why, hello there, boredom!
For Well-Seasoned Women, there is…
A time to Say Good-bye
A time to Say Hello
A time to Hang On, and
A time to Let Go.
Yes, I made it rhyme. It's just who I am.
q & r
Q: Okay, great, Kathleen, but, honestly, “Can you talk about how all this Creative Cycle stuff plays out in real time? I mean, how do I “Say Hello” to my art or my life?”
R: Great question. Lemme respond with an awkward segue.
I'd like you to meet Dolly.
dolly: a time to say hello
Dolly considers herself to be a professionally creative person-- and most of us would agree that she fits the traditional description of a musical artist.
Having recorded many albums for sale over her decades' long career, she is currently preparing to start work on--aka Say Hello to--a brand new project/album.
Check out this slightly more detailed, “big picture” version of Dolly's creative blueprint (below), a thing we here call the Well-Seasoned Woman's Cosmic Creative Cycle.
Pay special attention to the Say Hello portion indicated by the golden arrow.
a timely theme: curiosity
At the start of any new project, Dolly retreats to her cabin in the mountains for some solo time with her guitar.
Once she's settled in, she gets intentional about being really Present for all the Say Hello work at hand--work that for her feels more like play.
The overarching energy she knows is most needed at this stage is CURIOSITY.
As a singer/songwriter, it'll most likely look and sound like this:
q & r, part 2
Q: Okay, Kathleen, I'm having a little reaction to what you just described. And it just confirms the fact that I'm not a creative person. Because the truth is, I don't have ANY ideas and dreams swirling around inside my head, waiting to get curious about and “Say Hello” to. Your thoughts?
R: The feelings you're feeling match those of so many of my clients who come to me because they long to create a life of joy, meaning, and connection--one different from the life they're currently experiencing--but they're not sure how to begin.
Of course, the newsletter format means what follows isn't exactly personalized according to YOUR intentions, thoughts, or experiences, but I still want to provide you, Dear Reader, with a little food for thought--and maybe some ACTION?--(Oh, I hope so!)
priming your say hello flow
When we're having trouble getting started where we are, we might practice BACKING UP first.
I mean, because the Cosmic Creative Cycle is predictable, we can use it as a blueprint to help us navigate creative expression (and Life!) successfully.
One of our navigation options is BACKING UP for a bit.
Whenever we step into a new portion or “season” of the Cosmic Creative Cycle & feel as though we don't have what we need to get started on the work of the current season, we can BACK IT UP, spend a little time cultivating the prerequisite work & then return to the work at hand.
In this scenario, if we feel that we have nothing new to Say Hello to, it's time to back up to the Time to Say Good-Bye-- aka, the time to restore your creative juices and dream up what might be next.
q & r, part 3
Q: Kathleen, can you give me some idea of how to begin with BACKING UP to get what I need so that I generate some ideas to Say Hello to?
R:
Might I suggest paying attention to your BOREDOM?
Boredom is actually a very great friend--one whose gifts are largely ignored in our “Stay busy, stay distracted, stay on your phone & keep scrolling” culture.
But, here's the thing: Boredom shows up to motivate us to flex our creative muscles & get our creative flow circulating.
I mean, why else did we spend so much time as kids building blanket forts & playing dress up & coloring/painting pictures for our very own "refrigerator art show” if not as a creative response to boredom?
What was true for us then, is still true now.
Instead of ignoring or reasoning away our boredom in a “sensible adult” way, we need to pay attention to it.
When we do, some of us will discover Boredom making herself known in a big, dramatic, Under the Tuscan Sun movie, kind of way! (I'm there for you, sister!)
For most of us, though, Boredom will make herself known in small, ordinary ways that can begin a creative FLOW of epic, “butterfly effect” proportions in the fullness of time.
Bored with the same weekly grocery list & meals?
Bored with your evening routine?
Bored with your same old, same old vacation plans?
Bored with the hobby/lack of a hobby you've been doing for awhile?
Oh, good! You're EXACTLY where you need to be for some Say Hello practice!
So, here's where you get curious and ask yourself,
What new, creative experiments could I dive into that might shift that boredom?
So, for the woman who notices that she's sick and tired of her family's “Fish Fridays”, she could decide to try out a new recipe every Friday for the next month (or three!), OR she could sign up to learn how to make sushi, OR she could have fun developing a Pinterest folder of interesting looking air-fryer recipes and get started diving into them, OR she could jump on instagram & search for how to create visual art out of fish & have fun creating “artsy” dinner presentations, OR she could book a vacation in Greece with the intention of tasting & learning how to prepare a multitude of new fish dishes.
You get the idea, right?
If we want to experience something different, we've got to DO something different--and the Time to Say Hello is about lots of curiosity & experimenation & having fun figuring out something new!
This isn't about getting other people or other situations to change so that we're not bored any more; this is about giving ourselves permission to generate new ideas and use our autonomy to put them into action.
The strange and wonderful truth is that investing in the work of Saying Hello to one thing within our power often primes the pump for a surer, more generous creative flow in all areas of our lives!
So, let's practice thinking of our creative expression like we would a muscle. The more it gets flexed (practiced & played with), the more it grows and the stronger it gets.
Until next time,
xo
