The weather is cold
But my spirit is aflame:
Only footsteps were slowed
By the January snow and icy rain.
Stir yourself up,
Let your imagination loose.
Don't treat wonder as if
Your vision rides in the caboose.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Take time to look ahead...
I think the companies that begin their new fiscal year in July may have an edge on most of us. It occurred to me recently that living in MN means that January is the month when I draw every part of my body toward the very core for warmth, which means that I regularly wear my shoulders up around my ears. That serves a temporary purpose but strikes me so like convergent thinking that it brought a roll of my eyes. New Year's Resolutions became an obvious mountain.
My strategy on "now and next" is highly convergent thinking. Yes, it has value and has its place but not really in the dreaming part of setting new goals. Dreaming and goal setting demands big picture possibilities. It calls for big wide arm stretches, the kind that we are most prone to make on a warm day in July in MN.
I guess it all means that I am not really finished yet with my new year vision building. Of course, this activity can be done any time. But it often helps to have annual reminders to engage in this process. Really, the other half of goal setting means the review of things accomplished which is good too.
I was recently given a book that describes praying circles around our biggest dreams and greatest fears. Some of the author's goals were written as a graduate student and have extended through his lifetime. Not all goals are to be checked on or checked off every January.
But my point is this. Visioning and dreaming big is really important. For some it is an act of faith. For some it is a stretch activity that keeps their thinking and lives balanced. For some it is an opportunity to reach beyond grasp as they consider their todays and tomorrows.
Yes, I have begun to write and talk about 2013 goals and visions. I hope you will too.
My strategy on "now and next" is highly convergent thinking. Yes, it has value and has its place but not really in the dreaming part of setting new goals. Dreaming and goal setting demands big picture possibilities. It calls for big wide arm stretches, the kind that we are most prone to make on a warm day in July in MN.
I guess it all means that I am not really finished yet with my new year vision building. Of course, this activity can be done any time. But it often helps to have annual reminders to engage in this process. Really, the other half of goal setting means the review of things accomplished which is good too.
I was recently given a book that describes praying circles around our biggest dreams and greatest fears. Some of the author's goals were written as a graduate student and have extended through his lifetime. Not all goals are to be checked on or checked off every January.
But my point is this. Visioning and dreaming big is really important. For some it is an act of faith. For some it is a stretch activity that keeps their thinking and lives balanced. For some it is an opportunity to reach beyond grasp as they consider their todays and tomorrows.
Yes, I have begun to write and talk about 2013 goals and visions. I hope you will too.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
New Year's Goals
It would be so easy to cite platitudes about new goals for the new year. Actually, earlier New Year's Day I wrote about having none and relying on "now and next" to guide me forward.
What I remember now is that prior to launch of the new blog, I wrote about my favorite creative products and process: Wings to Fly and Hello, Come Fly With Me! I haven't posted it yet. What I understand in a new way today is that my focus was transformation. Change alone, just stark, can be very harsh. So, I studied the transformation of butterflies. Oh yes, I used all the creative process steps and thought throughout the entire process. But today, standing on the brink of 2013, I am aware that change alone can't offer the peace that the attitude of transformation provides. Maybe the concepts mean the same thing for some, but I think the word transformation releases the word "same" from our minds and lips. Something new is born.
I was given an article once about cocoon changes. The article prepared the reader for the mushy ambiguous stages of this evolvement. There are some things on the 2013 horizon that excite me deeply. I also anticipate moments...maybe like now...where I will experience amorphous mush.
Now and next is perhaps the best way to start 2013 with focus.
Happy New Year.
What I remember now is that prior to launch of the new blog, I wrote about my favorite creative products and process: Wings to Fly and Hello, Come Fly With Me! I haven't posted it yet. What I understand in a new way today is that my focus was transformation. Change alone, just stark, can be very harsh. So, I studied the transformation of butterflies. Oh yes, I used all the creative process steps and thought throughout the entire process. But today, standing on the brink of 2013, I am aware that change alone can't offer the peace that the attitude of transformation provides. Maybe the concepts mean the same thing for some, but I think the word transformation releases the word "same" from our minds and lips. Something new is born.
I was given an article once about cocoon changes. The article prepared the reader for the mushy ambiguous stages of this evolvement. There are some things on the 2013 horizon that excite me deeply. I also anticipate moments...maybe like now...where I will experience amorphous mush.
Now and next is perhaps the best way to start 2013 with focus.
Happy New Year.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Planning for Christmas Eve Service
Nudging everyone in the initial announcement included my
very strong belief that creative thought is about life and how we think every
day! My commitment is to
give you examples in my daily world where creative skills are used and
important to me.
It has been one week since our Creative Wonders blog
launch. Some might say that
it is a good time to take a break before Christmas and write more after the
holidays. For a nanosecond I
did think about that:) But,
then I remembered that I am getting ready for a Christmas Eve celebration and
absolutely positively using creative thought for more purposes than just
music, which on its own surely will be fun. Ah, here we go.
The two words you will hear again regularly are divergent
and convergent. So, as I
look at the parts of the planning, I look first at ways we took it apart
(divergence) and then at decisions that were made and why (convergence).
It did help to know that our final test would be the hearts
of the people who left the church on Christmas Eve. Had we engaged them in the experience enough to be filled
with the message as they headed home?
So, "take apart" meant meetings, including lots of ideas and
people in the big picture. Pastor
Mike shared a theme, Come to the Stable, and I was filled with thoughts of a
poem on the way home. Graphic
artist, Randy H. was recruited to make an entry banner (O Little Town of
Bethlehem). Many different
possibilities for choices in music and musicians were explored by different
people in the days ahead. Decorations inside and outside of the church needed to be completed. Thinking
about the needs and joy of the people who came really became an important
variable in decision-making.
The part that can seem like work and not fun in this action
is that staying dispassionate is really very hard to do. I had been invited to share my talents
and participate in the process and felt welcomed. Yet, my creative way of thinking does have some
unfamiliar wrinkles to many people.
In the end I think we were able to work out differences, partly because
our leader, Mike, was willing to hear input in choices and personal participation
from everyone and use the guest criteria for final decisions.
It will be a multi-sensory experience in many ways. There will be sights, sounds, smells,
touches, and tastes. There will be
words, music sung and played on instruments, food, candles burning, people,
shared beliefs, and moments of quiet meditation.
I am delighted by the creative process and know that the
experience will be wonderful.
Come to the stable.
The Christ child is born.
We celebrate His new life
Each Christmas morn.
Come to the stable
Be filled with the light;
Radiate peace and joy,
Warm day and night.
Come to the stable
Gift neighbors the love
Sent on this wondrous night
From God above.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
High Notes 12-12-12
High Notes
December 2012
Join me in celebration, welcoming the new blog site.
12-12-12 LAUNCH
Whenever you see CHOCOLATE,
Or maybe even remember the taste of holiday fudge,
You'll think of C R E A T I V I T Y
And remember my gentle nudge.
It's about life, how you think--
It happens in a blink.
Click and check out what's new.
Make it a favorite.
WHEN YOU LOOK IS UP TO YOU:)
IT'S LIVE.! IT'S HOT! Click and look now!
You will see current and recent High Notes, as well as the latest in thoughts and artistic items generated or gathered from my spirit....pen, or camera, or music.
Please add your comments at the site or send me an email directly.
I look forward to seeing you and hearing from you. Be blessed in 2013. Linda
Be the change you want to see in the world!!
Genesis Creative Concepts
http://creativitywonders.blogspot.com/....................All new items will be posted at this blog.
www.ltcarlson.com .....................................................All past creations continue to be found here.
ltcarlson.com@gmail.com...........................................All emails are received at this address.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Feisty Flower and Kittens Poem
Since this is neighbor cat territory, it seems only appropriate to add their voice!
KITTENS
Kittens romping
Oblivious beyond play,
Tails and Tussles,
A gentle fray.
Quick to hide,
Startled quite easily-
Enjoy a moment and
Don't approach them noisily.
It does take time
To be known;
Quiet comfort
Must be grown.
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