Off To Paris With All My Heart!

Paris...City of Light...City of Love...place I'll go with all my heart (and my husband and daughter) this weekend to make a lifelong dream come true. 

But I'll be honest, along with the joy and excitement of my impending trip comes the shadow of overwhelm and worry. 

Thoughts like, "You're not packed yet!" and "You haven't stopped the mail or the paper yet!" and "You still need to pick up your euros from the bank!" and "You don't speak French!" jump around my mind like young, unattended children given espressos and free kittens. 

Once again I get to use the Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching methods I love so well to talk myself off the ledge.  Here are five I've used today alone as I prepare for my upcoming trip! How they might help you on your creative journey?

1. Quick Lists ~ Nothing helps calm me down faster than taking the whirlwind of thoughts twirling around my mind and writing them all down as quickly as possible in a list! (I visualize my overwhelming thoughts like the twister in the Wizard of Oz that Dorothy imagines after she's hit on the head.) Once I've written everything down and moved it from my mind to the page I can see it and instantly feel I have more control over the situation. 

2. Asking Compassionate Questions ~ What can I let go? What can I delegate? How can I make this more fun? How can I make this less stressful? Etc... Asking myself these kinds of questions helps me take action from a place of compassion rather than panic. 

3. Small Steps ~ "Pack" may seem like a small step, but I can actually break it down into eight smaller steps: check the weather in Paris next week...choose outfits...choose shoes...choose accessories...choose books...fold clothes...bring out suitcases...pack suitcases. This lowers the stress and makes packing easier. 

And going back to small questions if I ask "How can I make packing more fun?" I could listen to a podcast about Paris travel...I could light a candle...I could enjoy a cup of warm tea or a glass of wine while I pack. 

4. Mindsculpting ~ By taking a moment to close my eyes, take a nice deep breath and visualize myself snuggled on the airplane between my daughter and husband, reading a good book, enjoy a glass of wine and leaving behind my day-to-day schedule and worries as I fly across the ocean to one of what I believe will be my favorite cities in the world!

5. Credit Check ~ When I step back and take look at those scattered thoughts I shared above and think about what I've really done so far I realize though I haven't packed, I have everything I need. I've also added stop mail and paper to my list. I've ordered our euros and can pick them up from the bank today. And though I'm certainly not bilingual, I've been playing around with DuoLingo and learning a few French phrases for several weeks now...certainly enough to be polite and attempt to speak in the native language while ordering my croissants and cheese! 

Many of us tend to focus on what we haven't accomplished. That's human nature. Taking a minute to do a credit check (really a reality check) helps me release my freak out and feel much better about my situation. 

By using these same methods I use in my creative coaching, classes and workshops I'm already feeling much more peaceful about my trip. It's really amazing how quickly and how well these methods work! 

Do you feel overwhelmed when it comes to your creative dreams and desires? If so, I invite you to play with these creative coaching methods for yourself. I can tell you from personal experience (and the feedback of my happy one-on-one coaching clients) they work wonders! 

Well, that's all for now. I get to run to the bank to pick up my euros. 

Now I'm really ready to go to Paris with all my heart! 

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

Jill

P.S. ~ If you enjoyed this post please share on Facebook and twitter using the buttons below!  If you'd like to receive bite-size bonbons of creative inspiration like this Mid-Week Oasis Moments plus a free copy of my e-book "Permission to Be Creative 101" join me here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html.

Be Here Now = Be Happy Now

It's so simple. Right here...right now...this moment is our life, as so beautifully put by Omar Khayyam:

"Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life."

~ Omar Khayyam (1048 – 1131)

Khayyam was a Persian philosopher, mathematician, poet, musician, polymath, astronomer, physician and a bit of an overachiever if you ask me. (Just kidding.) Though Omar was definitely what I would call a multi-passionate creative! 

We all have memories of the past and dreams for the future...but it's only in the present moment that we truly live our life. 

So why does it often seem so difficult to "Be Here Now" as the western-born yogi Ram Dass was advised by his guru Bhagavan Das. (I googled it.)

Do you ever find the "if only" mantra playing in your mind? It sounds a little something like this:

If only my space was completely uncluttered and organized then I could finally make art...write my book...crafting...learn to play the banjo...take up tap-dancing...plant a garden.

If only I had more time then I could finally make art...write my book...crafting...learn to play the banjo...take up tap-dancing...plant a garden.

If only I was younger then I could finally make art...write my book...crafting...learn to play the banjo...take up tap-dancing...plant a garden.

Notice, the dreams remain the same...only the excuses differ. And I've got a million of 'em – don't you? A million dreams and a million excuses. 

But luckily, I also have the wonderful tools and techniques of Kaizen-Muse Creative Coaching to help me move gently past my million excuses as well as common creative blocks like procrastination, perfectionism, lack of time, overwhelm and get stuff done! 

Today my energy is zapped and truthfully I don't feel so hot. I'm shaking off the tail end of a head cold. Given how I'm feeling it would have been easy to go straight into "if only" mode...

If only I felt better I could write my Mid-Week Oasis Moment.

But by using a few of my favorite Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching methods and allowing myself to accept and embrace the moment for what it is, I'm in a pretty good place. In fact, I'm even creating this post! Here's how...

Small Questions

By asking myself questions such as: "What's one thing I am grateful for today?" and "How would it be if I'm be gentle with myself while I"m not feeling so hot?" I opened the door to practice permission and compassion. 

Permission/Self-Compassion 

By giving myself permission to be gentle with myself (which means rather than force myself to get up, get dressed and go work at my desk I get to remain huddled in bed wearing two sweatshirts with a cup of hot tea) I'm happily creating today's Mid-Week Oasis Moment in this moment. 

In the next moment I may be napping...and that's okay too. (self-compassion)

Small Steps/Timer

Since my energy is much lower than usual, using small steps is the perfect, low-pressure way to make it through my day. I'm setting a timer and working for 15 minutes or so then giving myself a break to close my eyes or make another cup of tea or read my Joni Mitchell book. 

I hope that you feel fantastic and healthy today, but the next time you're feeling under-the-weather or overwhelmed, I invite you to try using these simple (but so powerful!) methods to move past "if only" and into the now because for most of us, the now is a pretty wonderful place to be. 

All the best from my "Be Here Now" Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

P.S. ~ If you enjoyed this post please share on Facebook and twitter using the buttons below! 
If you'd like to receive bite-size bonbons of creative inspiration like this Mid-Week Oasis Moments plus a free copy of my e-book "Permission to Be Creative 101" join me here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html.