Many of us feel stress and get overwhelmed not because we are taking on too much, but because we're taking on                                   too little of what really strengthens us.  Marcus Buckingham

Last week in my coaching class we were talking about overwhelm. So many people feel that they are in this state of mind which can completely zap us of any positive energy. One of the tools that we discussed to help us change the energy when we feel overwhelmed is to simply reframe our words or thoughts.  The reframe that really spoke to me was to say "My life is really full right now" rather than " I am so overwhelmed."  One gives me a sense of peace and although I may have to slow down to get it all done when I say "My life is really full right now." it sounds like a positive place to be and allows me to think peacefully about what I need to do.  When I say I am overwhelmed it is a negative feeling or energy and  I don't feel as though I am in control of what is happening - a feeling I personally don't like. So if I begin to feel overwhelmed this week I am gong to reframe my thoughts and say out loud, "My life is really full right now." and take a minute to experience how good that feels. I think that will really make a difference in how I see and experience each day!

There are many ways to tackle overwhelm and reframe is only one of them.  I thought rather than discussing them all in one post (why overwhelm anyone) I would take the next several Wednesday's to write about this creativity zapper.  If you have any thoughts or questions that you would like me to discuss in this series, I would love to hear them. Next week we'll talk about finding ways to recognize the things that really strengthen us and how to say "No"  to those things that may contribute to the feeling of overwhelm in your life.

              When you share your dreams and your talent with the world, magic happens.  Let the magic begin!
                                                                                                                                          Ginny

                                         Spring is nature's way of saying let's party.  Hal Borland

Yesterday was an incredibly beautiful spring day.  The sun was bright and the breeze was cool. The flowers are blooming and everywhere you look there is color.  It was a perfect day to sit in the backyard and read.  Of course as I sat I saw the empty flowerpots that needed to be taken care of.  I imagined what they would look like filled with flowers of every color.  So my plan for this week is to have a party in my backyard.  I haven't decided yet whether this party deserves a lot of planning or should be spontaneous.  I am leaning towards spontaneous.  No plans, no expectations, just see what happens as I fill the yard with flowers and color.

I hope that you will have time to enjoy spring this week. Sometimes five minutes is all it takes to create something lovely.  It may be a pretty table setting, planting a small pot of flowers, or snapping a picture.  This is one invitation we can all take advantage of.  Let's join spring in celebrating life and the beautiful world filled with color that surrounds us.

            When you share your dreams and talent with the world, magic happens.  Let the magic begin!

           If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking.  Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.  
                                                                                                            Raymond Imon, Short story writer, novelist

I have been resisting going for a walk lately.  I know I need to walk, the weather is perfect for a walk, and spring is my favorite time of year. So I was frustrated enough with myself to do a creativity coaching session around getting back to walking.  I am a Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach and now am going through the training to become a master coach.  I love the training and getting the opportunity to meet new people and revisiting the powerful tools that are part of KMCC.  As a creativity coach I often work with people who want to get to something but for some reason are procrastinating or resisting the project.  I often get to work with people who are overwhelmed or perfectionists.  It is so rewarding to help people get started or restarted on their creative journey.  As a coach I know when I am stuck and I was really stuck around walking.  We had a great coaching session.  I talked about the things that motivate me to walk and together we came up with my next small step to get back to walking. KMCC is all about being kind and gentle to yourself while you practice lots of self-care. It is also all about taking small steps to get you where you want to go.  

After my call I was looking for a quote for today's post and I found the above quote.  I definitely believe in synchronicity and I believe this was one of those moments.  Walking does give me time to meditate and be quiet.  The thought of angels whispering creative ideas into my ear is beautiful to me.  So another reason to walk each day. 


Is there something that you have been putting off that you would like to get back to?  May I suggest a walk to get you started?  It might be just the thing to get you motivated and give you some ideas on how you want to start. I am thinking of putting together a virtual walking group. We could encourage each other to walk each day and share the  ideas that pop up as we walk.  If this is something you might be interested in, let me know.  It's free, it's fun and for me there is nothing that works better than the support of creative people sharing their journey.  Won't you join me on a walk?   


                 When you share your dreams and talent with the world, magic happens.  Let the magic begin!
                                                                                                                                            Ginny

" Every great dream begins with a dreamer.  Always remember to have the strength, the patience and the                                   passion to reach for the stars to change the world."  Harriet Tubman

When you read the above quote do you think of how you could change the world at large or do you think about how you could change your world?  Both start with an idea, a dream, and a belief that you can do anything.  Next comes taking a chance and beginning.  It helps to think of your journey as a series of small steps each one leading to another.  It helps to have passion and excitement but it is also important to know that change takes time and that from time to time we need to take a rest.  It is important to be kind to yourself.  Sometimes we move rapidly forward other times it is two steps forward one step back.  Strength, passion, patience, excitement, quiet, support are all things we need as we begin to make changes. Sometimes we need them at different points in the journey.  Sometimes we need them all in one day or even one hour.  Change takes time but when it is the right change for the right reason, it is worth the time spent.  Is there a change you have been thinking of making?  Is there something you would like to do?  Remember every great dream begins with a dreamer.  What are you dreaming of today?

             When you share your dreams and your talent with the world, magic happens.  Let the magic begin!

I was so fortunate to be able to spend two days with my two year old grandson. Spending time with him and looking at the world through his eyes was such an important reminder of what is really important in life.  His curiosity and love of learning abounds.  He is not bored by doing something over and over and even though he knows exactly when the monkey is going to stick his tongue out rather than thinking "not that again"  he eagerly waits for the moment and screams with laughter time and time again. He ate when he was hungry and when he was tired he told me he wanted to go to bed. He loves to run but when we were going for our walks he indulged me by going slowly.  We stopped and looked at flowers and yard ornaments and we gathered rocks as if they were the most precious gift that he could possibly give Poppa who was waiting at home.
 Every time a car went by we stopped and waved.  What amazed me most was that everyone waved back. And if a neighbor happened to be out in the yard we would stop and Colin would very quietly say, Hi, I am Colin.  Everyone stopped to talk to him and when we walked by again the next day he didn't have to introduce himself they knew who he was and stopped to see how he was doing. It was such a wonderful reminder of how slowing down changes everything.  How looking at the simplest things with awe and wonder opens up new avenues of learning.  It was a reminder that all you have to do is quietly introduce yourself or wave and your world will suddenly include people you didn't know just a day before.  

I hope that as spring fills the world with beautiful colors and sights and sounds you will take a moment to enjoy them.  I hope that you will be able to connect with people you may not have connected with before and that you will recognize those people and things that fill you with inspiration and energy. Spring is a wonderful time of the year.  It brings with it hope and renewal.  It brings new beginnings and reclaimed dreams. Take a minute or two each day to see your world as if it you were experiencing it through the eyes of a two year old.  It is truly a special gift you can give yourself at this very special time of year!

                                         Always Be On The Outlook for Wonder.  E.B.White

I started this week with the intention of being open to things that amaze me and make me feel like a child again. I hoped to see them everywhere I looked.  I didn't know what to expect but I was open to whatever happened.  So far it has been a wonderful week.  Not perfect by any means - in fact fairly normal with just a few bumps in the road to make it interesting.  But I found that you can see what you are looking for if that is your intention.  I was most amazed at how people are reacting to the spring. I constantly heard people exclaiming how wonderful the sun felt.  They did everything they could to get out from the stores they were working in.  Everyone wanted a minute or two in the sun.  People have started sitting outside for lunch and the parks are filled with young and old alike.   Since it stays lighter longer I can hear the kids laughing and playing outside much later than usual.  I used to love to play outside in the spring and it seems like nothing has changed.  I felt wonder as I noticed the trees go from bare to filled with leaves in what seemed overnight.  I felt wonder when someone knocked on our door and asked if we wanted to sell our house.  I felt wonder as I heard my husband and his friends laugh as they played cards the other day.  I love the definition of wonder.  A feeling of surprise mingled with admiration caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.  Although my intention was to spend the week being aware of wonder, I think this is an intention that I will keep forever. Won't you join me?  What fills you with wonder?

            When you share your dreams and your talent with the world, magic happens.  Let the magic begin!
                                                                                                                            Ginny

"I wonder" is something that I often think and say. The other day I was wondering why water always appeared in my paintings or photos.  I know that I love it, that it makes me feel peaceful and happy but even on days when I say to myself that I need to take a picture of something different or paint something else water will somehow work its way into whatever I am doing.  The other day I was reading about the symbolism of different animals and I thought I wonder what water symbolizes and one of the things that was mentioned was transformation. That's me always wanting to transform ,change, and grow.  To me wondering means exploring, questioning, looking and most of all being aware of how things make me feel.

Wondering, asking "What if?" looking, questioning, experimenting are all part of being curious.  Being curious and open to new experiences can lead to wonderful opportunities.  So I wake each morning expecting wonderful things to happen.  And they always do if I am on the outlook for them. It can be a great conversations with a stranger, the delivery of a package I thought would never come, a quick sketch, or a photo that takes my breath away. So as I begin my day, I wonder what I will experience.  What will take my breath away?  What unexpected thing will happen?  What will make me smile and clap my hands with amazement?  I wonder.

Ginny's Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching Tip - Living with a sense of wonder opens up the door to amazing experiences.  Taking the time to experience the unexpected and to embrace the day and all that it brings is an important part of the creative journey.  Take some time each day to look around, to be still, to enjoy the moment. See what you can see.  Hear the sounds and smell the smells.  The world is filled with beautiful and inspiring things just waiting to be noticed.  I wonder what you will experience today. Leave a comment and let us know what fills you with wonder as you go through each day.

The definition of wonder is a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.  The wonder of a child.  What a special way to experience life.  As a child it is natural to be filled with wonder and curiosity.  It's natural to ask questions, to watch a butterfly, to try something new and clap and laugh when we are through.  This week I am going to intentionally regain that sense of wonder. I'm going to stop and smell the flowers, pick up the rocks and admire their texture, and laugh and clap when I paint something new.  I am going to search for the beautiful and be excited by the unexpected. I'm going to take time to marvel at the ordinary moments that make life so special and be amazed by those things that are truly out of the ordinary.  As I experience these moments I am going to record them in my Reminder Journal so that I can not only experience them in the moment but remember them forever.  It is easy to forget the small but important things in a life that goes so quickly so a Reminder Journal is a way to remember the things that are important to us. I hope that you will join me in this week of wonder.  I am hoping that this will week will lead to a lifetime of wonder.  Now, that sounds like something to marvel at!

            When you share your dreams and your talent with the world, magic happens.  Let the magic begin!
                                                                                                                                                Ginny
                                                                                                                                   

Do you ever look back at your old blog posts?  I do.  It's interesting to read where I was even a month ago in my thinking about creativity and to reflect upon what impact my new ideas or resolutions have made in my creative life.  A month ago I wrote that I was going to slow down and enjoy what I was painting.  In looking at my previous month's blog posts I realized that there was a lot of emphasis on getting better. There is nothing wrong with becoming a better painter or writer or singer or dancer. But for me when the goal is to get better, the joy seems less.  I am finding that when the intention is to enjoy what I am doing I don't even worry about getting better.  Instead of criticizing my work I find myself noticing what I like about the painting or the blog post.  I also know that when I feel positive about what I am creating I want to create more.  I am inspired to try something new just for fun or to learn a new technique not because I need to get better but because learning and growing are a part of who I am.  
The words that we speak to ourselves make a huge difference in the way we live our lives. Now when I paint I remind myself that I want to feel joy and to have fun. And if in the process I happen to get even a little bit better that will just be icing on the cake.

                   When you share your gifts and talents with the world, magic happens.  Let the magic begin!
                                                                                                                                              Ginny

Spring is finally here.  The top on the car went down yesterday and I am hoping that it won't have to go up for a very long time.  I love the feel of the wind on my face and the sound of sixties music blaring as I cruise down the street.  This year I have really become aware of how weather affects my mood and my feelings.  It was nice to be in the house on cold windy days with a blanket and a book but it sounds great to get outside and feel the warmth of the sun on my face.

Awareness is something I talk about a lot on my blog and with friends and clients. I believe it is the key to knowing who we are and what we want to do.  I also believe that I am a person who changes all of the time and so I have to be even more aware of what it is that is important to me and what I can do to make my dreams come true as I grow and change.

  When I first began coaching I designed several coaching packages.  Over time I added a package called Accountability Partners.  I talk with clients for a short amount of time each week about their plans and dreams and the steps they can take to get where they want to go. What I have come to realize is that this is a powerful package but that it had the wrong name.  Accountability sounds too rigid and in fact is not what we are doing at all.  What has happened is that this short 20 minute session has become not only a time for the client to reflect upon all that they have accomplished each week and set small goals for the next week but to become aware of how they are changing in every aspect of their lives because of the positive small steps they are taking. The feeling of accomplishment is moving into every aspect of their life and it is something that we take the time to celebrate with each call.  Awareness, small steps, and celebrations are all an important part of the creative journey. Taking the time to quietly reflect upon all that you have accomplished each week leads to more accomplishments.  Reflecting upon how your goals have changed and where you are going helps you to enjoy the journey.  

I hope that you will take the time to become aware of and celebrate your accomplishments each day.  No accomplishment is too small to acknowledge.  The smaller the step the easier it is to take and the greater the gain over time. If an Awareness Partner is something you would like to learn more about, I would love to talk to you.  Please don't hesitate to email me at ginny.lennox@comcast.net  It would be wonderful to hear from you.  

                When you share your gifts and talent with the world, magic happens.  Let the magic begin!
                                                                                                                                     Ginny