Month: October 2019

Creativity, focus, Personal Development, Personal growth

Gratitude, Devotion, and Dedication

Adele Satori

I clean a music studio once a month. I looked down at my bucket, and.. well. I can’t quite describe all the feelings I had. I remember there was a time in my life I was quite adamant that I would **never** have a job cleaning bathrooms, and yet.. at that moment, there I was about to do that very thing. And I felt so much gratitude for that bucket of water.

My life seems to bounce around extremes, sometimes simultaneously. During the next couple of weeks I’ll be decorating a house that is amazingly delightfully over the top. And no, I can’t share pictures; it’s one of the conditions of my working there. This is year three!

A practice I want to reignite: I would do any “job” for awhile, save up my money, then take a sabbatical and focus on something that reflects my true heart. It’s given me something to look forwards on both sides of that journey.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the concepts of devotion and dedication lately. To me, they are similar, but not the same.

Devotion I see as coming from a place of loving attention. Dedication as more of a practical nature, and commitment to a process/ideal/cause. They work in partnership, the dance of loving attention and practical commitment complementing each other, and nurturing the journey.

I’m feeling on the cusp of Something Really Big and Good lately. I know what some of it is, and feeling frustration around my survival gig not allowing the flexibility I think I need to do it. I would love to have the resources to fully jump into what I know is my What’s Next, but I don’t. So I’m working with the constraints of perceived lack of time and resources, and finding a way to make it all happen anyway.

Choosing to see my survival gig as a venue to hone my skills of interacting with all kinds of people, communicating, sharing, sending out love and healing. (You’d be surprised how many people come shopping in search of healing). Learning how to exchange energy without being depleted, because if what I feel is coming for me is coming, and I work to make it happen, there’s gonna be a whole lotta ‘xchangin’ goin’ on.

I know this is more rambly than usual. Some feelings are hard to put into words.

If you made it this far, thank you! I love you, and I can’t wait to discover together and share what’s next!

Creativity, drawing, focus, Personal Development, Personal growth

Creative Block

Adele Satori

Creative Block.
OK! Let’s start off with the biggie that affects us all, eventually. Creative block. The ideas just won’t come. We suddenly have to clean our living space/binge watch/party. Anything but deal with the empty page/canvas/uncut fabric/musical instrument/dance floor staring back at us.
The key for me is to simply start.
“But Adele!” you say with exasperation “I can’t think of anything!!”
You want to know a secret? You don’t have to!
Take the 15 minute challenge! Set a timer if you like. Are you pacing, mind racing? Get outside for 15 minutes. Go for a walk, mindfully. Turn off your phone. Walk and observe. How would you describe what you are seeing? How are the trees moving? If you were a bird, what would your song sound like?
Another approach I use: when writing I might just start listing words that come to mind, in no particular order. Look at something nearby and describe it in minute detail. I will pick up a pen and start doodling with no objective. Play scales. Move around. Just. do. Something.
Close your eyes and breathe. Yes.. meditate! Get out of that “I can’t” head of yours!.
Ready? Take the 15 minute challenge and let’s talk about it.
creative block, Creativity, focus, Personal Development, Personal growth

Make the Most of Constraints

Adele Satori

I was waiting at the bus stop, looked up and saw this banner “Make the most of constraints”.

Many of us are familiar with the phrase “work with what you have”.. but how often have we seen constraints as a challenge to reach deep into our creativity, instead of limitations?

Perceived lack can often be an excuse to not create. Not enough time. Not enough money. I don’t have the right equipment/materials.

What can you do with what you have? What lying around might become a musical intstrument you hadn’t considered? How can you shift your mindset of limitations to be a creative challenge or inspiration instead of a block? What poem or drawing will flow from you in the 15 minutes you have if you allow it? What sculpture could you create from that stack of paper bags and ball of string?

I invite you to shift your vision. Make the most of your constraints, and see what wonders you can unleash into the world.

Feel free to share your discoveries, and how it felt in the comment section below.