The Awe-manac: A Daily Dose of Wonder

Small Kindness

I'm taking part in Fiona Robyn's small kindness day. 

As a creativity coach trainer, one of the things I see the most that pulls people away from experiencing creative bliss, is what they say to themselves. We are brutal with ourselves until we discover the power of self-kindness not only for us, but for everyone within our sphere.

Somewhere along the line, in order to stay alive, or in the regimen of weirdly acquired dark mortal-behaviors, we adopted a harsh voice against ourselves thinking this would work to make us successful in all realms of our existence. The problem is, there are many personas inside of ourselves.. and the ones we are berating - the little kid responsible for creativity and the sensitive soul in charge of alchemizing feeling to art, will resist our wishes to engage in our beloved passions if not treated with kindness.

Got resistance? What are you saying to yourself?

My wish for you today and always is to ask yourself, "How can I be a little kinder to myself in this moment?" and to say to yourself, "I can't wait to see what I come up with today." For many of you, that last statement will seem foreign and feel false. Just begin by believing 5% of it, or believe it only for 15 seconds at a time - or imagine someone who DOES believe that and borrow their energy and use it on yourself. 

As we find a kinder relationship with ourselves and as we engage in our creativity, we become happier, more generous people for everyone around us. Creativity is NOT a selfish act.  

 Download 5a Self-Kindness and TalkAttached is a page about self kindness Attached is a page about self kindness from my next book, The Muse is In: An Owner's Manual for Your Creativity.

Dysfunctional Family Survival Kit for the Holidays

Do you regress as soon as you return home for the holidays and a family member simply gives you a funny look? 

Here are a few creative survival tips gathered through extensive studies from the Muse laboratory where empirical results were extracted from subjects all over the world.. or from my mind, um . . . I forget which. 

1. Pretend like you are spending the holiday with the family of a friend of yours. It can provide distance and perhaps even seem entertaining. If that's too hard to get your mind around that, how about being just 5% more detached from the drama - wearing glasses and a mustache can help.

2. Whenever a family member pushes one of, you know, those BUTTONS, saying THAT THING or behaving THAT WAY THAT MAKES YOU CRAZY and making you FORGET EVERY GAIN YOU'VE PAID FOR IN THERAPY, have an automatic response. Suggestions:

      A. Say to yourself, "Well, bless their heart!"  (A Southern accent is particularly helpful here.).

      B. Think to yourself, "My bodyguard is on the field." Imagine handing your feelings over to your bodyguard and pay no mind to the offending party - cuz things are taken care of. 

      C. If you can't avoid incoming torment, brush the offense off your body as if it were cat hair, cookie crumbs, or gnats.  (Use a lint roller for special effect and even consider waving it at them, catching the debris before it lands on your mild demeanor).

     D. While they are talking to you in their button-pushing form, stare just above their eyes in the middle of their forehead with a blank expression on your face. Stay in that position at least 15 minutes after they've finished.

3. When they are speaking at you, DUCK down as if allowing their verbal ickiness to simply fly over you, sparing you of any reason to be anything other than Audrey Hepburn-like or if you are a male, Gary Grant-like. 

4. Just talk at the same time they are talking but replacing their words with ones you'd like to hear instead. Do this without hesitating, EVERY TIME they speak (even if they are speaking to someone else). Plan all the compliments you'd like to hear ahead of time.

5. Know that you are blessed because: It's all fodder for writing, and those of us with messed-up families are amazingly creative sometimes BECAUSE of that. 

6. Spend the holidays with someone else or visit a friend in the hospital. Life is short. 

7. If any of these suggestions made you laugh, just bring them to mind during trying moments and try     and remember the amazing amount of blessings we have in this life, including our creative minds, the miracles of nature, art, music, and pumpkin pie. 
If that doesn't work, just squirt whipped cream in your mouth straight from the can. 

In gratitude and whipped cream,

  

 all rights reserved 2012

Notes to Myself

In The Awe-manac, I have several little notes to myself.  Whimsical but wise... as given to me by my Muse.

So I thought I'd start posting some of those and others to remind you of some important whimsy.