Serendipidity do dah
When folks undergo what, for lack of a less gooey term, I'll call a creative reawakening, they often experience a surge of synchronicity. Opportunities bounce into their laps. Like minded people just show up. Connections are made, sparks fly, light blink on. Life gets spicy.
Some attribute this to a greater power: "God loves those who
create". Maybe so. I have a more down-to-earth hypothesis.
When you allow yourself to be creative, to make things, to smell roses, see colors, hear symphonies, dance fandangos, your antennas rise. You start to scan through new stations, to retune. Instead of trudging in your rut, you look up and see stars and bluebirds.
The world is always full of opportunity, of possibilities, of stimulus, and pots of gold. When you finally start to look around, to see clearly, to live in the Now and dump your baggage, you can't help but notice. When you notice the world, you notice it notices you. You open up to people who you would normally ignore, and they open up to you, revealing how much they are like you and how much they like you too. You discover new pages of the menu. You hear lyrics to songs you used to fast forward. You read poems carved in monuments. You open your fortune cookies.
Small wonder the world suddenly seems to be flowing your way. It always did but perhaps you were too busy paddling upstream to notice.
A record of my exploration into all aspects of drawing, illustrated journaling, creativity, and the inspiring aspects of art. By the author of "Everyday Matters," "The Creative License", and "An Illustrated Life" and other books.
Comments
So true. I have had times in my life when everything just seemed to "flow". Carl Jung called this "synchronicity", or meaningful coincidence. These are the times when the world just seems to open up, and is usually the result of a personal opening. Tibetan teacher Sogyal Rinpoche defines meditation as a kind of inner spaciousness, a widening of the mind that allows for unlimited possibility. A blank canvas of the heart. Meditation does not require a mat or incense or crystals, just an open mind. It is so easy in our stressed out, fast paced world to lose sight of this. But it is there for us to access, the minute we really teach ourselves to see. Like the sun behind the clouds, it is temporarily obscured. When we remember to relax, breathe, and look, it peeks out and greets us with a warm welcome. Seek and ye shall find. Easy to say...often a challenge to do. The trick I think lies in doing less, thereby letting go and opening the channel for new gifts to come. Thank you for the lovely reminder and the delightful painting.
Posted by: Donavan Freberg | May 7, 2004 08:41 PM
Thank you for that wonderful description, which extends my own: experiencing the thrill fo finding connections. My greatest moments in doing my art work are when I have this flash of intuition and deep understanding of the connections between opposites or disparates or differences. Synchronicity occurs for me, it seems, after this awareness has been heightened. It is a wonderful state of mind and spirit, isn't it?!
Posted by: Marja-Leena | May 8, 2004 09:16 AM
rock on - thank you for this. I just completed my first marathon and it's a bit of a struggle to get going on my list of creative projects. this little post was perfect. I'm ready for life to get spicy :)
Posted by: becky | May 8, 2004 01:30 PM
What a great post. Thank you. Also liked your ten thousand things to draw. I'm a little out of practice myself, but it's nice to see someone bursting with ideas, no matter how seemingly small. As a friend's badge says 'Everything is Interesting'.
Posted by: Ulan Bator | May 9, 2004 09:17 AM
Just discovered your site. Your affirmation of optimism and creativity strikes a chord that I try to make frequently on my own blog. Speaking of opening fortune cookies, I leave a fortune cookie at the end of my post every day. I love your spirit. Your write as well as you draw. I'll be looking frequently!
Posted by: Denny | May 9, 2004 03:33 PM
I've recently just started blogging and somehow stumbled to your site.
Really awesome stuff, even on a bad day your entries can bring a smile to my face.
Kudos to you.
Posted by: szen | May 10, 2004 02:20 PM