at times that my heart has as well.
The push and release of my hands on pruning shears stays with me as I reconsider my life. I tend to go every which way. When I choose one creative pursuit, I feel regrets, even guilt, at not completing another. My daughter bakes muffins, and I think I should be doing that. I hear of someone taking Pilates, and denigrate myself for not fitting that class in. The biggest guilt: I’ve only met a tenth of my writing goals for this spring. Now it’s summer and I’ve submitted no stories to journals. I’m limited, stuck in hard clay constraints. Too much green growth and I wither. Too many stems reaching out, and the fruit doesn’t redden.
I used to be a dance teacher and I choreographed hundreds of dances for my students over the years. Each and every dance was different and unique. I took a lot of pride in each and every one. What was the motivating force? The music I was using had to SPEAK to me. I would search until I heard “the” song. When I heard it, something would just click inside of me and I knew that I wanted to use that song.
Is it really enough for writers to find their inspiration from beaches, mountains, meadows, sunsets, memories of broken romances, and fabric softeners ads? Is it sufficient to draw on past experiences and emotions to explore in our current work of fiction? Is being a writer creative enough in its own right?
I think that the point I am trying to convey here is that however old or young a person may be, there has to be something to strive for that is generated by an innate desire, passion, or love. My passion has to do with creating.
Ross Gale is a writer and editor from the Pacific Northwest. 