Change is Good

My living-room is now my dining-room.

My dining-room is now my living-room.

I went and mixed things up a bit just for the heck of it.  My motto this week is: change is good.

I don't know about you, but I sometimes feel a tad uncomfortable with change.  This week, I'm changing all of that (pun intended).

Being a creative person takes a bit of effort sometimes and the best way to get that energy is to either take a walk (see other posts) or change things up and see what happens.

I am reading a book by Dominique Browning called Around the House and in the Garden.  In the chapter titled "Couch Therapy", she describes the wonderful benefits of having a couch in her kitchen. I'm guessing, in her case, she had a bit more square footage in her abode in comparison to my sweet home, but I was inspired.

So, that's how my living-room became my dining-room and my dining-room became my living-room.  An added bonus is a reading area and it is like having a third space!

My recommendation to you if you are stuck in the mud, so to speak, is to change it up a little bit.  Take a little risk now and again because you never know until you know you know, you know?

Milk Dud the dog seems to have adjusted to the new flow of energy in the house but I'm not sure how the 10 year old daughter is going to respond when she gets home.  Perhaps she will also embrace it with both arms. You never know.

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” 

― Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol

  

Creative Walking

I've been doing a lot of personal evaluation these days and one of the questions I am trying to answer is:  What is my purpose?

That is a rather loaded question to consider, isn't it?  Well, as I ask myself this question on a daily basis in some fashion or another, I always find myself standing in front of the word, creativity.

I have decided to live my life creatively.  My purpose in life is to somehow, someway to help others do so as well.  

I parent creatively.

I work creatively.

I love creatively. 

But how does a gal find ways to unlock all that potential?  I take walks.  Yup - yet another post about walking.

I am not a runner.  I tried that form of movement three and half times over the years and I embraced the reality it just isn't my thing.  I am too busy thinking about how hard it is to breathe and how my legs ache.  Instead, I walk and look up and down and all around.  It is amazing what I discover and where that then leads me down my own creative path.

Just today, I checked off an item on my 101 Things to Do List: a stroll around the Irvington Neighborhood.  

I grabbed my foamy latte from my favorite coffee place, Twenty Six Cafe and began my day of exploration. It was during today's walk that I revisited wonder and awe with discoveries of a my very first fairy house, a beautiful paper-thin poppy flower and an old growth tree in the middle of the neighborhood.

  

Now, you must wonder how this has anything to do with creativity?  Well, now my 'well is full'.  I have filled it with wonder, awe and beauty. Now, I can return to my work with a colorful canvas of magical images floating around in my brain and creatively, take on the task at hand.

“If you seek creative ideas go walking.

Angels whisper to a man when he goes for

a walk.” ― Raymond I. Myers

Have a great weekend!

Dennise

Walk This Way

I am always trying to get the creative juices flowing these days since I, like many of us, are bombarded with one distraction after the next -- am I right?Well, I came up with a great one:  taking a walk.

I am in the process of a personal journey these days using The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. You know that guy, right?  He puts together a series of books called Chicken Soup for the Soul, which are collections of inspirational essays written by all kinds of people.  The essays are short stories sharing insights and words of wisdom on all kinds of topics ranging from positive thinking to motherhood to overcoming big obstacles.  You name it, they got a story.  I love the books and read a few stories just before bed to put some good stuff in the old noggin as I drift off -- but I digress.

A good friend of mine gave me my very own copy of his book, The Success Principles, and I have been eating it up.  Not literally of course, but learning about different ways to be more successful in all areas of my life.

One of my personal goals is to take more walks.  Simply put, I want to look up into that sky and look down in the grass to see what is going on around me. Just as I put that intention out into the Universe, low and behold, I spot a link about Ten Toe Walks (courtesy of Portland Living on the Cheap).

The activity is put together by the City of Portland and includes FREE, guided walking tours all over the city on Thursday nights at 6 pm and Saturday mornings at 9 am (during the summer months). You can get the whole scoop right here.

I attended the very first one this past weekend that started out at The Grotto and walked up to the top of Rocky Butte.

  

   

It was a four mile walk and we had beautiful weather.  I loved just clearing my head and just enjoyed being out in the woods.  I met new people and learned a lot about this little pocket of Portland.  I really encourage to check one, or all, of these walks out.  Be sure to bring a change of shoes as there will likely be mud along the way.  Be sure to bring some water and snacks as well as, especially as the weather warms up.

This is a great way to clear you head so your Next Big Idea has space to come alive in your imagination. 

See you on the trail!

-- Dennise (May 13, 2014)

Social Media Doesn't Have to Rule Your Life

Social media is taking over our lives in so many ways.  Just this week, I learned how I can use it (instead of it using me) to find opportunities thanks to Barbara Barde of Barde Career Solutions.  Barbara facilitated a session at PCC Climb about how to use social media to find work.

We all know about the biggies:  Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  Personally, I used the first two in my work but, ironically, did not use LinkedIn very much at all.

My biggest question is how to manage it all!  Well, here is a list of some possible tools to help keep you a little bit sane (thanks to Barde Career Solutions for assembling the list):

1.  HootSuite
2.  TweetDeck
3.  Seesmic
4.  SocialOomph
5.  CoTweet (this service no longer exists)
6.  Ping.fm (may be part of Seesmic)
7.  TwitterFeed
8.  SpredFast

One of the biggest take aways I walked out with was how important and robust Twitter is in a job search.  It can help with searching for opportunities and connecting with the people and organizations making a difference in the community.