Category: emo/ thought provoking/ too much green tea

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Creativity for a cause

I am a part of a women’s network Kinwomen which is all about encouraging women to love and care for other women. Today we launched the ticket sales for our House Concert.

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If you are from Perth and would like to be a part of the night tickets are on sale here: Click Here

This event is all about a group of women in Perth, Western Australia, helping a group of women in Rwanda to live a life that is breathtaking. It is the simple things, but creativity and innovation have the capacity to come around a cause and to make it wonderful.

I am still reeling from the art exhibition we did last week for Phil Baker as a huge part of his recovery journey. To see his art, the power of creativity, people actually buying his art and supporting his recovery journey was so inspiring.

We are also in the process of finishing off a short film that highlights Phil’s journey through art therapy from his accident, doctors finding a brain tumour, dying, to brain injury, blindness, to recovery and finding himself again through creativity.

Imagine if all the creative endeavours in our community were based in helping someone else. So much of our art and our creativity that I come accross particularly online nowadays is so selfish. It is so based in people promoting themselves, to make them feel better about themselves.

Imagine if creativity was encouraged to be founded in a cause. That we came together with our creative posse to make a difference in anothers life.

Imagine what our world could or would look like.

This morning as I pondered this on the treadmill, a short film came onto the ABC and it brought together everything I was pondering so well.

Check this out:

Click Here

Imagine.

Amanda

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a vulnerable heart

heart feltLately I have been stretching out and creating new and exciting networks mostly in the name of creativity.

It has been really exciting on one hand and super vulnerable on another.

I remember doing some counselling once and the counsellor told me that to acheive the depths of creative pursuit, highs and lows are all a part of the emotional creative process. We must go to the depths to be able to express them.

Her wisdom to me was to not be hard on myself for feeling those emotions, because they were deeply intrinsic to the creative process but find ways to travel them with health.

I realised quickly it is how I handled those places and also how I involved those closest, in both negative and positive ways that was fruitful or destructive.

We all need to learn what our triggers are, finding ways to process the vulnerability and loving those close to your deeply in the process.

I have been really deeply processing who my real friends are in this journey. I think the consumerism of our age, has created a false friendship that is so counterproductive to true relational intelligence. This is significant to this topic, because I believe only true friends have the capacity to journey with us through the highs and lows of creative process and we only have the capacity to be able to do this with a small group of people.

Two of my great friends Jeff and Julie Crabtree have written a book called ‘Living with a creative mind’ and they have a whole chapter dedicated to creatives and how to handle the emotions expressed as a part of the creative process.

http://livingwithacreativemind.com

This week I pulled this book out, I sat and read this chapter and reminded myself about the creative process and how emotional it can be.

Every new connection we make creatively, whether its with someone we are collaberating with or a new pursuit of something we are producing, a whole level of deep thinking and criticism is a part of the journey.

Here is my little insight of wisdom though.

Be very careful who you allow to speak feedback into your life.

Be very careful who you listen to critically as a creative.

Why?

Because the vulnerability of the creative process is full of enough criticism already (mostly from your own mind and emotions) so allow people who believe in you and love you to speak loudly and let everyone else fade away.

If you listen to the crowd, you will lose your own voice.

If you create for the masses, you will lose yourself at their expense.

We know what creativity for the masses looks like: two words ‘clip art.’

Create out of your own lived experience, out of your own wisdom, out of your own uniqueness and you will make a creative impact that leaves a legacy.

For today, my prayer is that you would live inspired and also you would have safe people to explore creatively with and you would allow the noise from the crowd to fade away.

All my creative love

Amanda

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seeking approval

Lately I have been quite concerned about the interactions of people on social media. I have watched a few different scenarios play out and I have been so ashamed of what people do in the name of creativity, purpose and self promotion.

I am currently working on a creative workshop which is called ‘Influencing Culture Creatively; the good, the bad and the ugly’

The ugly I am referring to is self promotion. Seeking others approval to validate and affirm ones own creative endeavours.

Unfortunately from a cycle of addiction point of view, our seeking of approval from a social media platform is reinforced daily by the culture it has created.

Even the language reinforces our desire for approval.

Someone likes your photo on instagram, someone likes your status on facebook, someone follows you on pinterest, someone becomes your friend at the click of a button and then defriends you as easily.

How much of your self worth do you gain from your social media interaction?

Do you believe your creative pursuits are validated by the amount of times you are liked?

I have been thinking about this all morning and I believe the best way to kill our creativity is to seek approval from others about its worth.

Johannes Kepler said ‘I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses.’

This is true.

A deep, frank, honest conversation from someone who is safe and trustworthy is much more beneficial to our creative space, than a quick thoughtless like from hundreds of people.

Please don’t allow the quick consumeristic flattery of a social media platform to create an addictive cycle of approval of others.

Friendship and deep connection from a small circle of people who are for us, define our character and bring a depth of creativity that is revolutionary.

Seeking approval for our creativity is a one way street to isolation and disappointment.

Set your imagination free.

Speak soon

Amanda

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Embrace the shake

The last few days have uncovered many stories of brokenness. I have a lot of different dialogues currently with a group of different people, in all different ways are experiencing intense difficulty.

Then I found this video that one of my dearest friends recommended to me.

We all have a shake in our life.

Something that destabilises us. A hurting place that attempts to undo our creative imaginations.

Embracing our limitations and getting on with our purpose.

If you are struggling at the moment. Don’t worry so am I.

Embrace the shake.

All my creative love

Amanda

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Another world

another worldCritics may call me idealistic but just as Arundhati Roy says I believe that another world is possible.

A world where people are treated equally, a world where women don’t compete with each other and tear each other down. A world that allows a child to be just that, yet transitions them into adulthood with clarity and purpose.

I do believe that a better day is present and available, but it is mostly inhibited by the way we think.

Our thoughts and our imagination not only shape our own destinies but those around us.

Have you ever been awakened to the reality that the reason those closest to you mimic your thoughts, is because your perspective is powerful.

Racism continues to thrive because we allow it to take root in our minds and conversations.

Judgementalism causes decay because in some little ways we think we are more worthy than another for our little piece of the pie.

Our minds and the positions we hold strongly in them about others, causes so much more than stagnation in our everyday.

We pass it on to those closest to us.

Our children are a product of our thoughts.

Are you seeing self deprecation and self loathing in your child?

Its very possible it was birthed from you.

Are you seeing pride and envy, jealousy and strife brewing in those closest? then it is very likely that your mind is battling with the very same thing.

The way we treat others in the private space, is the way our children learn to treat others also.

In my imagination though, I see a better day. I see a bright and beautiful day, I see a generation of people rising up who are not consumed with themselves, but with others.

Where their innovation and their creativity is used to better our society rather than their own facebook profile.

I see a better day.

I imagine it often.

How about you?

A