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God is a designer

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Some days I get to a point where I feel like I cannot come up with another idea.

No more.

I’m done.

I’m tired, I am parched, I have seen too much, done too little with my ideas and I feel overwhelmed.

A consumer generation has convinced my heart that there is no new idea under the sun.

Then I walk, twenty metres out my front door, at about 5.25pm at the moment and watch the sun go down.

The pelicans fly back to their island home in formation.

The penguins flurry.

The seals huff.

Everyone gets ready for the night to settle and peace to reign again once more.

Every sunset is different.

There is never one that is exactly the same.

It doesn’t matter how many times I have watched it, I am still bedazzled at the colours, the quiet, the potential and the beauty.

You don’t need to be at the beach to experience its call.

You could be sitting in traffic on the freeway and watch its colours pique and declare the presence of one greater.

There are millions however that don’t see the designers artwork that is fleeting.

dirt-pathLook up and look beyond.

Allow inspiration to arise again.

There are new ideas, there are new opportunities, the creator of the whole universe avails them to us every evening and then again in the morning tide.

He is a designer

He is a creator

He is unique and we are created in his indelible image

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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Finding my place

photoIt wasn’t until I had a toddler that I realised how important ‘placement’ was in my creative internal vortex.

I place things on my desk with finesse, I drop things on my bookshelf with purpose, to a shallow glance it looks a little messy, it looks a little crazy, but to my internal Dewey Decibel system it is just right.

My son has the most beautiful nature, but he is a fiddler. Everything he touches is fiddled with. I am sure he is bursting with innovation because he finds anything he can to feel, to explore and to replace in his own way.

Two weeks ago I turned on the washing machine to hear a regular knock, that isn’t a part of its usual rhythm and after digging the water logged inhabitants, I found my brand new smart televisions water logged remote control.

It wasn’t until max started to press my placement control buttons that I realised how important place was in my creative routine.

I rearrange my desk.

I play with my notes on my side table.

I light candles.

I make coffee.

I muse with placement until my idea is ready to be birthed.

How about you?

Do you feel out of place?

Is finding a place and creating a place, an important part of your creative expression.

booksThis new season for me has taken so long to settle, because of this one marker. Place.

I didn’t realise how much team, how much the people I collaborated with, the location of my workspace, the routines, the deeply enriched rituals, how much they enabled my creativity and innovation through place.

Slowly I am finding my new place.

And I kinda like it.

How about you?

Do you need to find your place?

Do you need to find your fit?

Explore this today.

Amanda