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Posts from the ‘Miranda’ Category

Feb 16

3 Comments

Creating in the Middle of Things

How many years pass while we wait for the “right” time to do something? Even after decades of adulthood, many of us still believe that one day — in the not too distant future — somehow, eventually, ideal circumstances will arrive at our doorstep. We’ll wake up one morning and say “Yes! It’s finally here! That day I’ve been waiting for, when my to-do list is all crossed off, my in-box is empty, the house is spotless, the kids are occupied elsewhere, and the time has come to do X!” If this day ever does come, it probably doesn’t amount to more than once or twice in an entire year. So why are we still waiting?

Eric Maisel, creativity guru (and one of my former teachers at the Creativity Coaching Association), is a proponent of “creating in the middle of things.” This framework is perhaps the only way to stop perpetually deferring ourselves with an imaginary carrot.

I have learned in recent years that I am ALWAYS in the middle of things. There is nothing BUT the middle of things. As someone who continually heaps mounds of responsibilities and projects onto her plate, if I wait for the seas to part and reveal some magical “opportunity” for me to create, I’ll die waiting.

I’ve finally learned to stop saying “I just need to get through this week/month/season.” In the well-worn words of John Lennon, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” So long as I see daily life as some kind of obstacle between me and what I really want to be doing, I’m living in a very dark and unsatisfying place. How many moments have I wasted by trying to “just get through it” while staying focused on some mirage of future calm like a brilliantly wrapped gift, eternally beyond my reach? The present moment can’t be the obstacle. That’s insanity — and many of us seem to be afflicted.

I encourage myself, and you, to fully embrace the concept of creating in the middle of things — because for most of us, that’s the only way to create. Even my clients who have no children and no work obligations still find themselves with an overfull calendar and difficulty “making” time to create. In fact, one client who has no children or job says she can’t get her creative work done because her pets distract her too much. Regardless of our circumstances, we are always in the middle of something, aren’t we? It doesn’t matter what our details are.

If we have an overflowing, double-booked planner on one hand, and a paradigm of “I can only create if I have five hours of guaranteed solitude on deck” on the other, then we either need to get very serious about going to a cave every day, or we need to figure out how to change our parameters about what’s possible.

There are strategies that help. Always having a notepad on hand while out of the house. Knowing what the “next step” is in any given project so that we’re ready to jump right in. (See Emma-Jane’s wisdom at left for visual artists.) Staying connected to creative networks to bolster of creative sense of self. Keeping an ongoing list of all the projects we’d like to work on so that inspiration is always a glance away. If we have children, learning how to create WITH them (either alongside them or in collaboration). Allowing ourselves to make the most of creative practice even if we end up deviating from that “next step” plan. And most importantly, always keeping our eyes open for slivers of opportunity.

In Eric Maisel’s words: “If we intend to create we really should be checking in with ourselves several times a day (not a few times a week or a few times a month) with the question, ‘How about now?’ Sometimes we will answer no and sometimes we will answer yes, but if we answer yes only a quarter of the time and we are checking in with ourselves four times a day, then we will create every day. We should check in with ourselves as soon as we wake up, in case THAT is a good time, as soon as we get home from wherever, in case THAT is a good time, when an empty hour suddenly looms up in front of us, in case THAT is a good time, after dinner and before television, in case THAT is a good time, and so on.”

Are you checking with yourself?

“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”
~Napoleon Hill

This piece was reprinted from the last issue of the Creative Times, our monthly newsletter. Click here to subscribe!

Feb 1

8 Comments

Giveaway: Join me at the wishBIG e-camp!


I’m *delighted* to be part of the teaching roster at the wishBIG ecamp this month!

To celebrate, I’m giving away a spot by the campfire to one lucky winner.

This fabulous online course is structured like no other, thanks to the creative genius of Mindy Tsonas at wishstudio. Wherever you live, the wishBIG ecamp allows you to connect with other creatives and get your 2012 mojo going strong.

February 19 – 26, 2012
Online – eight 2-hour workshops (self-paced)
Free for wishstudio members ($86 for non-members)

It’s time to gather round the creative fire!

Your week at ecamp includes:

  • Eight (2-hour) online creative living workshops from a host of fabulously inspiring Camp Counselors, each bringing their own special talent and insight to help you wishBIG, createBIG and liveBIG! In addition to myself, your instructors include Connie Hozvicka, Vivienne Mc Master, Chris Zydel, Amy Palko, Jenna McGuiggan, Stacy De La Rosa, and Rachel Awes.
  • Daily ecamp mail! Inspiration Postcards (sent via e-mail) created especially for YOU by our talented teachers for a little extra creative spark, each day of camp.
  • Evening campfire gatherings designed specially for the group and the work at hand! These fun and inspirational nightly gatherings are created from what comes up specifically for us as a group. Mindy tunes into the thoughts and activity of each day and thoughtfully carves out space for a relevant community discussion. These tend to be intimate, powerful and wonderfully connective whether you sit in the circle quietly or dive deeply into the conversation.
  • Supportive kindred community with our own private group for sharing thoughts and work throughout your camp experience, as well as individual support and cheering from each of our ecamp Counselors within their workshop and beyond.
  • An easy, go-at-your-own-pace format that allows you to work through the workshops in a way that best meets your needs. All classes will be available online for one month, and are self paced.

My own course is A Life of Intention: Your Map for the Next 12 Months (Thursday, 2/23). In this workshop, you’ll create an empowered and inspired map for the next 12 months that moves you toward your longer-term goals. This process involves naming your intentions, gathering your assets, and making your map. It’s a dose of inspiration and clarity!

Won’t you join us? For more details and to register, click here. Meanwhile, if you’d like to be entered in a drawing to win a spot, leave a comment at this post before Friday, February 3 at 5:00 pm eastern time. Good luck!

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Jan 31

2 Comments

The Perils of Plan B

Right-brainers sometimes feel like square pegs in a world of analysis and due diligence. Until recently, passion and intuition haven’t been particularly valued. You’re zealous about ethnomusicology, Petrarchan sonnets, or encaustic painting? Don’t pursue anything in school — so we’re told — that doesn’t point to reliable income at the other end. We’re taught to be generalists, as if being mediocre at everything is somehow more secure than being really good at what we love. We’re told to play it safe, consider every possibility, and have a solid Plan B.

But as writers like Seth Godin and Daniel Pink observe, the old rules have changed. Thanks to the internet, playing it safe doesn’t cut it anymore. Whether it’s big business, the blogosphere, or the creative world, success is increasingly defined by those who do what they love with singular clarity, and do it well. Given passion and persistence, do we really need to waste so much time fretting over “what if?”

Last year, I moved from the paradigm of “I need to think about it” firmly into “heck, yeah!” — and I’m not looking back. I stopped considering Creativity Coaching Association certification and declared my candidacy. Was this decision based on an analysis of critical risks and return on investment? No. I wanted to do it. I’d find the cash and make the time: it would come together. And it did. I finished my certification within the calendar year and now coach clients. It’s everything I imagined.

In October, I co-led a workshop in life design with Ellen Olson-Brown. We could have fine-tuned our curriculum for months, fussed with our marketing plan, and listened to the inner voices that shouted, “But wait! You don’t have a safety net! This is all going too quickly and you don’t know what you’re doing!” Ignoring those voices, I followed the advice I offer my clients: Trust that you know what you’re doing, even when you don’t know. Our workshop went so well that we’ve opened a brick-and-mortar studio for creativity and life design.

If “what if” is getting in your way, grab what you love, and go for it.

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This article was originally published in Creativity Calling, the newsletter of the Creativity Coaching Association. Reprinted by permission.

Jan 27

3 Comments

Creative Medicine

In my personal life and my work as a creativity coach, I use a broad brush in defining “creative.” Creativity is about using your mind and your body to make something that speaks to who you are — and perhaps speaks to others as well. That might be an exquisite painting, but it might also be a garden bed, an inspired business plan, a system for organizing your files, a lovingly prepared stew, or refinishing a bureau. The pure act of creating can apply to most anything that gets you in the zone, helps make sense of this crazy thing called life, and expresses something that might otherwise not be articulated.

My endearing friend Jane is a highly creative person. Her home, her lifestyle, the choices she makes for her family — each step seems grounded in the purposeful creation of a life. Careful readers of this blog’s Monday Post will remember “immunity kit” appearing on jlcm’s weekly goals list over recent months. I was a very lucky recipient of one of these immunity kits. The contents are so precious that I wanted to horde them for when I was really in need. Some of this medicine takes six weeks to brew — and the ingredients aren’t always easy for Jane to get — so when might I ever be able to get my hands on a refill? And then the Stomach Bug came to our house. Like taking the plastic furniture covers off of the “good” furniture in preparation for a visit from royalty, it was time to open the immunity kit.

Whether it was Jane’s Elderberry Rosehip Syrup, her Echinacea Tincture, or her artisan herbal teas, I don’t know — but I do know that I didn’t get the Stomach Bug. I did get a milder version of the sinus congestion that my family is sharing right now, but when I take a few doses of Jane’s medicine along with a big mug of her Nourish Tea (made in the French press, which works so well with loose tea), I feel like a million bucks. Seriously, this is the best herbal tea I have ever tasted, and — as you can see above — it’s a feast for the eyes. With her own creativity, Jane is not only keeping me healthier, but she’s helping me to be more creative by maintaining my bandwidth!

I raise my mug to you, Jane, in honor of your creativity, your generous heart, and your beautiful gift.

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Jan 18

4 Comments

2012 Year Plan: Practice and Intentions

This is part two of my New Year’s post series. The first one is 2011-2012: Review, Celebrate, Plan.

journey of intentions, pathwayMy plan for 2012 is a folio of intentions. The 2012 list of focus areas and specific bullets looks a lot like my plan for last year. This is because about half of my priorities are what I would call a practice. They are a continual effort, not a destination. Even something specific, like “complete creativity coaching certification” from last year’s list — which I did complete — evolves this year into “build coaching business.” In this way, there are very few instances where I finish something and it isn’t immediately replaced by the next natural step. I am learning to accept this, embrace this, instead of falling for the old story that things will be “easier” next week, next month, next year. They won’t. I am on the path that I chose for myself, and while it’s a journey and I’m moving, the trees will always look like trees and the rocks will always look like rocks. So I celebrate them, and carry on with my practice, instead of fooling myself with the idea that one day I’ll be “done.”

In this spirit of practice versus destination, I am now calling this year plan my intentions rather than my goals. To my ear, the word intention speaks more to the path and less to the journey. The word goal is almost entirely end-point focused. So as a reminder to stay present in my practice, I am focusing on intentions rather than goals.

My takeaway from my review of last year was that while I’d had a banner year on the personal and professional front, I hadn’t followed my intentions in mothering. What this tells me is that my unmeasurable objectives need to be made more concrete. I am going to add more of these efforts to my calendar, so that I make time for the one-on-one outings, and make time for the projects, and make time to do the reading, preparing, and behind-the-scenes work that can turn mothering into magic.

Interestingly, my editorial business didn’t make the list of intentions. This work still occupies the lion’s share of my child-free hours, but I’m not inspired to make significant changes or re-focus on this area. I’m getting better about hiring subcontractors and delegating tasks that can be delegated. Ultimately I want to move away from this business and into coaching and writing full time. It will take me a while to get there, and for now, all I need to do with that business is continually work smarter and keep my projects contained so that they don’t spill out onto the other plans — the ones that mean more to me.

This list doesn’t include every last one of my intentions, as there are a few that I’m holding close to my heart for safekeeping, but here’s the accurate overview.

2012 Intentions

Deepen presence in family time

  • Consciously strengthen relationships with each child
  • Continually add to “block time” card stack (activities/project deck with seasonal focus)
  • Do at least one art project each week with Aidan and Liam—Thursdays
  • Schedule weekly or bi-weekly date with husband

Continually solidify creative practice

  • Submit five pieces for publication
  • Blog at least once per week @ Studio Mothers
  • Maintain Project Life binder all year
  • Read 50 books
  • Create regular time for blog & magazine reading

Focus on self and spiritual practice

  • Continually strive for daily meditation practice
  • Prepare for new role as peer leader at sangha
  • Daily journaling

Build coaching business

  • Add Right-Brain Business Plan benchmarks to planning calendar for year
  • Develop and enact marketing plan
  • Build envelope of private clients
  • Foster private coaching circle

Build Open Studio

  • Create new workshops for each quarter
  • Attract increasing number of attendees for Creative Community hours
  • Establish working collaborations with local creative organizations, resources, and people

Up the ante on commitment to good health

  • 100% vegan, gluten-free from January 2012 through June 2012 (longer if still working)
  • Consume 2 green protein smoothies each week
  • Take vitamins, minerals, supplements, and iron every day
  • Exercise at least 3x per week
  • Meet benchmark of being able to rapidly do 10 full-on “boy” pushups by end of year (I can barely do 5 right now)

Improve financial stability

  • Reduce debt by 25%
  • Set up automatic savings system

These intentions are printed and hanging on the wall beside my desk. I also put a copy inside my planner, so that I can re-read them during weekly and daily planning. I’m going to go through my yearly calendar right now and add the measurable milestones so that I don’t lose focus. After all, good intentions won’t get you anywhere if you don’t keep them alive. You know what they say about that road to hell….

What are your intentions for 2012? How are you organizing your energies?

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Jan 13

13 Comments

2011~2012: Review, Celebrate, Plan

My New Year’s Eve ritual is to review my goals for the past year, see how things panned out, and make note of the year’s highlights (both in successes and unexpected challenges). Then I take some time to carefully think through my goals for the coming year. Because I am a nerd and a planning freak, I love, love, love this ritual.

Due to an unusually crazy schedule, I haven’t been able to do my annual review until this morning. I’d like to share the process with you. While it is fun to share the successes, it is equally humbling to share the oversights. This will be a long post, broken into two parts, so feel free to skim the boring bits. This post is Review & Celebrate. Next week I’ll follow up with the 2012 planning post.

2011 goals review

Focus on creative practice

  • Submit five pieces for publication (almost—hit 4)
  • Finish novel, ~80K words/3K words per week Jan-May (no)
  • Paint a large format painting (no)
  • Create a piece for “nest” Creative Every Day challenge (yes)
  • Blog at least one per week @ Studio Mothers (no)
  • Maintain Project Life binder all year (yes)

Launch coaching business

  • Complete CCA coaching certification (yes)
  • Develop business and marketing plan (yes)
  • Enact marketing plan (partial)

Focus on personal restoration and spiritual practice

  • Sit daily (not daily, but solid for most of the year)
  • Daily journaling (90%)
  • Read A Year with Rumi every day (yes)
  • Read 50 books (yes — on the nose!)
  • Create regular time for blog & magazine reading (no)
  • Develop strategies to handle stress better (hmmm…..)
  • Enjoy social media without it being an interruption (good progress here)
  • Stick to the good schedules I have developed (mostly!)

Enjoy family time

  • Consciously strengthen relationships with each child (not measurable, but yes)
  • Spend more one-on-one time with each child (did not do nearly what I wanted to here)
  • Develop “block time” card stack (activities/project deck) (yes, not complete)
  • Do at least one art project each week with Aidan and Liam (no — only sporadic)
  • Create outdoor living/play space in spring (yes)
  • Eat in dining room more regularly (no — dog started peeing in dining room, so I have to keep it gated off, which makes it inconvenient for week-night meals)

Recommit to good health

  • Increase intake of raw foods (yes)
  • Consume 4-5 green protein smoothies each week (no)
  • Take vitamins, minerals, supplements, and iron every day (almost 100%)
  • Avoid sugar and wheat (on and off)
  • Exercise 3x per week (was derailed by broken foot that took 6 months to heal, but made up for that in the second half of the year by developing regular yoga practice)

Improve financial stability

  • Work smarter (day job) to increase billable hours (yes)
  • Reduce debt (no — actually increased it instead)
  • Set up automatic savings (no)

2011 personal adventures, successes, and challenges

February

  • Broke my foot by falling on my own garage stairs. It took six months until my ortho gave me the all-clear for high-impact exercise.
  • Began first class for coaching certification.

April

  • Launched monthly newsletter, The Creative Times.
  • Joined RAW New England (Random Art Workshops).

May

  • Published nonfiction essay in Wild Apples journal; read at launch party at Hill-Stead Museum.
  • Liam became completely toilet trained, ending 15 total years of diapering!!! (This may have been the highlight of the year, actually.)
  • Fabulous trip to Costa Rica with husband.

June

August

October

  • Co-led successful workshop (via Minerva Project collaboration).

November

  • Participated in Art Every Day Month.
  • Guest blog post at Bliss Habits.
  • Husband began 2.5-month stint of unemployment. While this had deleterious effect on financial situation, it was awesome to have him around, and he put in extra time with Aidan and Liam while I worked like a madwoman.

December

  • Signed lease and LLC papers for brick-and-mortar studio!
  • Husband received excellent job offer from a company he’s excited about.
  • Little Finn joined the family (don’t worry — he’s a kitten, not baby #6!).
  • Finished last requirements for coaching certification.

What all these bullet points tell me

2011 was unusually full of personal and professional successes. Working on my certification and launching two new businesses (coaching and Open Studio) added considerably to the to-do list and my general stress level. I had some success in counterbalancing that weight through meditation, yoga practice, journaling lots of reading, and creative work. In the realm of the “self,” I have to say that this year was significant. I didn’t do all of the creative work I’d intended to, but I did a lot of other, wonderful, unexpected things instead.

At the same time, I did not do nearly as much on the family front as I wanted to. I really started missing my kids as the year came to a close — time spent just hanging out a home, nowhere to go, board games and art projects and reading aloud. There wasn’t enough of that. We had too many days when I felt like I was just dragging my younger kids from one thing to the next. I didn’t invest in the extra one-on-one time with each child that was part of my original goals list.

This brings me to my plans for 2012. I’ll get to those in my next post.

In the meantime, what does your overview of 2011 look like? Will you share your top 10 successes?

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Jan 6

Join me at the wishBIG e-camp!


I’m *delighted* to be part of the teaching roster at the wishBIG ecamp this February!

I hope you’ll consider signing up for this fabulous online learning course — structured like no other, thanks to the creative genius of Mindy Tsonas at wishstudio. Wherever you live, the wishBIG ecamp allows you to connect with other creatives and get your 2012 mojo going strong.

February 19 – 26, 2012
Online – eight 2-hour workshops (self-paced)
Free for wishstudio members ($86 for non-members)

It’s time to gather round the creative fire!

Your week at ecamp includes:

  • Eight (2-hour) online creative living workshops from a host of fabulously inspiring Camp Counselors, each bringing their own special talent and insight to help you wishBIG, createBIG and liveBIG!
  • Daily ecamp mail! Inspiration Postcards (sent via e-mail) created especially for YOU by our talented teachers for a little extra creative spark, each day of camp.
  • Evening campfire gatherings designed specially for the group and the work at hand! These fun and inspirational nightly gatherings are created from what comes up specifically for us as a group. Mindy tunes into the thoughts and activity of each day and thoughtfully carves out space for a relevant community discussion. These tend to be intimate, powerful and wonderfully connective whether you sit in the circle quietly or dive deeply into the conversation.
  • Supportive kindred community with our own private group for sharing thoughts and work throughout your camp experience, as well as individual support and cheering from each of our ecamp Counselors within their workshop and beyond.
  • An easy, go-at-your-own-pace format that allows you to work through the workshops in a way that best meets your needs. All classes will be available online for one month, and are self paced.

My own course is A Life of Intention: Your Map for the Next 12 Months (Thursday, 2/23). In this workshop, you’ll create an empowered and inspired map for the next 12 months that moves you toward your longer-term goals. This process involves naming your intentions, gathering your assets, and making your map. It’s a dose of inspiration and clarity!

Won’t you join us? For more details and to register, click here.

::::

Dec 7

Wondering Wednesday

Nov 29

Miranda: Art Every Day Month ~ Day 29

Day 29 of Art Every Day Month (AEDM). Constructive doodling. I made a tent card that now sits on my kitchen counter, reminding everyone who approaches the sink with dirty dishes in hand to DEAL WITH THEM, rather than leaving said dishes for those magical fairies who arrive overnight to scrub everything spotless. Thus far, it seems to be working!

:::

Nov 26

Miranda: Art Every Day Month ~ Day 26

Day 26 of Art Every Day Month (AEDM). A photo shoot during a family in the woods. A restorative outing on a beautiful day.

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Nov 23

Miranda: Art Every Day Month ~ Day 23

Day 23 of Art Every Day Month (AEDM). And now for something completely different…turkeys! My plan was to cut out all of the parts for Thanksgiving place cards and have the little guys do the assembly. It turns out that the kids weren’t interested in glue sticks today, so the turkeys were all mine. As we’re vegetarian, these are the only turkeys that will grace our table tomorrow 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate!

:::

Nov 19

3 Comments

Miranda: Art Every Day Month ~ Day 19

Day 19 of Art Every Day Month (AEDM). I wasn’t feeling well and cancelled plans to go to the gym in the morning and to book group in the evening — but I wasn’t going to let a luxuriously unscheduled Saturday pass by without making it into the art room, malaise be darned.

For a while I’ve been wanting to do something with this quote from A Course in Miracles: “If you knew who walks beside you on the way that you have chosen, fear would be impossible.” The who referenced here can mean anything that makes sense to you: God, goddess, source, divine love, community, the universe, inner wisdom, etc. If you take a moment to decide what that “who” is for you, you may find that this quotation is a powerfully reassuring mantra.

Detail



Collage

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