When the World is Your Museum...

My recent beach trip provided so many beautiful reminders that we can enjoy living a creative life even when we're not creating or producing. In fact, we can delight in creativity using the simple act of observation. I found the gorgeous nautilus above on an early morning walk.

Awed by its smooth, flawless form and deep, rich colors I felt like I had discovered a true treasure…a natural sculpture as fine as any you might find in a museum or gallery. Simply holding it in my hands, observing it and sharing it with my family and now with you feels like a satisfying creative act.

As I've said before, "You'll find treasures everywhere you look, so remember to look everywhere."

(Click here to visit this past Mid-Week Oasis Moment post - 

Diamonds in the Dew and Rainbows on my Wall.)

How might you enjoy the creative thrill of discovering natural art this week? 

* What if you take a walk, run, hike or bicycle ride with the simple intention to stay on the look out for natural art?

* What if you challenge yourself to find something lovely and snap a quick photo to share?

* What if you play with an easy photo app to create a fun visual reminder? (I love playing with apps like "FX Photo Studio" to create fun visuals like my nautilus picture above.)

* What if you write a simple haiku about your natural art discovery? (Three lines - 1st line has 7 syllables, 2nd line has 5 syllables, 3rd line has 7 syllables) For example:

Smooth round nautilus

What secrets lie within your

Perfectly pink curves?

* And last, but not least, what if you simply observe and appreciate the beauty you find in nature to add creative satisfaction to your day! 

I'd love for you to share your natural art discoveries and inspirations in the comments section below.

Until next time, all the best from my Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

P.S. – You'll find easy and fun ways to tap into creative pleasures using my 

Create the Summer of Your Dreams Do-It-Yourself Kit. 

Click here for all the details if you like! 

Diamonds in the Dew and Rainbows on my Wall

As I stepped into the backyard to let out our dog and enjoy a breath of fresh air and bit of sunshine, I caught a glimpse of something sparkly in the lawn. Shimmering droplets of dew clung to a gossamer spiderweb that looked for all the world like a handful of diamonds spilled out on the grass. I bent down to get a closer look. It was such a beautiful sight that I ran in to grab my phone and snapped a shot to share on Instagram. (You can follow me there at: http://instagram.com/creativeoasiscoach.)

I stood there and stared a while longer…entranced by the simple and ephemeral beauty of nature. I knew the scene would soon cease to exist. The sun would dry up the dewdrops or my dog would unwittingly crush the work of natural art under his bounding paws. The moment felt as exquisite and temporal as the highly detailed sand mandalas created by the Tibetan Buddhist Monks. Their intricate designs are created over the span of a few days and scattered on the winds – released into a body of water as a blessing to the world. (Click here for gorgeous photos and more about this experience.)

I've been tuning into fleeting moments of organic beauty such as this more often lately. Recently I noticed a vibrant prism shining on my living room wall. Again, I was stopped in my tracks by the simplicity, beauty and transient quality of the natural art.

Indoor Rainbow Moment by Jill Allison Bryan

These experiences and others like them serve as a beautiful reminder that we can experience vast amounts of creative satisfaction in relatively short amounts of time. My interaction with each of these "natural art" occurrences lasted only minutes yet the magical feeling of joy they brought me lingered for hours and stills lights me up when I revisit the photographs I took.

The same fabulous return on our own creative time investment holds true. When I play the piano and sing for five or ten minutes my entire afternoon is lifted up. When we spend a few minutes making a collage or picking green beans in our garden or writing in our journal or trying out a new recipe or playing with watercolors the positive energy created by those experiences can stay with us for hours.

I know I say this a lot, but that's because I believe we can all use the reminder. So, I'll say it again: we can easily enrich our lives, feel happier and be healthier by giving ourselves permission to enjoy our own Creative Oasis (whatever makes are heart sing and time fly!) for as little as five or ten minutes a day. The more often we tap into our creative bliss for even a few minutes, the more we want to experience it and we organically build our creative habit just like we build any good habit.

How might you spend the next five or ten minutes immersed in your own Creative Oasis? (*Remember – even daydreaming about what you'd like to do counts!) I hope you'll consider giving yourself at least a brief amount of time to enjoy something that energize and delight you today.

Fleeting Morning Pattern by Jill Allison Bryan

Here's to discovering diamonds in the dew, rainbows in our living rooms and 

the treasure of creative joy wherever we look!

Until next time, all the best from my Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

P.S. – If you'd like to have Mid-Week Oasis Moments (bite-sized bonbons of creative inspiration) delivered each week please sign up here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html

You'll also receive a free copy of "Permission to Be Creative 101" – my short e-book that will help you take the first small steps to make the time and space for creative fulfillment – your Creative Oasis – in  your busy life!

Poetic Musings on a Tree Stump (What's Your Secret?)

While hiking in Breckenridge, Colorado with my family last week, I spotted this tree stump. I loved the way it looked so I asked my husband to snap a pic. It's long been a tradition in our family to spot and call out "Natural Art" like this when we're on hikes. "Natural Art" can be anything from a fallen log, to interesting markings on an Aspen tree, to a patch of wildflowers. You can see the example below from six or seven year ago – a fallen tree whose base made an enormous natural sculpture. (Can't believe how tiny my now teenage daughter looks!)

"Natural Art" on a family hike in Breckenridge, Colorado

Natural Art Rock Heart found on a hike today!

Looking through the many photos we've taken while up in the mountains this summer, I was drawn to the image of the tree stump up top. The tree had obviously been felled by a human (due to a Pine Beetle infestation up here, thousands of pine trees have died over the last several years and many cut down to prevent forest fires) but still counts as Natural Art in my book.

While searching for just the right words to add to the image, I came upon the super short, almost mystical poem by Robert Frost entitled, The Secret Sits. I read it over and over and pondered Frost's possible meanings. Then I did what it's so darn easy to do these days – I googled it.

I quickly found a half dozen plus sites sharing interpretations of The Secret Sits. You may not be surprised to hear that each of the authors offered a distinctly different take on the meaning of this concise little jewel of a poem.

Finding so many completely different takes on this piece (each author sounding completely confident that his or her conclusion was correct) helped me feel free to read the words once more and see what meaning shone through for me...especially in the context of pairing them with my tree stump photo.

So here's my two cents. The message I hear in "The Secret Sits" is that rather than looking to others for approval or their definition of success...happiness...creativity or whatever is important to us, when we stop to look inside and listen to our own wise inner voice...our heart...our intuition...our spirit...our center – that's when we tap into real truth.

Though I absolutely believe that lots of good can come from being a member of a group and great knowledge can be found outside of ourselves from books, teachers, friends, and family, as a Master Kaizen-Muse® Creativity Coach, I'm a big believer in asking ourselves small questions to tap into our own wise-inner voice. I think often believe we should know the answers before even giving ourselves to opportunity to ask questions.

So inspired by Mr. Frosts mysterious short poem (and a cool Natural Art tree stump,) I'd like to share a few questions that you might choose to ponder to access your own unique intuition.

"What's one thing I'm consistently doing for myself that brings me creative joy?"

"What's one more way I'd like to experience creative fulfillment in my life?"

"What's one small, easy step I could take toward that today?" 

(something that could be done in 5 minutes or less, and great news, daydreaming counts!)

I'd love to hear where these prompts lead you, how The Secret Sits speaks to you and if you're a Natural Art lover. Please feel free to share in the comment section below.

Until next time, all the best from my Secret Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

Jill Allison Bryan

P.S. – If you'd like to have Mid-Week Oasis Moments (bite-sized bonbons of creative inspiration) delivered each week please sign up here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html

You'll also receive a free copy of "Permission to Be Creative 101" – my short e-book that will help you take the first small steps to make the time and space for creative fulfillment – your Creative Oasis – in  your busy life!