GET PAID TO BE YOURSELF
The subheading for this section sounds like a really bad ad on social media. “Attend this course for only $99.99” etc. Haha. I was sitting by the gorgeous quarry in northern Vic, at the new year’s festival I attended. Talking to a woman named Shanti who mentioned a Kimya Dawson lyric from the song My Rollercoaster: "I hope some day you get paid for being Kimya Dawson." Such a nice idea, that you eventually discover your mission and also find a way to be earning a living through that mission. The dream. I’m working towards running my first ‘creative unblocking course’ next month. For me, this venture expanding into a successful personal business would represent this for me - getting paid to do what feels most natural to me. If only it were possible for everyone to do this easily in our world. In other personal news to document on this blog, I’m going to start studying art therapy I’ve decided! Exciting.
SEABIRD
Been loving this 70s song called Seabird lately... there’s something really refreshing and honest about all this 60s and 70s music... maybe subconsciously my ear is aware of the less technologically advanced production methods which are being employed, or perhaps something about this different (less chaotic?) time in the world coming through in the words and voices. “Seabird, seabird, fly home.” Such a simple and lovely sentiment.
EMERGENT
This is definitely the word of the year so far... letting things originate organically, grow, unfold, trying to lean into what’s happening, what is THERE, rather than imposing things from the ‘top’ or from the outside. Feels so nice to do this with relationships, not forcing anything but feeling into what is natural or ‘right’ for this relationship. Another cool example last night was that Neil, Nate, Dash and I were sitting at the kitchen table and were suddenly aware of the bare walls. We got some blu tak and old magazines and started decorating.. decorating as an act that emerges from inhabiting the space and feeling what it needs, rather than all-at-once in advance, prescribing some idea of how the room should look. More in this, I think, to feel into during the year.
EVERY FEELING IS TEMPORARY
Good to remind myself of this, over and over! It was cool talking to Neil about Vipassana, the silent 10 day meditation retreat. I’ve known many friends who have done this and highly recommended it. I’d always imagined that the main idea was to become comfortable with your own thoughts, or to discover what ‘comes up’ after days and days without any distraction. But I hadn’t realised another aspect which Neil described - a focus on the way that any feeling is temporary. Training the brain to realise this and accept this more, and thus be less reactive I suppose. To have a thought/feeling arise and immediately think ‘oh cool, this is a feeling which will last for some period of time and then pass’ rather than ‘oh god I must immediately do something in response to this feeling.’ Incredibly helpful stuff. Still, I am hesitant myself... I have done some silent retreats for 2 or 3 days at a time and always leaned on my notebook as a real crutch. Without that... I think I would struggle big time! Something to work towards, maybe :)