Response to Reading #2

Chapter 10, Clear Water:
Nourishing the Creative Life

from
Women Who Run with The Wolves
by Clarrissa Pinkola Estes


“Creativity” says Ms. Estes, “ is a shape changer. One moment it takes this form, the next, that.”
and she goes on to point out how creativity exists in both the ideas and the doing, the follow through of those ideas, pursuing them into shape, and following where they lead. She tells the story of , La Larona, the woman of the river. A woman who lost her creativity, her children, her creations.

Some practical tips for identifying the loss, and the destructive animus, as well as taking stock of the situation, and beginning the healing process dominate this chapter of the text. But steps to take in regaining ones creative soul fire, after illness, stagnation, or injured instincts have starved one for “freshness and fertility” are listed through this chapter:

1)Receive nurturance,
2)Respond in the moment to what you perceive now,
3)Be wild: be willing to seem stupid, or inept to others,
4)Begin, just where you are,
5)Protect your time: set boundaries and
6)Stay with it: keep at it,
7)Protect your creative Life,
8)Craft your real work,
9)Lay out Nourishment for the Creative life


Next, Ms. Estes tells the story of the Little Match Girl, a story that has haunted me all my life with its sad, hopeless destruction and despair. The tale is dissected to give us its lessons and an additional message, with this very sound advice:

“To avoid being the Little Match Girl, there is one major action you must take. Anyone who does not support your art, your life, is not worth your time. Harsh but true.”

Finally, the author winds through yet another tale to point the way and ends with the advice that to just sit and rock with an idea, is the way to find your focus when it has been lost. However long it takes, it will come, and renew itself. “You need do no more.”

I am on this journey and it is good to have the road ahead laid out, the next steps clearly marked. I know what to do from here! The rent and bills be blessed and given to a higher power. The time has come to paint! To blend essential oils, to visit old friends and old flames and walk amongst the roses to hear their sighs. To Love the people in my life right now like I have never been hurt and wear my heart on my sleeve because life is short.

tg

heat exhaustion, dead ends & fruitless endevours

Well. It seems I missed a week. I managed to have adventures but they mostly fell flat of my learning intentions, and left me frustrated and feeling very unsuccessful.

Last week, I visited an old car show on the big weekend and tried to glean film and camera tips from Don. Then, following the big weekend of the 4th, our temperatures jumped from the mid 60's to the mid 90's overnight. It was fabulous! -but us Lilly white north westerners are just not used to a weeks worth of that kind of weather. I actually got heat exhaustion on Thursday, and couldn't even keep water down. I was lucky someone thought to try adding electrolytes and have me sip that for 3 days. All in all, it took about four days to recover and feel somewhat normal. whew! I don't think I realized how bad off I was until a few days later, so that was a big scare.

Meanwhile, I worked on the music, and plunged back into creating new collaborations. Mike and I agreed to take a break again, and find new songs, change the day, and we now plan to set up and try recording some stuff. We meet up again next week on Friday night. So big plans, but no current work on that front, except practice, practice, practice my timing. Ti-ahh-ming-ing

I did start on the arranged photos for the power point I hope to create, and find I am struggling more then last time, not having classmates to bounce ideas off of. I learn a lot from Don about the technical aspects, but creatively he sometimes seems to steal my thunder a bit, (not my ideas, just the oomph or enthusiasm to do them somehow) so I have learned that I must keep my fledgling ideas close to the vest. I learned a bit more about collaborative boundaries, and self discipline.

Don's class had a field trip to Seattle this week, that was going to learn about filming equipment! I tried to get in on that, thinking it would really help me in my quest to learn the instructional technologies better. Unfortunately the logistics didn't pan out well, and by the time I had obtained the permission of the instructor, it interfered with a different trip that had been delayed because of the complications from the heat exhaustion. My friend Tina had been visiting and we had to get her home to Portland. A few of us made a girls day of it and had lunch at the Roxy so it wasn't a total waste.

I have figured out that I am not good at keeping up with my art journal and doing photography during the same week. They seem to be very mutually exclusive, so that feels like a struggle as well. All in all I feel like I was just spinning my wheels the past 10 days and beating my head against a brick wall. I need to regroup, and set a plan of action for the rest of the quarter. The good news? I think I may have a job with CRC for Fall! Yay! I just have to get through summer financially and things will should ease up a bit. Yay, that relieves a bit of stress.

Its time to get organized! In 2 weeks my psychology of dreams class starts up, and the kinesiology class I teach will be getting into finals, so I really need to have the power point done and the film underway by then. So here we go!! Time to buckle down, set a schedule and focus on productivity now. Wish me luck!