Permission.......

I really think there is a huge shift happening right now. I could give all these reasons using politics, the culture, or astrology. Some of this change I am digusted with and I can shake my hands around and rant in a flurry "it's the WRONG direction!" Some of the change I think might be just what we need so we can go into a new and vibrant and more common sense direction. (once we get through the pain of it all...........and just when will that be, I wonder?)

Here is what I really want to express tonight-
Creative dawdling is important.

We all need time to just rest. This is the way I rest. I dither around in crafts or in my studio. I write. I meander through books. I just sit still and allow my mind to run however it's gonna run.......ah yes, there goes a thought and another thought.....breathe in and out. I'm not trying to get anywhere but recognize and feel

I.....am..... here.

It is too easy to negate or minimize the importance of just drifting awhile. To say it's not solving the worlds problems. To fall into the trap of thinking if there isn't work involved and struggle and suffering then it must not be important. If I'm not getting paid or praised for it then it must not be of any value.

I created this blog with this title because I think it's important to just stop, or slow waaaaay down.

For you, your creative dawdle might be lying in a hammock and watching the clouds float. Or maybe it is bowling with the nintendo wii.

Or taking a bath. Or pulling weeds in the garden.

It isn't for anyone else to judge or decide. You know what lets you soften into your softest self. You know what allows fresh ideas and vibrancy to flow into your being.

You know what gets you to let down your guard and find your body- your place in being. You know the things that allow you to quiet the other voices and what allows you to hear yourself.

So you have permission. You always had and will have permission. But you must decide to use this permission.

I'm just like everyone else in this world - I want to be valued and loved and sometimes I think "no, no, I cannot allow myself to putter about"-I must prove my worth (and usually I look to someone else to determine what I must do for proof).

I recognize we cannot be in a creative dawdle 24/7. I'm actually in favor of logical and practical work too. I'm all in favor of service and the golden rule. I'm not trying to promote irresponsible selfishness. I am trying to promote responsible connection to one's being.

It's been my experience, when I decide to allow myself some creative puttering time, I come fully into myself. When it's time to be there for others, and care for the world at large, I am much more able to do it and willingly do it without the neediness, pettiness, and tit for tat that I'm prone toward when I neglect myself.

So, here I am telling myself.....and you if you are reading this far.......I am simply saying creative dawdling is important.

Bathtub tea notes

Notes from the bathtub series. This is where I will write about the creative meander I took while soaking away in the bathtub. The bathtub is my most favorite way to creatively dawdle, dither, and daydream.

Today I chose these books to bring with me to the tub. What We Ache For: Creativity and the Unfolding of Your Soul by Or Mountain Dreamer * Awaken Your Strongest Self: Break Free of Stress, Inner Conflict, and Self-Sabotage by Neil Fiore, Ph.D. * Courage and Craft: Writing Your Life Into Story by Barbara Abercrombie * and It's a Meaningful Life: It just takes practice by Bo Lozoff.

I always take more than I can read. I started by sinking into my tub retreat. My cat Oscar always has to have some bathtub tea. So I let him drink the hot water from my cupped hands. It's our little ritual that begins the retreat time. After he's had enough I will put in the stinky stuff (essentials oils, salts).

Eventually, after some relaxing and soaking and breathing I'll open a book or two. Today, I only read It's a Meaningful Life. It is a book I read several years ago. For some reason today it asked me to revisit it. Yes, you read that right. The book on my shelf said "take me, take me" when I stood there looking for bathtub companions.

Here is a quote from the book
"We are much deeper than we usually let on" - Bo Lozoff

For me I need time and must take the time to putter about in my studio. Meander around the backyard. Sink into the relaxing heat of a warm bathtub. Meditate. I need sacred dawdling time in order to begin to sense my depths. From our depths comes creativity, love, equanimity.

Today, while in the tub instead of thinking about starting a new blog I thought about what to write on this blog I created. What is it I most want to express here? We live in such a fast paced world. Right now especially it is easy to get overwhelmed by all of it. I want to encourage myself to dawdle. To be okay with that and not try to hide it. The world will spin madly on and yet, I want to say - here I am - I'm slowing down. I'm sinking into the depths of Beingness itself. Just to BE - nothing else to be done. It is absolutely necessary for living.

I want to be brave enough to go deeper and let others know it. Creative dawdling is how I go deeper. This blog is how I'll let others know about it. Okay, enough for now I must go cook dinner.

Notes from.........

Welcome to my new blog. I love to dawdle, putter, dither, and meander in all things creative. This is going to be my spot that I just drop in and leave notes. Or maybe leave photo evidence of my creative dawdling. I found this little image creator over at ImageChef.com. Here's the link to the candy hearts.