The Call to Create

 The Call to Create

A Sixty-Word SZEN Story:

The first grader was handed a pencil and a piece of paper. Sally was instructed to grasp the pencil in her right hand and then told to press gently but firmly and to use cursive to write her name. And after some struggles she finished. It unfortunately resembled a Richter Scale. Sally switched hands and tried once more: Instant art.

And more…

We’ve all tried to accomplish something that seemed easy and clear enough in our head, but getting that vision to gel proved elusive? How many times did we try to create something that just didn’t want to come together? It’s always the same: We can’t find the word, or the color or the stroke or note that nets the masterpiece we see in our mind’s eye. So what do we do when the gem we seek to manifest is stuck somewhere inside us and can’t seem to find its way out? The answer is going to be different for each of us, and it might be as simple as what Sally discovered – Change something in the process.

Creating something new is always magic to me. And we all have our own magic wand to help us bring new ideas and beauty to life. I’ve observed the artist using pen and ink or watercolors or clay, and the writer with pencil and paper or keyboard and the guitarist sitting at the piano. All of them have the tools to let what’s inside them, out. And it’s just as true for the coach scribbling a play on the chalkboard. The delivery of our creative thinking has to have a way to be channeled into reality. It can be whatever helps us share what’s in us. It’s the sharing that brings our ideas to life.

And the easiest of all tools we might want to use when we feel creative and want to share, is our own sense of purpose. Knowing why we’re here, and our calling, creates the desire to make an impact and difference, which is at the core of creativity. It’s the driving force for all things new. It can turn a Richter Scale scribble into the word Sally, our ideas into reality and change our creative expressions into life changing moments.

Szenippet: We all are called upon to create. To envision what does not exist and let that vision find its way to life through us.

Stories of a Lifetime

 Stories of a Lifetime

A Sixty-Word SZEN Story:

After 50 attempts to start listening to the grind of “eeeeeeeea” it was decided to look under the hood. We tried again with all of us looking at the cold dark engine that refused to turn over and silently wishing we were still in bed, protected from the 15° temperature. Then Dad tried jiggling the wires, muttered something, and vrooooom.

And more…

Stories are our way of not just remembering an event, but adding life and emotion to the facts, so that others can see what we have witnessed and maybe “feel” what we felt. Stories let us embellish and dramatize the characters and situations so that it feels like it’s happening right now, again.

I love telling stories and I love writing and listening to them too. And when I’m with my siblings – all five of my brothers – we inevitably will start to tell stories about Dad. It doesn’t matter that we’ve heard them a million times before or that the storyteller’s contagious laughter turns the shortest event into a Hollywood screenplay; it’s always a joy.

When Dad was still with us, he’d laugh at the stories too and sometimes dispute the exaggeration with his version of what happened. It always made the story better as new facts would be added, turning each of those special moments in time into a lasting and joyful memory. I miss it. I miss him too.

May the story never die…

Szenippet: When we share a story with the person that’s the star of the story we give a gift – we acknowledge that they touched our lives.

Uncharted Waters

 Uncharted Waters

 

A Sixty-Word SZEN Story:

 

The night was absolutely pitch black. Not a star or any ambient light to be found. Paul fumbled in darkness until he guided the key into the lock and opened the door. He felt for the switch, but nothing happened – No light, no power. “What now?” he thought. Suddenly a scream, and his phone’s soft glow revealed the source.

 

And more…

 

Sometimes we find ourselves in a new place or situation we’re not familiar with. And yet we’re expected to proceed as if we know the lay of the land. Could be a new promotion or job or environment where we feel alone and like Paul we don’t have all of the illumination we need to navigate with confidence. Usually it’s because we’re dealing with new people and personalities and their fears are just like ours. When we’re in the dark about what to do, everything slows except our imagination. And in that world of doubt, the imagination can spin some pretty scary scenarios. So much so that we may fail to act at all and try to pretend that everything is okay. But non-action is an action and just like any other decision it sets things in motion and by opting out of the decision making process we’re left with “whatever happens, happens.”

 

Well we could get lucky and things could just work out fine but why chance it? Here are a couple of ideas on how to navigate uncharted waters:

 

– Just because it’s new to us, doesn’t mean it’s new to everyone. Find a guide, a mentor, a friend, someone that can shed some light on those “screams” we hear in the dark.

 

– If you can, stop, listen and then ask. Really listen to what others in your new environment are saying, watch what they are doing and ask questions. New people in new situations are simply that, they are “new” to you. Don’t assume anything about them or how they will react to you. Ask and you’ll be surprised at how far a little knowledge and some simple interaction can go to create a new relationship.

 

– Remember that you are new to them too. They might be having the same fears as you, especially if your new position is to join them. As a team player they will want to know that they can trust you. If your new position is to lead them, then trust is still at the core of any progress you might make.

 

– Last but not least, try to put yourself in their shoes. Empathy is a great tool and helps us appreciate what those around us are feeling. Or like our story above, it’s why they scream when they hear somebody new enter their life.

 

Szenippet: Move with caution in uncharted waters but move with faith. It’s our internal compass for navigating life.