5 Ways to Add Your Creative Color to Your Life!

For the background of this Mid-Week Oasis Moment I used a photograph I took in the Chalkboard Room exhibit at the Centre Pompidou on my recent trip to Paris.

The exhibit invites you to step into a room with green chalkboard walls on all four sides, pick up a piece of colored chalk and add your own words or doodles or both.

The result is an exhibit in which you're enveloped by an impressionistic, modern work of art created by people from around the world including yourself. Wow! What a beautiful experience! 

I loved how the chalkboard exhibit felt so welcoming and made it so easy for people to put their own colorful creative mark on the ever-changing piece.

What was it about the experience made it feel so special and wonderful? Here's what I've concluded:

#1 ~ I was completely surrounded by color.  The blending of all of the colored chalk used over time created a beautiful collage of soft color on each wall. I love color, so for me it made for a very inspiring atmosphere.

#2 ~ I was part of a greater good. Because hundreds or more likely thousands of people had added their marks before me it felt good to join in and add my own colorful wishes for the world to theirs.

#3 ~ I was instantly creative. It was easy to jump right in, pick up a piece of chalk and write. The simplicity of the creative act allowed me to be instantly creative without overthinking the results. I spent less than two minutes in the room but I imagine I'll remember the experience for the rest of my life.

#4 ~ I was given permission. Here it is again ~ permission. The instructions to the exhibit gave me instant permission to contribute my creativity to the piece. Think about it. I would never dream of walking up to a piece of art in a museum and adding a splash of paint because I thought it would enhance the piece. But, in this instance, I had permission and as you've heard me say a hundred times, giving yourself permission to be creative is the first small step!

#5 ~ I was enchanted and inspired by something so simple and new. I've never witnessed or been a part of something quite like the chalkboard room exhibit. Immediately I began thinking of ways to recreate the experience on a smaller scale back home in my classes and workshops.

I invite you to use the following creative prompts inspired my experience in the chalk room to have some creative fun of your own in the coming week:

# 1 ~ What's a creative experience in which I can surround myself with color?
# 2 ~ What's a creative experience that will help me be part of a greater good?
# 3 ~ What's a creative experience that will allow me to be instantly and easily creative?
# 4 ~ How will I give myself permission to enjoy a creative experience?
# 5 ~ What's a simple and new creative experience I can try?

Click here to download your complimentary printable version of these prompts. 

If you choose to play with these prompts, I'd love to hear about your creative experiences! Please feel free to share in the comments below.

Here's to being brave and sharing your creative colors with the world! The world could use more colorful creative energy, don't you think?

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

Jill

Jill Allison Bryan

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

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.

My Big (1,063-foot) Excuse for Dropping the Ball.

While visiting Paris last week (including a trip to the 1,063-ft. Eiffel Tower) I missed sharing a Mid-Week Oasis Moment with you for the first time in two years. I hope you'll forgive me. (Though I can't think of a better or at least more fun excuse, can you?) 

You've heard me talk about "exposure" before...the idea that by spending time with people, places and experiences outside of your normal day-to-day life you can fill your own creative well with fresh, inspiring stimuli.

Well, in my book, travel is the quintessential, king-daddy of exposure possibilities. 

When you immerse yourself in an unfamiliar environment filled with new-to-you culture, character and customs creative inspiration is one of the happy results.

During our week in Paris I found inspiration everywhere I turned. From the museums to the cathedrals to the architecture to the people to the language to the food and drink and even the general pace of life in the beautiful city energized and delighted me.

My creative spirit felt as if it were being rehydrated...a thirst-quenching glass of water on a warm spring day.

I'm sure I'll be processing the "exposure" of my trip for weeks to come and that my photos, observations and inspirations will find their way into more Mid-Week Oasis Moments in the days ahead. 

To help myself hold onto the effervescent feeling of life in Paris now that I'm home, I've used another creative coaching technique: acting "as if." 

For example, yesterday I made myself this lovely lunch to enjoy outside on my patio "as if" I were dining at a sidewalk bistro again. (Two important ingredients missing from most of my real Parisian cafes meals...bread and wine!) 

Nevertheless it was a fun way to recapture the spirit of the many lovely cafe experiences of our trip. I was even able to convince myself that the leaf blower that started up was merely the sound of Vespas cruising down a cobblestone street nearby.  

I invite you to think of ways you might use "exposure" and "acting as if" on your creative journey this week. 

You don't need to travel across the globe to find wonderful exposure opportunities. You can find plenty in your own city...museums, restaurants, parks...and even right in your own home...books...movies...magazines to name a few.

Until next time, all the best from my slightly jet-lagged, but very happy Creative Oasis to yours!

Jill

Jill Allison Bryan

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

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.

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.

Cheers to Resolution Substitutions!

What if rather than making the usual list of New Year's resolutions we made an "I Get To!" list for 2014? How would they differ? Perhaps instead of telling ourselves we have to lose ten pounds, balance our budget or eat more kale we could shift our focus to things that energize and delight us. 

Here are some of my "I Get To!" possibilities for 2014:

I Get To Ride My Bike More Often

I Get To Learn To Make ZenTangles

I Get To Try New Restaurants

I Get To Host Game Nights

I Get To Find Fun Art Classes To Take

I Get To Read During The Day

I Get To Meet Friends for Lunch More Often

I Get To Make Up Songs With My Niece

I Get To Bake With My Daughter

I Get To Visit More Museums

I Get To Host More Dinner Parties

I Get To Make Music With My Husband 

I Get To Have More Massages

I Get To Write More E-Books

I Get To Plan A Trip To Paris 

(I may not be able to take it this year - but oh what fun the planning will be!)

Any time spent with these wonderful options would find me smack dab in the middle of my Creative Oasis™ – anything that makes my heart sing and time fly! How about you? What if you took the next two minutes and let yourself come up with a quick "I Get To" list for 2014? How might that feel different (better?) than a list of New Year's Resolutions?  

Of course, I know setting some goals for the new year is a good thing. Click here to read my recent article "Kaizen-Muse Goal Toolkit" written and published exclusively for the Business Bohemia Membership of Artella. Click here to sign up for your FREE sample Business Bohemia Adventure from Artella: Technology Trolley, which includes lots of fantastic tools, downloads and creative business inspiration.

Here's to resolution substitutions and the joy and satisfaction they can add to the new year for us all!

All the best from my "I Get To" Oasis to yours,

Jill

Jill Allison Bryan

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com