🔮 FREE SPIRIT "That which cannot be bound; free to do as chosen, but cannot, of course, do anything that denies its own Nature."
I was born in the land of wood and water. Then, like a leaf caught in a playful breeze, I landed in an unfamiliar land—a place that still tries to guess what I’ll do next. (Spoiler: even I’m not sure.)
Since then, I’ve floated, wandered, and occasionally camped through life. GPS can't quite track me, and plans are more like suggestions whispered by impatient starlight. I’m a Nomad, part wanderer, part wizard—wielding instinct like a compass and laughter like armor.
I collect unexpected quirky friendships like others collect stamps, except mine don’t fit neatly in albums—they burst from the edges. Every step is a ritual, every detour a divine wink from the universe, reminding me that the unknown is where the fun begins.
So here’s to the untamed, the amusing, the mystical ride: barefoot by choice, guided by stars, and danced in the rain many times.
Daily Prompt: Walking on the Moon – What giant step did you take where you hoped your leg wouldn’t break? Was it worth it, were you successful in walking on the moon, or did your leg break?
Literally, the closest I came to walking on the moon was skydiving. I like to take risks, and this was one of those that I did to overcome a fear of falling from high places.
Half of me hate riding roller coasters and the other half love the thrill. My thing with, riding roller coasters is, I don’t like when my stomach comes up to meet my throat as we descend down the large slopes. I hold on for dear life to anything I can grab hold of, even though I know I am securely strapped in…just hate that feeling. Well, for an unconventional thrill, I got a friend to join me on my adventure in the sky.
“And the day came when the risk to reaming tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” – Anais Nin
On another note – a second fear I had was, not making it to the ground alive. That fear stemmed from my work as a “tower” Air Traffic Controller (ATC) in the military controlling airplanes, when I witnessed the aftermath of an unfortunate event. Additional to controlling airplanes, we allowed other military branches to conduct parachute training at our airport facility. On this particular day, my ATC crew was called in to relieve the previous crew from their duty because, as they were watching an Army parachuting training event, the chute of a female trainee did not open and she crashed to the hard pavement. She died instantly with internal injuries and broken bones. As a requirement, the on duty crew had to debrief the tragic event with the investigators, so we took over their shift. We were later told, the cause of the accident was due to parachute malfunction. Damn!
Training (taken by EssenceofDel)
So back to my dive – after our brief training in the hanger, we went up for our ride. The first step out of the plane door wasn’t the scariest for me, as you would think. When we started falling is when the fear grabbed a hold of me. Grant it, I was tethered to a master instructor but really, what could he do to quell my internal fear…Nothing! As we were gliding, he yelled to me. “Are you alight?” Are you serious right now, is what I was thinking, but I just answered, “Sure!” It was somewhat comforting know I was not out there by myself. But seriously, him being there didn’t keep my stomach from rising up to meet my throat or my constant stream of prayer for my chute to open prior to a “safe” landing. He did take my mind off of the fall by talking to me and prompting me to take in beautiful scenery. He was good, guess that’s why he’s a Master instructor!
“If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn
I decided to swallow hard and just glide. Once sick feeling passed, I actually enjoyed riding the air. The scenery was amazing and the feeling of freedom was intoxicating. And…my chute opened…plus no broken bones! Yay!!! Fantastic!!
Smooth Gliding (property of EssenceofDel)
Would I do it again? Hell, Yeah! I’m excited just thinking about it now.
I made it! (property EssenceofDel)
I would recommend skydiving to anyone who wants to a change of pace….I mean Really want to experience something different.
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find to how far once can go.” – T.S. Eliot
WP Daily Prompt: Imagine that tomorrow, all of your duties and obligations evaporate for the day. You get the day all to yourself, to do anything you please. What types of fun activities would make your day?
I recently relocated to California and am temporarily unemployed. I actually have the opportunity to do anything I please on a daily basis…I just have not been taking advantage of the opportunity, until today.
After my morning workout (a must in order to keep my mood on the up side) I was headed back to the house, but not looking forward to it because I knew all I would do was worry about “when will I start making some money again”. Well, on the way home, my car took a right turn (as if it was driving itself) away from the house and drove directly to the beach.
After parking the car, I bought something to eat, took it with me and found a spot on the beach among a bunch of kids running around having fun. Seeing the kids brought a smile to my face – aah, to be a kid again. As I ate the seagulls gathered around, kinda scary since they were very vocal, but I kept eating since we are not suppose to feed them.
Surf Baby (taken by Del)
I spread out my towel, settled in and got comfy, then I ate my lunch while I read – The Third Rule Of Ten: Tenzing Norbu Mystery by Gay Hendrick…love this mystery series where the main character is an ex-Buddhist, ex-cop, private investigator. What I enjoyed most of all was laying on my towel digging my toes into the cool sand and soaking up the warm rays.
Want Food (taken by Del)
The sun peaked through just in time for me to be on the beach, as if saying, “You made the right decision to come here”. I call this a perfect day!
WP Daily Prompt: Nothin’ But A Good Time – http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/daily-prompt-good-time/
WP Daily Prompt: New Sensation – Describe your favorite fashions from days of yore or current trends you think are stylin’
Back in the day, 1980’s, my fashion icon was Janet Jackson. I wore the big black jacket (with shoulder pads) and of course the sleeves had to be rolled up. I loved playing with makeup back then (not su much now), so I would go all out with the complete makeup look: red lips, eye shadow, liner, mascara, rouge, and red nail polish. As for jewelry, they had to be large hoop earrings. And it wouldn’t be “the look” without the big hair. I had it all!
Unfortunately, I don’t know what happened to my pictures from that era, but when you look at Ms. Jackson, my look was not far off from hers. Gotta see if I can find my pictures.
80’s fashion – Janet Jackson
I even had a few strands of hair dangling in my face
Janet Jackson“…Ms. Jackson, if you’re nasty”
For me, the 80’s was a fun decade! Aah, the memories!
Day 13 – CREATIVITY: Identify ways in which you express your creativity every day. Today, allow something unpredictable and joyous to express through you. Write about it.
‘Creativity is about liberating human energy.’ Howard Gardner (American psychologist and educator)
Create (Google Images)
Last week I spent time helping my friend Natalie edit an assignment for her writing class. For a long time she’s verbalized that she should write her memoir, but didn’t think she was creative enough to write. Natalie is an engineer by trade who, on numerous occasions, have said, “I am a left brain thinker, give me numbers all day and I am happy. I don’t think I could ever sit down and focus on putting words together to write my story. That’s not fun to me.” It’s an interesting statement because I run from numbers. Well, I’m happy to say that she is facing her fear head on by attending a writing class that is giving her confidence to explore her creative writing side, as well as, give her the tools that will help her write her memoir. She has an interesting story to tell.
Are we solely Left brain or Right brain thinkers? Natalie’s mention of being a left-brain thinker put me on the road to look into this Left-brain vs Right-brain thing.
To get through our day-to-day, we must use both sides of our brain to make sense of the world we live in; however, research has shown that each of us have a dominant side, which makes up a larger part of our personalities, hence Left or Right brain. Well, most of us have been exposed to information regarding our brain hemispheres. Left-brain thinking, sometimes labeled “the judge” consists of: language, numbers, words, science, logic, reasoning, objective, and analysis. On the other side is Right brain thinking, sometimes labeled “the artist”. Characteristics include: emotions, imagination, subjective, intuition, holistic, art, and music. Now, Scottish researchers have added new terms to our understanding of the brain hemispheres – “Hard” and “Soft” thinking. These new terms are associated with creativity and reflect the neurological processes associated with the left and right hemispheres of the brain. (1)
Left-Brain / Right-Brain (Google Images)
In other words, Left = Hard, Right = Soft.
“Hard” thinking is verbal and understands symbols. These thinkers process information in an analytical and sequential manner – they first look at the small pieces of a situation or issue then put the pieces together to get the whole picture. In contrast, “Soft” thinking is visual and responds to color and shapes. These thinkers process information in an intuitive and simultaneous way – they first look at the whole picture then breaks it down into small pieces to grasps what’s going on. (1)
Wheels are turning (Google Images)
This information is useful for researchers, therapists, educators, trainers, but for the layperson such as me, I just think it’s fun to have this knowledge in my back pocket. I gravitate towards “Soft” thinking using the Right side (the artist) of my brain, but experience has shown that I can’t successfully maneuver through everyday life by just using one side of my brain so I had to develop the muscles in the Left side of my brain for communication and logical thinking. I must employ both sides in order to solve problems and to be creative.
So, even though Natalie believes she is a Left/Hard thinker who only understands numbers, she, like everyone else, can develop her Right/Soft brain hemisphere just by being curious and having the willingness to try something new. Many researchers indicate we can develop a creative state of mind and foster creative habits by:
Overcoming the perception that ‘I am not creative’
Expect the unexpected
Have fun playing with ideas
Practice not knowing – tolerate ambiguity
Be curious
Face your fears
Share your ideas with other people
Be proactive and “Just Do It”
We can display creativity in many ways. Researcher Zoran Ivcevic Pringle found that people who participate in any form of creative activity such as: taking photographs, writing, singing – tend to be more “open-minded, curious, persistent, positive, energetic, and intrinsically motivated by their chosen activity”(2). Over the years, I’ve noticed that people who tell me that they are not creative tend to be those who are afraid of failing, so they don’t risk anything and remain in their disillusion that they are not creative.
Stanford Ph.D. graduate Roger Von Oech, whose focus has been in the study of creativity, believes that creative thinking involves both “Hard” and “Soft” thinking (“judge” and “artist”) and both are required to bring about creativity. Even those who are naturally inventive and thrive on spontaneity need to seek logic and be analytical if they hope to be successful in life (1).
I was in my 30’s when, for the first time, friends told me that they saw me as a creative person. Prior to that, “creative” was never a term paired with the person I saw myself (creativity was not stressed in my childhood home). I always equated creativity with famous inventors, designers, and artists. I wondered, “What do they see that I do not see in myself, and why haven’t I heard this term in respect to me before?” I then thought about what naturally fueled my interest and got me excited: Music – I was in the orchestra and choir when I was a kid, but I also escaped into storybooks. Modeling – as a teenager, I loved coordinating clothes/shoes and showing it off on the runway (I even won a scholarship to attend the local modeling school). Decorating – I still love arranging furniture and accessories. Color – I absolutely hate rooms with bare white walls; they must have color of some sort. I’ve owned two homes so far and in each home all my walls were painted. When I rent a living space from a landlord that does not allow me to paint, I fill the walls with colorful photographs (some of them my own) and paintings. Come to think of it, my office space is very colorful as well.
Samples of my need for color in my house:
Yes, I love color! Sample of my wall painting and decorating. (pictures taken by Del)Not even the ceiling is safe from my need for color – hard to see but it’s painted golden yellow (pictures taken by Del)
Intellectually, I may not have equated my interests as being “creative”, but I now see that I have always gravitated towards using the Right/Soft side of my brain. Unfortunately, due to the sh*t I dealt with in my formative years, my creative side was not nurtured. Living in survival mode does not leave room for fun. Thank goodness, I am past that and now I get to play and explore the things that bring me joy. I am drawn to color and shapes, but I also love the use of words and logic. I might not be a famous inventor or a designer, but I am filled with joy when I take photographs, write, paint, solve puzzles, and collage, just to name a few. Yes, I embrace my creative side, now I encourage others to explore theirs!
Creativity brings joy: “It is only when the mind is free from the old that it meets everything anew, and in that there is joy.” ―Jiddu Krishnamurti
The main take way on creativity:
Most individuals believe they are not very creative. Creativity is not just about special people doing special things. We all have the potential to be creative and creativity is a skill that can be developed.
Creativity embraces both hard and soft thinking, left and right brain. The most powerful creative thinking occurs when the left and right hemispheres of the brain combine to apply both creative and evaluative processes.
Stop holding yourself back in thinking you are not creative. Get out of your way (or out of your head) and take the leap, try something new.
Note from Del — This post took longer than usual to write (a few days) because I kept having “Aha” moments regarding my own creativity. Thank goodness for writing, this was very cathartic.
Tomorrow’s Preview: Day 14 – HUMILITY: Making mistakes is part of learning and growing.
**Season for Nonviolence campaign, also known as The Gandhi-King Season for Nonviolence (SNV), asks us to focus our attention on attaining peace through nonviolent actions. More info at: http://www.agnt.org/season-for-nonviolence**
Own The View 