Holy moly, how I love this quote! There's a "teachable moment" (says the mom in me) in every single line. This quote shines (hence the star at the top) as an example of the wonderful tools and techniques we use in Kaizen Muse Creativity Coaching. Let's take if line by line, shall we?
Do stuff.
This one is fairly straight forward. Do stuff. Do the stuff you daydream about doing. Do the stuff you see other people doing and think to yourself, "I could do that." Do the stuff you used to love to do and haven't done in ages. Do the stuff you can't even imagine how in the world you'll possibly ever do, but you know if you do you'll be better off for it. Do stuff.
Be clenched, curious.
I have to be honest. "Be clenched" threw me for a bit of a loop. To my mind, she's reminding us to always reach out for new experiences. In the spirit of "being curious" I did some research to see if I could find other interpretations of Sontag's meaning and discovered this wonderful blog post. The author of the post even prints Sontag's speech in its entirety which is absolutely inspiring!
Be curious. Keep asking questions of yourself and others. Keep learning new things. Keep traveling to new places. Keep searching out new experiences. Better to be killed by curiosity than boredom, right?
Not waiting for inspiration's shove...
Ahhh…not waiting for inspiration. That was a powerful lesson for me when I first discovered KMCC. You mean I can just sit down at the piano, play around and see what happens? I don't need to feel any particular angst or joy? I don't have to wait for the muse to visit me complete with a gray, rainy day and candles to add to the ambiance? I can create pre-inspiration strike? That novel concept soon found me playing at my keyboard almost daily – writing new material because I wanted to write. If I'd waited for inspiration's shove, my solo CD, Dancing in Limbo would quite likely never have been born.
or society's kiss on your forehead.
That was another thing I didn't wait for when writing and recording my CD. This was about the time "they" started to say "don't bother making a CD - everyone releases music digitally now." Well, I had waited many moons to finally release my own CD, so I didn't listen to what "they" had to say.
I've also met many people who don't seem to see the value in or understand what creativity coaching provides. But that's hardly going to stop me from continuing to follow my calling as a creativity coach. (Great news! That means I have more time to coach, teach and write for those of you who do get it. Yay!)
Pay attention. It's all about paying attention.
This one is all about awareness. Letting the fairies and muses have your attention. Looking for clues. Taking note of what lights you up.
Attention is vitality.
It connects you with others.
When you follow your creative curiosity you tend to meet some pretty fabulous people. Sign up for a class, join a group or visit a place you've never been before and let the connections begin.
It makes you eager. Stay eager.
By all means, stay eager. Eager to learn. Eager to create. Eager to explore. Eager to discover. Eager to connect. Eager to be energized and delighted by life. Stay eager.
Until next time, all the best from my Creative Oasis to yours,
Jill
Jill Allison Bryan
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!
