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phone free

IMG_6375I am realising quickly how damaging living my life through my phone is.

Just a few weeks ago, I was driving home from church, Maximus was asleep in the car, it was 7-something o clock.

My car was dark except for my headlights and a text message beeped through.

The darkness of the car shone the light of my phone even more brightly and I was so tempted to pick up my phone and check the message.

I quickly looked down and decided against picking my phone up and when I lifted my head up again, there was a man standing in the middle of the road.

He wasn’t running across the road to escape my car, I mean standing dead centre in front of my car, pointing straight at me, all most beaconing me to run him down.

I screamed, I prayed, I swerved, I stopped.

My car was truly millimetres away from hitting this man front on.

My heart galloped and I prayed that God would restore his soul. It was clear that he was trying to take his own life.

What impacted me mostly though was the what ifs?

What if I had have looked and replied to that text message?

What if I hadn’t stopped my car in time?

What if?

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Mobile phones, from the moment they have been invented have been a part of my life. My dad bought one of the very first bricks, we had a satellite phone and I had my own mobile from when I was a teenager till now. It has not been until the last few months that I have realised how addicted to my phone I am.

As a novice mum, there are many moments that I feel increasingly isolated and the only thing that takes me out of the food plastered across the floor, the cartoons that sing in the distance, is the call of instagram and facebook to connect me with a instant reality.

My mum the other day challenged me, I dare you to go phone free for a day a week. I think she has seen my increased use of its pull and although I have explored this concept on here before, its an ongoing issue that I have to contend with.

I am doing productive things on my phone, I am building pictures, I am building community, but can I put it down and intentionally focus on the people that are in my present.

I have come up with a kind of plan.

Whenever I have my husband home on weekends etc, I go phone free.

Whenever I am in a social setting I go phone free.

During the week when I am with Max by myself, I try to limit my time and put the phone in another part of the house for moments at a time.

In the car I connect my phone and play music and also put it on flight mode, so that I can’t use my phone for other purposes.

It is a major temptation and discipline for me to put my smartphone in its right place. I direct its control over my life, it doesn’t dictate to me.

Take time to be phone free, sometime this week, you will quickly see whether you have formed an unhealthy addiction or not.

I wrote also about phubbing here: if you want to read more about this dialogue in my life at the moment.

All my love

Amanda

 

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where the wild things are

wild thingsI sat in the midst of our overgrown lawn today, enjoying the depth of its green chards. Spring is so close to being here and taking a moment to just be, helped me discover a moment of inspiration.

It is easy to produce perfection if you have a big budget and a staff of many.

There is much to be said, for the organic, the momentary, the raw, the urban and all that brews.

I sat reading my frankie magazine and its been a long time since I have bought one. Nappies and all things toddler have been a higher priority on my shopping list.

I decided I needed a little inspiration kick today, after a big month of giving out, I needed to refill again.

A magazine, a coffee and an appointment booked for this afternoon for a massage.

Not a normal day in the life of this novice mum, but one necessary if I am to continue to embrace the chaos of this new season.

I turned up a new playlist on my spotify account and I breathed deep.

What I discovered from Frankie this afternoon though, was that its lost its edge. Yes, it is inspiring…

Yes, it is filled with many things I love and I want…

but I found myself surprised that the first few pages were full of adverts and not ones that were organic, edgy and made me want to go and discover more.

Frankie has sold out.

I was discussing a project with a couple this week in a mentoring forum and I found myself saying ‘Don’t sell out to the corporate opportunities’.

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A different way of describing it is ‘Stay wild’.

Creative people, stay wild.

Don’t allow the crowd to domesticate you.

One of my favourite books to read to my little man Maximus, is ‘Where the Wild Things are’.

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Imagine if we remained wild in our thinking, our imagination and our pursuits.

Don’t sell out to the crowd, creative ones.

Find your song and sing it.

Refine your song and play it.

Find your place and own it.

Don’t let the big boys tell you how you should ride.

 

Amanda

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the creative posse

imageThe greatest challenge in my change of season has been getting my head around who my creative posse is.

After working for over a decade with a group of people, who took massive risks together, created large and failed extravagantly, its a massive change in dynamic. I mostly work by myself and the with groups of people that I will be with for a small amount of time inputting creative direction, thoughts or moments, but its not an ongoing opportunity with the same group of people.

Discovering a team of people who I can create large with and trust with the vulnerability of the creative process is a huge journey.

That is what I miss most about being in a part of a team who work towards a common goal. Often its not until you loose something that you realise its value.

I’m naturally a people person and I really enjoy throwing ideas around and living a communal life of creativity.

In the charts of a personality type I land very close to the middle of introvert and extrovert.

(insert here this song; cracks me up! For those who watched X factor last year)

I’m not extreme in the extrovert graph scales, I like time to process and when my house is quiet and I walk the tiles by myself and something peaceful settles on top of me. It’s actually something sacred. The quiet, the space, the moment of reflection arrives.

I can’t stay in that place to long though. The walls start to crowd, the noises start to creak and I want to talk to someone, anyone or anything…

Yesterday I did a creative workshop with a group of radio presenters and one of my discussion points in the workshop was ‘Who is your creative posse?’

A posse, is a group of like minded people who have your back. A group that is travelling in the same direction, yet not the same, just a group that celebrates strengths, forgives weaknesses, doesn’t steal others ideas, takes time to honour each other and listen.

A group that travels the sacred path of creativity safely, knowing that the creative process is a vulnerable one.

People who have your back.

People who you don’t have to tread lightly over massive egos.

People who bring out the best in you, not your worst.

People who are loving and kind.

These kind of friends, or posse don’t come along everyday and often you don’t realise how special the posse is until they have disbanded.

How can you create a posse?

How can you keep a posse together?

How can you create well with other people?

I have found in my experiences, the thing that kills a posse quickest is arrogance and pride.

When people access creativity with humility, acknowledging that WE is more important than ME, something very unique occurs.

Humility doesn’t mean shrinking back though in the presentation of ones ideas, thoughts, or creative endeavours. It just means we hold our ideas lighter and realise that as we sharpen the reflection of the ideas as a team, we can bring something so much more solid, than the one perspective that you bring alone.

Nothing of value in the history of the world has been built by one person. It is always built by a posse of people working together for the greater good.

If you see someone who looks successful, famous or inspirational, there is always someone in the background who has sacrificed for that person to excel.

Always.

A mother.

A father.

A stylist.

A producer.

A teacher.

A husband.

A wife.

A child.

There is always a posse.

It’s just whether we value the input the posse brings or not.

Value and appreciate your posse today and if you don’t have one, humble yourself and begin to build.

Amanda

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online book

capture 2

I have decided to bring the free download of Capture 2 to an end soon and to launch the last couple of weeks with a online publication as well.

To download it for free for the last two weeks click here: capture 30 days of inspiration

I discovered something really fancy today whilst slouching around the internet. You can publish your books online and people can read them like a real book!

So if you don’t want to download it, but want to read it online you can do so by clicking here:

Capture 30 days of inspiration 2; desperate for change

I’d love your feedback in regards to this book. I have started getting quotes to print it as a soft cover publication and my hope is to use it as a manual with young adults especially, helping them explore their purpose and passions.

‘There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story, you can never quite tell where they will take you…
Mine took me here…’

Miss Potter

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yestember

One of my friends is having a hard time of late. Especially in the area of being single. I set them this challenge and it is called yestember.

They have to complete all 30 by the end of September. It’s not actually about finding a man, it’s about mixing up their everyday and pushing comfort zones and generally just doing things that they don’t normally do.

Sometimes all it takes is a change of perspective.

I found this quote and I loved it…

“make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.” Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

So if you are feeling a little glum. It’s spring and join in Yestember with us.

Download the list here: yestember

* say yes to this project.

* Buy a coffee for a stranger.

* Go to the wine bar and talk to anyone whose there, The goal is to get someone to buy you a drink.

* Arrange a BBQ/ party at your house and invite people…

* Arrange a dinner in the city with a group of people.

* Plan a holiday at home (provide evidence i.e itinerary).

* Invite someone out for coffee (guy or girl).

* Talk to 5 guys at church…

* Go on a young adult camp/ retreat/ or organize a weekend away before the end of the year with young adults.

* Go to 3 different churches (and go to church every Sunday of september).

* Write a letter to myself and post it back to myself and open 1 October.

* Start a conversation with a guy in a shopping centre.

* Book a counseling session and talk about disappointments.

* Organize a chicks night at movies with pedicure, wine and chocolate.

* Dance naked around the house with music blasting.

* Start a journal to give to your husband on your wedding day.

* Go and burn any letter from x boyfriends and delete all text messages.

* Book two tickets to an event or movie and put on facebook a week before that you’ve got a spare ticket and see who wants to join you (Guy or Girl).

* At the Gym, ask someone a question about health such as “Protein shakes”, “How to use gym equipment”.

* Try a different sport i.e. Bikram Yoga or Crossfit.

* Cook a recipe that you’ve wanted to try.

* Go to a sports bar to watch a footy finals or the grand final with someone.

* Do a Random Act of Kindness.

* Join a volunteer group or event ie. Man the phones for telethon, Do the soup run, Visit an old peoples home etc.

* Read a new book.

* Be Confident and Open to what the month brings. Say yes to offers and chat to everyone even if they’re not your type.

* Go into a bottle shop and ask the attendant to suggest a wine that will go with your meal.

* Go dancing after your dinner in the city.

* Try a relaxation or meditation CD before you go to bed.

* Write your own positive message for the month and repeat it every day. Put it on your mirror & say it ie. “I will reach out of my comfort zone this month. I am strong. I am confident and I am willing to meet new people and let God lead me where I need to go”.

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