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On Creativity

In tune with my most recent post I decided to reblog this post when I visited the exhibit at the New York Botanical Gardens dedicated to one of my favorite artists Frida Kahlo.

Melba Christie at Poemattic

“The creative mind plays with the objects it loves”

                                                 – Carl Jung

Tools of the trade

I recently visited the exhibit of Frida Kahlo at the New York Botanical Gardens. I took this picture of the desk where she painted. I imagined her sitting there looking around at her beautiful garden. I have many of her biographies and books that illustrate her work. The complexity and depth of her soul is in her work. I have different storage places for my paints, pens, pencils and brushes. These are among some of the objects I love. I see them as extensions of my mind and  a creative source. All I need to do is walk by a vase full of paint brushes (the older the better) and I cannot resist the urge to create something. Sometimes I fall in…

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On Creativity and Mindfulness

I do not think one can exist without the other. We must be mindful of the creative process and what it means to be creative. Isaac Asimov once said that to be creative, “isolation was a requirement.” At times I believe this is true. But there are times I do not want to be isolated at all.

Creativity is expressed in many ways. We may have a muse or many muses to help us get inspired to create. Some of us may be so lucky to be born with a creative spirit. Some of us get this sudden flash of creativity. The proverbial “light switch” that turns on and we run with the idea hoping we did not get the idea from somewhere else. Is it possible for two people to experience the same creative flash simultaneously?

Creativity for me is almost a sacred endeavor. I believe that we must be connected to something beyond our physical reach. I taught children with the firm belief that every child was creative. It was not something I could teach them but something that was part of their being. And each child was creative in their own way. As Howard Gardner proposes we all have “multiple intelligences” that can be developed in different ways. Therefore, it would take a “creative” teacher to help this process.

So how does mindfulness play within all of this? “Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” Thus, we are aware of the creative process and how to fulfill our creative needs.

I found a few blogs that speak to the creative process and how to develop mindfulness. I also found a few magazines that help people work through the creative process by keeping journals. One of these magazines provides you with a variety of prompts to create all kinds of art and different genres of writing.

I had not used Artrage program in a while to create drawings or paintings. Today I was mindful and I must have been visited my muse and I painted this:

I call it “Deep Mist”. I think it reflects what I was feeling but then again was it a “sudden flash” or was it my “isolation” that help me create this. I am not sure. I am learning from many of you that creativity is a beautiful thing. I also started keeping a journal where I write down my thoughts as I paint. It is amazing how I am beginning to understand a lot more about what creativity is about.

I hope to continue to share some of these perspectives. I would love to get your reaction and comments.

 

Attributions:

https://www.mindful.org/what-is-mindfulness/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199203/the-art-creativity

https://www.learning-theories.com/gardners-multiple-intelligences-theory.html

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/531911/isaac-asimov-asks-how-do-people-get-new-ideas/

 

 

 

 

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Take one minute to make peace

Within the theme of today’s post on meditation. Once again Peace to all.

Melba Christie at Poemattic

Take a minute today

to make peace.

Start with yourself

breathe deeply and believe

it can happen

if we all try.

image

Plant a seed

send someone a LOL

write someone you love a letter

and wish them peace

Peace is not a season

it should be a way of life

Take a minute today

and think about His sacrifice.

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On Meditation

Meditation brings us closer to the silence

we all need right now

the more silent and still

the more awareness grows

like wild ferns in the deep forest.

 

Peace evolves from within:

the soul develops hardy muscles

to keep depression out;

like a great cyclone fence

it protects,

but still lets the sun rays dance around you.

Meditation energizes;

it brings back the pep in your step.

Breathe the Yoga Master commands

Breathe and let your heart sing

as you meet all your soulmates.

Breathe and be still

the thrill

will

elevate you

high up

and soon

you will feel

the clouds.

Breathe!

Peace to all.

 

 

 

 

 

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Quotes that could have been poems

Some of my favorite quotes revisited. Each time I read them they are even more meaningful.

Melba Christie at Poemattic

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Photo by Melba Christie   (c) 2012

Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose.”

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

“I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.”

– Duke Ellington

“If you are yourself at peace, then there is at least some peace in the world. Then share your peace with everyone, and everyone will be at peace.”        –Thomas Merton

“I am very happy, very enchanted … for  I am surrounded here by everything I love… My desire would be to stay just like this forever, in a quiet corner of nature. –Claude Monet

“Just living is not enough,” said the butterfly. “One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”  –Hans Christian Anderson

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Déjà vu?

Déjà vu?

Perhaps a past life has collided

with my present one,

When I heard someone ask,

“Have you been here before?”

I respond, “Do I know you?”

It answered, “Yes, but you only lived in the present.”

My present life became angry, frustrated.

The questions about life were so many.

It could not remember the Now.

 

Déjà vu?

“Who are you?”

“I AM!”

 

Déjà vu?

“Will you be there too?”

“Only if you live with purpose.”

“Is that all that is required? I get it.”

 

Déjà vu?

“I think I get it. Do you?”

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Memories of the Fourth

 

The morning skies seemed brighter, bluer

as if they were getting ready

for the evening gala of fireworks.

 

Mrs. Johnson draped her front porch

with four crescent shaped old glories

one for each pillar of our democracy

signifying peace, honor, truth and justice.

 

It was day as sacred as any holy day

people believed in our purpose as a nation

and we celebrated surrounded by family and friends

and shared home made apple pie;

corn on the cob, hot dogs  and hamburgers

and somehow we knew

there would be more to come.

 

The radio played the National Anthem all day

Many would pledge allegiance

to become the new Americans

who came to fulfill lifelong dreams.

 

it did not matter what party you voted for.

The fourth of July

meant looking back on the one thing

every human being cherishes the most

our right to freedom and the pursuit of happiness.

God Bless America!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“You Only Live Once Kiddo”

My brother passed away 21 years ago to the day and just two days before his passing we had a very long telephone conversation. I did not know it then but he was saying goodbye. We talked about everything. The one thing that still resonates is what he said a few minutes before we finished our long talk, “You only live once kiddo.”

I am reminded every day that life is too short and that we must live the present, the now,  mindful of what matters the most to us. We must make time to look at the view and relish the beauty right smack in front of you. Learn to shut-off the electronics for a while and use the time devoted to keeping up with your Facebook posts to actually talk with you family members. We post the most attractive messages to share with friends but how often do we say those sentiments face to face. Out loud?

I painted the following and called it happiness. Take a deep breath, and be happy. Don’t wait until tomorrow because “you only live once kiddo” and life is too darn short. Peace!

 

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A Call for Certainty

Melba Christie at Poemattic

“All my life, my heart has yearned for a thing I cannot name.”
“What’s in a name?”
A name possesses a soul of its own
A soul does not leave the body until it garners enough love
For eternity to judge its worth

My heart hankers for peace if that is what it is called
Because sometimes it seems what we have entitled it
does not truly claim or maintain it,
“Peace is not a season but a way of life.”

“All my life, my heart has yearned for a thing I cannot name.”
Am I to blame for such uncertainty?
A longing for something so elusive,
So exclusive
That not even my brain can perceive
Or receive
“What is in a name, I asked my muse.”
“All my life, my heart has longed for a thing I could not name.”

Will my desire be the refrain?

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On Father’s Day

I was thinking about my dad today most especially. I know many reading this blog have commented and written something about Father’s Day or  their respective fathers. I think about my father all the time. But today I wondered what he would say about all the stuff that is happening in our world. I know he was an environmentalist because he loved the earth and taught me to listen to the sounds of nature. He conserved and recycled. He lived through the Great Depression so I think that influenced his habits early on.

He bought American made cars which he said were the best. I wonder how he would react to self parking cars or hybrids. He was a great communicator and taught us to love books, poetry, art, and the theater. I wonder if he would like Twitter, texting, Facebook or even blogging. He wrote letters and had beautiful handwriting (actually used calligraphy). I was always so proud of his signature on my report cards.

Conversation was an art and people actually talked at the dinner table. He was open to new ideas but always demanded respect for the opinions of others. He read the newspapers and listened to the radio. I wonder what he would say about “fake news”, or “alternative facts” (a George Orwell phrase that my dad would have known because he had read the book). I wonder what he would say about selfies. He loved self-portraits of the great masters in art. He kept pictures of us in his wallet. I remember he kept one in particular of me. I was about four years old. But he would show that one to people anyway. They were always surprised when they met me and realized I was way beyond four years of age.

What I would give to have a conversation with my dad about these and many other things. Father’s Day is bitter-sweet. I have a husband, and a son and a father-in-law who are all great dads. But for me, my dad will always be the best dad ever. Happy Father’s Day.

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What Shapes Us

“The same law that shapes the earth-star shapes the snow-star. As surely as the petals of a flower are fixed, each of these countless snow-stars comes whirling to earth…these glorious spangles, the sweeping of heaven’s floor.”                       
                                                                                                 – Thoreau
What Shapes Us
This law I believe applies to all things live.
Can we all be glorious spangles?
Perhaps not. Perhaps yes.
I hope yes!
Are we capable of seeing the connection?
Can we try harder?
Can we open our eyes a little wider?
I hope yes.
The same law shaped our hearts.
When tragedy hits, we feel the hurt of others.
What shapes us is not a mystery;
It is divine.
It is intentional.
You, me,
all of us
shaped in the same way.
Can you dig it?