The Bridge #115
in which we don't stop being creative, especially when we face headwinds, because... creativity may save us (:
Hello
& Welcome ! The Bridge is a newsletter connecting the professional and the personal creatively across cultures and a diversity of topics, until we are not only full of ideas but also ready to take action. Thanks for joining in the conversation.
If you asked, I’d say my life is going well. Deep personal alignment in my professional and creative work, coaching practice growing at a steady pace, plenty of friends, and I love my family. I feel very lucky.
Doesn’t change the fact that my youngest sprained her little toe this past weekend and now needs to learn to use crutches, until that heals. The week before, all three of my ladies were sick with a stomach bug. I’m currently seeking mediation with one of my professional partners. Many of my friends are struggling with one thing or another, and my oldest yells at me about something two or three times a week.
Things aren’t all rosy, and I feel I fight to keep my focus on what inspires hope.
That said, we’re entering springtime, a time of natural growth. Let’s soak up the sun.
Something to Watch
How to Get Creative if you’re not by Sketchbook Skool
Danny Gregory born in London grew up traveling around, with stays in Pittsburgh and Brooklyn (and Australia, Pakistan, and Israel), his parents divorcing several times. So he didn’t have a lot of stability in his early life.
I love the quiet, curious, gently-stated way he says, “How do you cope with change?”
And he walks us through his childhood, and describes how creativity and imagining helped him survive. It’s very calmly described. He says, “You don’t have to call yourself an artist to be creative; you just have to solve the problems that life serves up in the best, most authentic ways that you can. To me that’s the true meaning of being creative.”
Finally, he shares that some of us give up our creativity because we maybe worry what others will think or we think it’s a bit silly. We dismiss the power of our natural creativity, and Danny Gregory wants to nudge us back towards remembering what it can do for us, how it can improve our lives in very real ways.
Something to Consider
Writing this newsletter the past 5 years has not been a lucrative endeavor. Thanks to some generous patrons (you know who you are, thank you!) it’s not an entirely unpaid venture, but I estimate that I’m paid approximately $5/hr for the work I do to create this.
Same time, my writing is not exactly motivated by money, and it’s not without its returns on investment. My writing is fueled by the joy of writing itself (connecting dots, discovering new ways to communicate what feels of value) and helps me balance between consumption (reading, watching, listening, observing) and creating. Many times what I write has been informed by conversations with you the readers, and writing on topics I choose has helped me to bridge interest areas (HR/organizational innovation with anthropology and intercultural communication, music and parenting and the impact economy, etc etc), which has in turn helped me know my commitments and priorities, directing in a way my career and life. It’s been like a mirror tool, helping me see more clearly what I care about, and in this way it’s similar to coaching.
Many others with a creative practice (including some of you reading this) have told me that their creative practice adds to their resilience when navigating changes or challenges in their life.
Making time for creative practice is a matter of prioritization. Can we prioritize ourselves and our well-being enough that we see beyond financial income as a validation for time well spent?
Then again, many creatives struggle with money-making, period. How can we as a society ensure all creatives (young people included) are financially taken care of?
Easier asked than answered.
🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲
Something to Hear
“12345678...” by Laraaji
It’s not so often creators of ambient music receive ‘celebrity status’ in the way that pop singers do, but Laraaji has perhaps an exceptional experience from his decades-ago collaboration with Brian Eno (who named the ‘ambient music’ genre and who has among other things produced songs for U2, Coldplay, and Talking Heads and become one of the most influential sound artists of the late 20th c).
Laraaji was born in Philadelphia, moved to NYC and was trying to make it as a stand-up comedian and jazz-rock musician before ‘finding’ eastern mysticism and allowing that to guide his life direction. Then he met Brian Eno, and Laraaji has made A LOT of music since. Now with many searching out the healing properties of meditative music during the pandemic, Laraaji has been given further recognition (which he well deserves). More importantly perhaps, his peaceful smile, his gentleness. The music is like a deep breath or a belly laugh, relieving pressure, releasing… JOY 🤪
“Your silence will not protect you.
…
And you will still flirt and paint your nails, dress up and
party, because, as I think Emma Goldman said, "If I can't dance,
I don't want to be part of your revolution."
And at last you'll know with surpassing certainty that
only one thing is more frightening than speaking your truth.
And that is not speaking.”
Audre Lorde, whose birthday was last month (18 Feb)
Something to Practice
Speak your truth, even if it doesn’t feel fully organized yet or totally rational. Practice at least once saying it as you see it, not because you want to force others to do what you desire. Instead, speak your truth as an invitation to others. Then, listen closely… for the gentle ripples to follow.
😎 JPC 🤩