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Coming Alive July 29, 2008

Posted by Becca in Write On Wednesday.
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Don’t ask yourself what the world needs.
Ask youself what makes you come alive, and then go do it.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
~Harold Thurman Whitman
Each time I come across these words, I feel an electric shock run down my spine.     
                                  
They remind me that the world, myself included sometimes, is filled with people going through the motions of their days, finding no joy, no deep indwelling sense of satisfaction or accomplishment, nothing that created the feeling of life abundantly lived.  So these words prod and poke me, nudge me to search for the things that generate a creative spark in my soul.
They confronted me this morning when I opened my copy of Foolsgold, by Susan G. Woolridge (author of Poemcrazy).  Another day in my office beckons, a day of paper shuffling and organizing, a day of sifting through piles of medical records and information.  Nothing about the prospect of this day makes me come alive.

But I recognize that I’m luckier than most~I’ve achieved half the battle to follow that credo.  I, at least, have found the things that make me come alive.

Certainly, writing is one of them.

Foolsgold promises to help me “find the artist within by cultivating a creative lifestyle that will not only expand and inspire you, but may also ground and heal you.”  A “creative lifestyle” is what interests me here.  In the past months, as I’ve come to realize how much writing means to me, I’ve allowed it to play a bigger role in my inner life.  Yet I keep it tucked in the cupboard of my lifestyle, afraid to let it play in the daylight hours, only taking it out when I’ve completed all the other, less livening activities. 

Perhaps in order to start living that “fully alive” life the world needs, I must allow creativity to permeate my entire lifestyle, not just those few “off hours” when the regular work is done.

What does that mean in practical terms? I’m not sure. It could mean branching out in my writing activities, going “beyond the blog” and taking a creative writing class or reading a poem on poetry night at my local coffee house.  Maybe it means looking for other avenues of musical expression – learning a new instrument or joining a new group.  Perhaps it could be taking up a new activity entirely – working with paper crafts or collage.  I’m quite sure it means taking another step outside the safe little box I’ve erected around my current creative efforts.

“Coming alive” also means “paying attention,” being aware of those things that startle you with their beauty or meaning.  Sometimes they’re as simple as the wind rushing through the trees in your own backyard, or as complex as a perfectly crafted poem by Keats or the intricate movement of a fugue by Bach.  It means being aware and being reverent to the world around us, and, for those of us who write, attempting to convey that sense of wonder to our readers.
It will be a journey, this “coming alive” process.

I’ll keep you posted.

How about you? How do you cultivate creativity in your life?  Have you found the things that make you come alive? Are you doing them? Shouldn’t you be?
 
*wordpress is being very creative (and stubborn!) with the fonts in this post…enjoy the variety, because there seems to be nothing I can do about it!

Comments»

1. nik - July 30, 2008

Another great prompt. You can see my response here: http://keepthisonthedl.blogspot.com/

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2. Andi - July 30, 2008

Becca, So perfect today, and that quote – wow! Thank you . . . Have you thought about writing first in your day or perhaps giving yourself a specific hour of the day for your writing, something to look forward to after the day job? that has been a wonderful development for me this summer, and I wonder if it might work for you – other bloggers suggested it to me, so I pass on the love.

Here’s my post – http://www.andilit.com/?p=228

Thanks again.

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3. oh - July 30, 2008

Wednesday…sigh. Though I got up early, I am totally running late for work. My blog type/font is making me crazy and looks funny. Nevertheless, I love the structure of responding on Weds and so find my answer at http://westcobich.wordpress.com. And then I’m coming back to read everyone when I get home tonight. Looking forward to it. Thanks, Becca!

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4. Rose Dewy Knickers - July 30, 2008

http://dewyknickers.wordpress.com/2008/07/30/the-game/

Being new here, this is a report from Dewy Knickers on her way to the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Dewy is… a part of me.

Rose

xo

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5. seachanges - July 30, 2008

It is as if you are writing about what I have been struggling with so badly these last few weeks of being exremely busy with the dayjob and in near despair I signed up for my next (advanced) creative writing course starting in October…. I will write my post lateron.

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6. gautami tripathy - July 30, 2008
7. gautami tripathy - July 30, 2008

*writing

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8. anno - July 30, 2008

Oh, long walks, reading blogs, browsing bookstores, folding laundry, mostly just slowing down enough to pay attention to whatever it is that l like or don’t like, noticing the things that make me angry, things that stir up desire, a balance of the familiar and comfortable spiked with things new and exciting….

That’s it for this week. This week, I fear is all about doing familiar and comfortable things, but doing lots of them, and as quickly as possible!

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9. seachanges - July 30, 2008

Well, my post is up as well now

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10. Susan - July 30, 2008

another thought-provoking prompt! (love the quote)

Ici: http://soozphotoz.typepad.com/soozphotoz/2008/07/write-on-wedn-1.html

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11. qugrainne - July 31, 2008

“…taking another step outside the safe little box I’ve erected…” Isn’t that a marvelous discovery, when you realise that you can do that!? Life just opens up sometimes, and there is nothing like doing something brand new to make a normal day sparkle.

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12. jeanie - July 31, 2008

I’m looking forward to checking everyone else’s thoughts as soon as I return from vacation Meanwhile, my post is here: http://themarmeladegypsy.blogspot.com/2008/07/write-on-wednesday-coming-alive.html

This was a GREAT and most timely idea for a prompt and post on this topic!

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13. Rebecca Reid - August 1, 2008

Thanks for the prompt. Here’s my rambling response.

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14. qugrainne - August 2, 2008

Well, life has a way of getting in the way of ones creative moments!! I have finally written my response to this great prompt. I love these promots, they really get me to think about ’stuff’ in a new way. Thanks, Becca.
http://qugrainne.com/2008/08/02/write-on-wednesday-ah-geez-its-saturday/

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15. Writer now Reading! - August 4, 2008

I found you through qugrainne and am sorry I’m too late for this post, but it left me with much to think about. I am where you are in terms of trying to blog less and write more in notebooks and I’m getting back to reading literature which is already inspiring ideas. I think literature has always been my source, one I’ve neglected in the past year.

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16. Redness - August 12, 2008

A but late I know :) but task completed :)

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17. mxfkj - February 11, 2009