Why do we feel we need to justify our passion projects? “I’m writing this memoir for the grandkids.” “I’m making these quilts as a legacy for my children.” Did we ask them? Probably not. A passion project is for you. Creating anything is primarily for the creator’s benefit: to express themselves, to develop their skills,… Continue reading A Passion Project Is For You
Tag: creativity
Workshop Notice
Living in the “in between”
It’s an uncomfortable space to be in: the middle. With a career behind you and who-knows-what ahead, it is a place that feels lost and unsettling. Having retired from teaching over a year ago now, I’ve lived in this middle, liminal space. I thought it was a space to get through and get done with.… Continue reading Living in the “in between”
We All Need Play
Play has often been reserved for children and considered something superficial once our lives are filled with grown-up concerns. As an elementary school teacher, I arranged my science lessons as play-based investigations. The students would have fun exploring stable structures and quickly learn how to create a secure base with the materials. However, play is… Continue reading We All Need Play
Expanding Creativity
How much time do you spend on the mundane stuff in life and how much on things that only you can create? Clearing out the garage and washing the windows are big projects that need to be done. They will take up a lot of my time. But should I consider them worthy goals? Only… Continue reading Expanding Creativity
Do What Scares You
It’s easy to become complacent and settle when you retire. You get pushed along by the rhythm of the day, and suddenly a week, a month and a season has rolled by. I could feel it happening to me and I didn’t like it. In an attempt to grow, I chose to do something that… Continue reading Do What Scares You
Happy Challenges, Happy Self
Challenge is essential to my happiness. When someone asked me to imagine my best life, it would include some challenge. But finding the right amount of challenge is key. I can’t imagine a life without any problems to try to solve. I’m not talking about where to buy new winter tires or how to fix… Continue reading Happy Challenges, Happy Self
Creativity: A Writer’s Gotta Write.
There was fear and uncertainty when I started this blog. I’d never written for a larger audience than my class and their parents. I wondered if I would run out of ideas. Surprise! I’m discovering that the more I write, the more I have to write. Creativity Grows The More You Use It. It turns… Continue reading Creativity: A Writer’s Gotta Write.
Some days are hard.
“You Can’t Use Up Creativity, the More You Use the More You Have” – Maya Angelou. Some days are hard. They are tires spinning on ice. Days when I can’t find the ideas that stick and want to be written about. Nothing jumps up and shouts, “Me, me!” The ideas remain just out of grasp,… Continue reading Some days are hard.
Retired, And Now What? 