Category Archives: Creativity

A Dog Named Jake

We often comment on how people influence us, but today my memories center on a dog.  His owner Bob was a friend during my days in New Hampshire.  Bob was a great guy and so was his black Labrador, Jake.  He was a powerful, strong-willed animal whose profile jutted into the wind like a ship’s figurehead.  But ironically, he was also calm and very obedient to Bob’s commands.  When we were visiting, Jake would lie quietly and not disrupt our visit.  When it was time to go out and play catch, he was all over it, tail-wagging and eager.  I asked Bob what made Jake such a terrific dog.  His answer: “Because I’m a fascist with him!”  He didn’t mean that he was harsh with Jake, just clear and very firm.

One day when Bob got up to leave, I stayed in my rocking chair with Jake on the floor beside me.  As soon as Bob called for Jake to leave, he immediately followed Bob without looking back. I remembered I hadn’t said goodbye to Jake as I always did.  I called out to him – he immediately turned on a dime and came right over, wagging his tail.  I scratched his ears and shared a nice moment; then they were gone.

I want to be like Jake:  moving forward decisively without hesitation but also able to make a course correction, even an extreme one, quickly and with grace.  My recent home re-organization could easily have created resistance since it came with some real surprises and serious drudgery, as well as shrinking my world. Coming to the end of my “40 years in the wilderness” had left me listless and drained.  After a week of puttering, watching movies in the afternoon, and sleeping in, energy was emerging and well-being was returning. I now had a clear choice:  drag my feet looking back or just go with it, like Jake.

Then I remembered an old Native American custom: When their people were sad or stuck, they would make them walk along a moving river until their emotions and thoughts moved too. So I just started moving more: parking myself at the computer, putting the last books in place, going for walks, calling old friends. I remembered my love of bike riding.  It’s pretty hard to balance when you’re stopped but so easy and free when you’re moving.

Finally, when my thoughts needed rearranging, I often played Free Cell on my laptop. Okay, it’s my guilty secret, so sue me!  But as I rearrange cards, I play with my thoughts, like fingering marbles in my pocket.  A half hour or an hour later, I have a whole new perspective.  Not a bad investment. Capped off with heart-felt prayer and taking direction from my Heavenly Father, I can see clearly once again.

Conclusion:  movement is magic!  Whether, it’s dancing, sports, housework, or simply spiritual and mental pondering, they can break those resistant log-jams so we don’t get bogged down. Try it, you’ll like it!

Wherefore . . . seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand.
For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy,
over all his works.  (Book of Mormon, Jacob 4:10)

 A Dog Named Jake Courtesy Pixabay.com Image 143753

A Dog Named Jake
Courtesy Pixabay.com Image 143753

 

The Gems Within

I started this blog as the result of a prayer saying, “Lord, I need something new in my life.”  Almost immediately, these words echoed in my head:  “Think about writing a blog.”  It struck me that this was a seamless way to ease back into freelance writing, something I’d put on the shelf in the 1980’s.

But right away, doubts assailed me.  So I started jotting down ideas to see if there was enough raw material swirling about in my brain to make this fly.  In 15 minutes, I filled a whole page and thought, “Okay, I can do this.”

The next day, instead of watching the noon news, I flipped through my PBS channels and happened upon Great Conversations featuring Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love) talking about the process of writing, sadly no longer available to view online but check out her other interviews on YouTube.  Two ideas jumped out at me which I summarize from memory:

  • If you don’t write it, you may have the unpleasant experience of seeing your idea show up in print by someone else and think, “That should have been me.”
  • She had observed an intelligence or spirit in the universe that wants expression.  It may knock on your door and if you don’t let it in, it will move on to someone who will respond.

I’d had the first experience writing a set of phonics readers. I ran into serious publishing obstacles, put it on the shelf and, over time, saw other similar programs appear in print. Aargh!

I’d experienced the second, while my daycare kiddies napped, when a sudden burst of inspiration literally picked me up off my sofa and parked me in front of my typewriter.  I poured out my attempts to fully participate in my church programs in spite of being a struggling divorced mother.  The article literally wrote itself and was published later that year in our LDS magazine, The Ensign (“When You’re Mom and Dad,” April 1985).  Evidently, the Lord wanted this message told and I’m sure that if I hadn’t responded to the call, He would have moved right on to someone else.  What a great experience, both humbling and exciting.

Then I meditated on how our wonderful earth pushes up small miracles from God’s physical creation and remembered an abandoned rose quartz quarry in New Hampshire.  A friend and I had bumped up a neglected dirt road to find the biggest and loveliest rock as a house-warming present for her boyfriend’s new yurt.  It sat on his front step catching the light and welcoming visitors with a soft, shimmering, and mysterious rose light.

Rose Quartz Courtesy R.Weller/Cochise College

Rose Quartz
Courtesy R.Weller/Cochise College

I wondered what geological processes created this lovely rock, what minerals caused its unique pink color, and what feelings it would evoke in visitors to Bill’s new home.  When I write, my current thoughts are illuminated by sudden flashes of memory, forgotten layers in my soul. They recombine in an exciting new form, trailing insights in their wake, glittering like gems.  I feel another consciousness also participating in this process.  It’s a thrilling partnership, equaled only by someone telling me they’re affected by my writing.

What is pushing up in you, wanting expression?  No one else can exactly create what is unique in you, so start digging out your own gems of creativity!