Intention/Connection – Creative Life Midwife

Permission to Feel & Love Grey (or Not) #covid19support

March 25, 2020 by jjscreativelifemidwife 6 Comments

A tree in the grey fog on a cold looking morning gives us permission to feel whatever we feel, thank goodness.

It is a grey day here in Bakersfield. I realized after being awake for about an hour I was feeling grey as well. Not dark, not light, just grey. Just grey simply grey and I didn’t and don’t have any fierce predilection to change.

I don’t even know if “predilection” fits there but I like how it sounds, so I am keeping it.

I overslept so I opted out of bed yoga and pre-rise meditation because I wanted to be on-time for my poetry livestreams.

It was cold on my porch, but I livestreamed anyway.

It is drizzling so I didn’t walk though I did take a photo of a sunshiney house in my neighborhood on a street I have always loved and wished I had the vision to push to buy the house on that cul de sac those thirty years ago when I was buying a home.

I decided to light candles and write because it is something I could do, right or wrong, I could simply opt into doing something.

My coffee is brewing and the smell is rising which brings me comfort.

The garbage was collected as always and that gives me an expansive feeling. Am I the only one who enjoys filling my trash can to be picked up? Because I house sit I have two trash cans to fill and I am doing it with such joy I think I must be more than odd and I accept that.

I give myself permission to be how I am and to feel what I feel and cherish this all whether I like it or not. I am holding my grey feelings close and loving them, not trying to change them or “make them better.” I am reminded my wedding china was “Glories on grey” by Lennox, partially because I truly love grey and partially because I deeply cherish the neighbor of my childhood, Mrs. Elder, who had a carefully curated Lenox collection. She took her time in choosing her china and the little me loved her for it.

These days of separate togetherness will look different from day-to-day and our feelings will vacillate – may we grant those around us permission to feel how they are feeling as we continue to grow in compassionate understanding to live and love what is.

Coffee mugs lifted - an invitation to join the Virtual Coffee Conversations - a way to stay intentionally connected during this time of social distancing. — If you would enjoy “hanging out” with a welcoming group of people during this time of social and physical distancing, join us in our Zoom Meeting. We meet daily from 1:30 – 2:30 PDT. Registration details are listed below.

To register via Zoom, please visit here. We also have a Facebook Event where people within the conversation will see recaps of the Coffee Conversations and resources mentioned there. To mark yourself as Interested or Attending and to see what we’ve been up to, please visit here.

Intention: Unlimited, Infinite Love and Creativity

March 19, 2020 by jjscreativelifemidwife 2 Comments

I watched a video made by a group of Italian citizens last night. It sent a joint message of hope to the rest of the world. It was a window into their tenacity, a collaborative role model for unlimited imagination.

The message was one not of chaos, but of beauty and creativity and love drenched optimism.

I have been impressed with the artful expressions of surprising joy I see coming from the country which right now is at the epicenter of the COVID-19. Planes flying in unison, in their wake leaving the colors of the Italian flag while operatic strains playing in the air is one example. Another is people standing on their balconies, singing together.

I would not normally think this would be the behavior of people in quarantine – people who have seen so many deaths in such a short amount of time. Their celebrations of creativity, of life itself, brought tears to my eyes and shone rays of light into my heart.

White vases with white flowers and a tea pot on a window sill leave an impression of optimism, a metaphor for surprises from Italy during the Coronavirus pandemic.

We must not allow ourselves to be limited by other people’s opinions, complaints or false narrative.

We must give ourselves permission to create deep and wide visions of possibility, of wonder, of deep gratitude.

If this resonates with you, please consider joining a group of us gathering daily at 1:30 PDT for Intentional conversations on a “Virtual Coffee Date” – a gathering of friends and strangers-becoming-friends where we may inspire, delight and comfort each other as we are separated because we are honoring one another’s health.

People sharing coffee drinks like we share virtual coffee drinks, tea, water or whatever we care to drink during our intentional conversations via zoom during the pandemic. Easing loneliness and amplifying connection worldwide.

This post is a part of the Women’s History Month Writing Quotes & Prompts series from Julie JordanScott, the Creative Life Midwife, and her Word-Love Writing Community you may join for free on Facebook. During March, there will be daily discussions on the quotes and prompts we present here, too. Join the conversation and improve your writing at the same time!

How to Create a Goal that Moves Your Mind, Body & Spirit

March 7, 2020 by jjscreativelifemidwife 4 Comments

Sometimes a goal is much more than a bunch of colorful sticky notes on a bulletin board. It goes beyond setting goals, making plans, get to work, stick to it, and reach goal. Find out more why.

Sometimes a goal is much more than a “GOAL!!!”

It took me a long time to understand this fully and completely, with my whole heart. Recently I created a goal about travel. No, it isn’t about the Top 50 Destinations to reach before I turn 50, it is a goal about how I want to experience traveling.

It is stated in the present AND it is part of my overall life vision for the next ten years. Here is how I wrote my goal:

Travel is regular, sacred, joyful, smooth sailing and extra comfy.

Imagine my delight when the goal first came to fruition within two months of writing it. That trip became a good model for future successes with this same goal.

Last Fall I joined a book club. This is not unusual, I have a propensity for joining book clubs. I love books, I enjoy hanging out with bookish people and this particular book club filled a different niche – it is an empowered women book club. It only meets once a quarter so why not? I have a goal to read 52 books this year, so adding another book club helps me to keep my reading choices unique and fresh because they aren’t necessarily what my hands would reach for first.

I was also meeting some brand-new-to-me people.

One of these younger women recommended a book to me by Rachel Hollis called, “Girl, Stop Apologizing.” I quickly discovered the writing voice of the author is not one that is appealing to me. Her personality was not one that was appealing to me. Her content was extremely familiar and I might have put it down and forgotten it under other circumstances, but since it was an ebook I checked from the library, I breezed though it grumbling much of the way until…. Rachel Hollis wrote of crafting a ten-year-vision plan.

At first I scoffed at this. Let’s be real, I am too old to be reading this book by the chirpy Rachel Hollis whose other New York Times Best Seller was “Girl, Wash Your Face.” Furthermore I am too old to be writing a ten-year-plan.

“I almost died in October” seems to be a common refrain for me lately.

There was something in her message, though, something that compelled me to consider and complete a list of ten separate goals to make up my ten year vision plan.

That one small yet not small action has changed everything for me.

Twenty-two-year-old Emma sits at a kitchen table in Flagstaff with her two elderly Grandparents. The sun is streaming in through the window. Everyone is smiling and happy. Traveling to visit family is important, always.

Last week I returned from visiting my parents in Flagstaff. This is something I had wanted to do since last May but never did. In December when I visited Katherine and Donald in New Jersey, I declared I would be going to Flagstaff and nothing would stop me!

I would visit for my birthday! It would be great!

January 29 rolled by and I was still in Bakersfield.

I became even more vehemently determined, possibly because between my visit to my daughter and her husband, I created this goal as a part of my ten-year-vision plan.

Travel is regular, sacred, joyful, smooth sailing and extra comfy.

The thing about a ten-year-vision-plan is it isn’t something “to do later” it is something that is perpetually living and breathing and morphing.

My trip to Flagstaff with my middle daughter, Emma, was the first challenge of this goal. It was my first test of the ten-year-vision plan. I originally wanted to go on this trip alone (which would have insured the “smooth sailing” part of it) but I didn’t want to leave Emma behind.

I wanted to see my parents more than I was going to let a possibility of not smooth sailing or not comfy get in my way.

My elderly parents live in their own home in a neighborhood on the western side of Flagstaff. They bought it “when we were young!” my father said. They were about my age now, which I will gladly claim as young.

My mother now has Parkinson’s Disease and has balance issues and moves much more slowly than she used to move. My father is also much slower. Their daily highlight is going to the senior center for exercise classes. For the most part, they stay home other than that and running errands like going to the grocery store.

This required our daily visits to their home to be much more of a collaborative art of… sacred, joyful, smooth sailing and comfy. My parents didn’t know of my goal, yet they gracefully helped me fulfill it.

No one was rushing, no one had anywhere else to go or anything else to do except be exactly where we were. Everyone was in a good mood and happy to be together.

Emma and I stayed at a nearby motel that included an indoor pool and Jacuzzi and was located next to a bookstore and was close to downtown. We were able to explore what fascinates us – for Emma that meant Vegan dining and an fabulous crystal shop, for me it meant lots of places for haiku writing and photography in tucked away alleys and places with history. I also visited a park and took a short hike I had forgotten I meant to take more than ten years ago.

Do you have a travel goal as a part of your overall life vision?

2020 is the first year I am able to respond with an unabashed “Yes!”

In my ten-year vision plan, my overall travel goal sounds like what you have read repeatedly in this article:

Travel is regular, sacred, joyful, smooth sailing and comfy.

I am thrilled to report we met all of these goal-oriented sign posts during this trip to Flagstaff. The visitwasn’t about sprinting around to see how many places we would visit or doing any particular activity, it was about the quality of the experience.

I’m looking forward to deciding where I will visit next: I have a feeling my nomadic adventures are going to start sooner than I thought – and with this visionary goal crafted, I know it will be achieved in a soulful way.

How may you create and fulfill a travel goal with the same amount of pleasure and ease?

Consider how you would like to feel during your travel.
Consider the sort of memories you would most like to have when your travel is over.
Think about your traveling companions and modify your plans accordingly.
Stay committed to clear communication throughout the experience.
Set your date for travel and start reserving accommodations!

Stop putting off what is most important to you. What October taught me was not only about my mortality, it is about how interconnected we all are – and how much joy the simple things in life bring.

If it will help, commit in the comments to your next travel adventure. Next, return to let me know how it went.

woman in a hiking hat creating mixed media art.

Julie JordanScott, the Creative Life Midwife, is committed to Eradicate Loneliness through intentional connection, passionate purpose and creative expression. Sign up now to stay connected with the movement and receive inspirational emails to insure you will minimize loneliness for yourself and those you love. Visit EradicateLoneliness now to sign up for free.

Truth or…. Consequences? Better Writing? Freedom? Vulnerability?

February 16, 2020 by jjscreativelifemidwife 2 Comments

What truth am I ready to tell?

I feel increased frustration. Why did I write this prompt?

Why did I decide to write from it first instead of offering it to other people first?

How am I supposed to even begin talking (or) writing (or) be willing to be vulnerable enough to take this one in any decent narrative?

Right in that moment I wanted to shut down completely, but something jostled me so I finally stop worrying about narrative or getting it right or anything except filling the five minutes with the tapping on the keyboard.

Five minutes on the timer and… write. I started with something easy to address, something obvious.

I am ready to tell the truth… I am happier with my hair colored than when I was attempting to grow it into its natural state.

Maybe if I hadn’t gotten sick I would be rushing back to going grey/white again but I simply feel more bright spirited with my hair the color it is now – I actually feel more freedom to experiment with it again.

In all honesty, the only thing I liked about my grey adventure was the whitest part of my hair and the purple streak Jolie painted into my hair every time I visited her.

Other than that, I felt pretty hideous about my appearance most if not all of the time. I stopped looking at myself in mirrors. It certainly didn’t help with the overall malaise I was feeling.

I am not ready to tell the full truth of my near-death experience in October. Recently I found myself quite willing to tell one friend more details than normal. That was a surprise and actually felt optimistic and eye-opening.

I am ready to tell the truth of my anger about some of what I observe in special education. I am ready to tell the truth (with some changed names) in the book I am finally editing – again.

Again, more truth tumbles out: when I reviewed the last edits, I will tell you the truth that version of me had it a lot of it wrong. J Sometimes when editing, our true writing voice gets sucked dry. That’s not what this book is about, especially.

This book is messy and tired and frustrated and ebullient.

I am ready to tell the truth – and grow in my ability to share what I feel and know and think – without fear of retribution and abandonment.

Truthfully, I am stronger to face both of those because I have experienced both abandonment and retribution and discovered through the process I am bolder and more resilient than I could have ever known without them.

Five minutes later – time is up and I feel infinitely better than I did when I sat down to write.

What a joy!

And now it is your turn to write:

What truth are you ready to tell right now?
TIPS:
Start with an “easy” truth if you have any hesitation, like I did with my grey hair. You might start with “I don’t like broccoli” or “I love watching the Bachelor.

Keep writing until the five minutes are up.

Allow yourself to follow the flow of the pencil (or pen or fingers on the keyboard). They will take the writing where it needs to go.

Care and Compassion Question for Transformation: What if…

February 10, 2020 by jjscreativelifemidwife 7 Comments

How many of us treat others with much more care and compassion than we do ourselves?

What is up with that?

Today I am thinking about how I might feel about myself if I spoke myself with the same kindness and curiosity I speak with others.

In fact, it just happened. I started straying off course, I was searching something about “my why” via the work of Simon Sinek and the next thing I knew, I was about ready to start watching another 15 minute video.

I had forgotten I committed to writing for 20 minutes: or rather, writing this blog post (which I wanted to also make into social media posts in Instagram and maybe twitter and on my facebook page and group.)

I actually said aloud, “Oh my gawsh, I got lost again.”

Because I had just read this prompt, I stopped myself and said, “What would you say to a loved one?”

Soft smile, “Julie, hey… let’s come back here to the prompt, remember?”

The Version of me that was off course would look up, sheepishly…. “He is just soooo good!” and then, “I can’t believe I got lost again.”

The compassionate soul-leader-me would respond, “You were just distracted momentarily. You know who and where you are and you know how delightful it is to find people who believe optimistically about humankind like you do… so let’s spread the word….”

And the two-versions-of-me merge again.

All is well.

All is better than well when I treat myself with the same tenderness and care as I treat others.

Prompt: What would happen if you treat yourself with the same tenderness and care as you treat others?

Julie JordanScott writing personalized love poetry.

Julie JordanScott is a multi-creative who lives in Bakersfield with her daughter, Emma, in an eighty-year-old house with two palm trees in her yard. She loves writing and reading poetry, sitting by the Kern River and learning new quirky facts about literary grannies and what makes people tick. Her current project is finding ways to end the secret epidemic facing the US – with 60% of Americans affected by it. This love poetry project is another way she is working to eradicate loneliness – more information may be found on how you may be involved in the cause at EradicateLoneliness.com

Visionary Goal: The 10 Year Plan for More Standing-Room-Only Audiences

February 1, 2020 by jjscreativelifemidwife 2 Comments

My ten-year-vision is a living, breathing, ever-present experience every day of my life. I have 10 specific vision-goals I write in my journal or notebook daily. At least three days a week I am writing more on each of the vision goals to deepen and enrich the future and now experience.

Here is the Vision/Goal:

There is standing-room-only at my public appearances.

I am blessed to report I know what it is like to have standing room only crowds at my public appearances and it is less than a month since I started working this ten-year-vision-plan.

I have had standing room only audiences at poetry performances and sell-out crowds in theater productions I’ve been in.

If you have a goal where you have no prior experience, one way to catch a view-experience for it is to attend an event where it is expected to be standing-room-only or may be close to sold out when you purchase tickets. When you are there, imagine yourself on stage instead of in the audience.

Allow the buzz from the crowd to fill you. Record their responses with your phone and refer back to your recordings. Write about the actual experience and then write/envision/visualize yourself in place of whoever is speaking or performing.

I have not had standing room only in places where I have had speaking engagements, book signings or in webinars I have hosted.

For the first time in a long time, I feel excited as I note where I have yet to be successful.

A-ha! The daily review of the ten-year-vision-plan is sinking into my bloodstream. It is powerful because I can remember the energy of the standing=room-only crowds. I can feel into my memory to recall how energizing it was to accept applause and attentive response from the standing ovation, sold-out show crowds.

Next is what action to take – what goals with measureable results may I bring into place in order to make this vision a reality.

I have been working on my email list. I was on a live chat that got disconnected on Wednesday and on Thursday I joined an email list that does exactly what I want mine to do. This is an example of the energy following the vision. On Wednesday I would not have been able to clearly communicate what I want to customer service. Now, I can communicate clearly by sharing the images I’ve gathered. The more people on my list, the more I may expand and attract audiences. This is exciting!
While this may sound odd, I ordered a new Tri-Pod selfie stick to use in making videos. One of the weaknesses of my old selfie stick was It was perpectually sliding down while I was recording. This new one has a device with a solid clip at various height levels to keep everything stationary. This one change immediately makes me more excited to get back into making videos. Videos build connections. Connections build audiences.
I bought a new domain name that is addressing “my heart’s why” why a-la Simon Sinek and “Start with Why.” My programs, classes and even this article do that, but this new domain carries the name in a perfectly clear sense. (I will share it once it is built which will be soon!)

I am excited to get the site up and running with a welcome video and yes, an email list attached. Because the website is the most direct connection between my why and my message, I can see my audience growing exponentially which leads to – bigger crowds wherever I go.

I have to say these final words to connect back to my past, my present and my future vision: at my second book signing ever, a man came to me with shaking hands and asked me to sign his copy of “Chicken Soup for the Soul of America.” He had been a longtime fan of mine and so believed in my message and my voice that he thought all my books would be sold out when I was there and I would be mobbed by people who would be shaking, like he was.

This man has no idea how inspiring he continues to be for me.

No one from my extended family showed up – and that hurt me – but Paul did, even as nervous as he was to meet me. I didn’t even realize people might be excited to meet me.

My final confession for today is this: I was definitely NOT feeling it as I sat down to write this afternoon. I’m in a mid-afternoon slump. I tucked my naysayer mind off and started to type.

I chose to move forward, with love, and my hope and intention you will as well.

The more you connect with your vision, the more purposeful you will feel and the more passionate action you will be driven to take.

Have you started working on your ten-year-vision yet?

If you haven’t, what is stopping you? If you aren’t comfortable commenting, drop me an email at juliejordanscott at gmail dot com. Let’s have an honest conversation about how your why and what you are up too in this world is too important for you to ignore for a moment longer.

Mark Twain Made Me Do This!

January 31, 2020 by jjscreativelifemidwife 4 Comments

This is all Mark Twain’s fault. Mark Twain, the alter ego for Samuel Clemens, as in the man who was a humorist and once a journalist and has created many well-known characters like Huck Finn and Becky Thatcher, as in the man portrayed in countless one-person shows often played in middle schools across the US.

Mark Twain is the one who reportedly said, “The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.”

How do I bring this up, the question I most want to ask you?

I realize I ought to try bringing it up like I bring up many things – by asking questions and telling stories and offering you some prompts to write, journal and make things – like conversations and photos and paintings, for a few possibilities.

How do you know when you are comfortable with yourself?

At first I was thinking like this: I am not comfortable with myself when I want to ask you (or anyone, actually) something that feels uncomfortable to ask and if you are to respond, “What do you mean by that, Julie?” I am not sure I could give you a decent answer on this one.

Maybe I will forget this idea for a blog post and go along my merry little way and no one will know I even thought about writing it.

Then I remember I am at the tail end of a blog challenge which is something like a promise – and I missed posting on another day this week and after that, I forgot to add my title before I posted which is close to not posting at all so what I will do is just take a deep breath and ask you a question I don’t know how to answer myself.

Then I realized the problem I had was in this precise moment I am much more equipped to answer “how do I know when I am not comfortable with myself?” like right now, as an example.

I thought of writing right away but then I looked at the clock and realized I needed to pick up my daughter from her class so I stepped away and my mind started working on this concept again.

Here is your prompt, to write along with me – be sure to put your writing in a two to five minute container and end your writing with gratitude.

I am not comfortable with myself when….

And now me (my turn to write)…. I am not comfortable with myself when I am smothered by fear, whether or not it is rational. This happens when I am stuck under the rock of history, the big pile of mind clutter and argument I built for far too long because I believed the “less than” and negativity other people have shoveled and I have agreed to by staying on the ground, limp and sad and lonely.

I am not comfortable with myself when I bump into people I am in a broken relationship with, someone who I believe doesn’t like me or has hurt me in the past.

I am not.. and the timer went off!

And now you… write it, now…..I am not comfortable with myself when

2. Second prompt….I felt the most comfortable with myself when I….(and now, I write) I felt the most comfortable with myself when I had the feeling of being successful, when I knew I was where I was meant to be. When I facilitate workshops and see people making discoveries they wouldn’t have made if we hadn’t joined together: that’s one example. On stage, I have felt it both in plays but also poetry performances – especially improv style poetry performance. Deep conversations does this, singing does this – being in a meditative sort of space I feel so comfortable in my own skin.

When people see me and hear me and love me anyway, I feel so comfortable in myself, with myself and with whomever I am with – whoever has blessed me with their presence.

Timer – went off.

And now you…. write it, now….I felt the most comfortable with myself when I….

Take time to write in response to these prompts. If not now, copy them into your journal or notebook or a document on your computer and give yourself the gift of time to respond. Blame it on Mark Twain if it makes you feel better: writer of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn and my favorite, the lesser known Pudd’nhead Wilson.

Speaking of Creating a Vision Plan: Goal #1

January 28, 2020 by jjscreativelifemidwife 3 Comments

Yesterday we talked about creating a ten year vision plan and then writing it by hand, daily, as I have been doing as a part of my daily writing practice.

Writing is my both my anchor art and in a way, one of my deepest, most long term ongoing relationships. Because of that, I will be vulnerable and share a bit of writing on each vision here for my next ten blog posts.

My first vision/goal/intention is this:

I provide the world fuel for creativity, intentional connection, and purposeful passion to eradicate loneliness and depression.

Loneliness and I know each other more intimately than I often let on. As my mother wrote in my baby book, “Julie smiles all the time, even through tears!” as if that was a blessing – perhaps it was/is – yet in a way I fought against loneliness so much it has had a tendency to suck me back in if I am not mindful or if there is so much happening outside of me I surrender (and not in a good, conscious, empowered way.)

That was, perhaps, the first connection between loneliness and me. My first baby brother was born when I was thirteen-months-old. I was still a baby myself and he had a unique gift that was, I imagine, more than distracting for my parents.

My beloved brother, his name was John, was born with Down’s syndrome. I can only imagine how it rocked my parents, even though “the river denial” flows strongly through our family constellation, too.

My guess is a part of little-baby-not-yet-walking-me surrendered to my brother’s higher needs and that became a lifelong pattern. I am crying as I write this, so I know I am onto something.

When John and I were both preschoolers, we were inseparable companions. He never had the best verbal skills, so we had a silent language that spanned space – after we grew up and lived distances apart, he and I were still able to communicate. This came into play when he was hospitalized before he died.

60% of Americans (or more) experience loneliness on a regular basis. Imagine with me how much better life would be for that group of people if they didn’t feel loneliness anymore.

Studies have found that loneliness leads to illness and absenteeism from work. It leads to mental health problems, it leads to economic instability and job loss. For children it leads to lower grades, it leads to students being shunned and left out. To minimize some of this fires me up from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.

There is an indelible loneliness that comes from not speaking up about what is most significant and having the desire but the inability to say what is so. Taking it further, there is an unforgettable sense of hopelessness that comes from speaking into a void, where no one hears and furthermore no one seems to care.

The vision I created for ten years in the future is also alive today.

How I fulfill it now is multifold.

I am in the process of rebirthing my newsletter mailing list because so many people have asked for it and I am finally ready to show up for it again.

I am remembering a woman from Australia who once wrote to me about the newsletter I used to publish and how during a time of grief and loss and loneliness, the fact I showed up via my newsletter in her email box gave her a sense of encouragement, even though I wasn’t writing about grief and loss, I was writing about passion and purpose and life and telling stories – asking questions – creating a space that said “You care, you matter, I’m grateful for your presence” even though I didn’t know or realize she was reading there was that sense, in the words in my newsletter – I was with her. Loneliness lessened.

I am creating in-person programs and events that incorporate story sharing, intention and connection so people may practice speaking up and being heard and then following up with the people they meet in the groups. Loneliness lessened via intentional connection and stretching comfort zones.

I am continuing to create and am simultaneously expanding online (via zoom and groups) spaces for people to connect intentionally to practice being seen and heard and growing purposefully, with passion using a variety of creative processes including creating social media presences based on passion and according to purpose rather than shoulds or lacks or “because so-and-so said this would be good.” Loneliness lessened via connection with oneself and with others, mindfully.

By writing my list of all ten every day and then focusing on a specific goal that leads me toward realizing my vision, I am fueling the world and myself. I don’t remember when I felt this good as consistently as I have in the recent past.

I provide the world fuel for creativity, intentional connection, and purposeful passion to eradicate loneliness and depression.

To begin to eradicate loneliness and make people feel excited about life, connected deeply to themselves and others fires me up from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.

I smile ear-to-ear when I think of the lives that have been changed and are changing and will change into the future because of the simplicity of intentional connection, reflection and direction through coaching, workshops, videos and more.

What makes you smile ear to ear? How might you make what you are excited about into a part of your vision for tomorrow, next week, next month or all of it, including ten years in the future?

How One Small Shift Lead to a Powerful, Continual Result

January 26, 2020 by jjscreativelifemidwife 6 Comments

One of the most recent changes to my daily writing practice is to include writing by hand the ten-year-vision statement I created for my ideal life in the future.

I think of my vision statement as a ten-year-plan that is similar to a written vision board.

Here’s another thought: I think it would be a great idea for you to try it, too.

Before you turn away, please hear me out. There are numerous reasons I thought making this vision plan sounded crazy. I collected even more reasons it was irrelevant and a stupid way to invest my precious time.

Ten years sounds like an extremely long time to someone who is my age. Seriously – I know how old I will be in ten years.
Ten years seems slightly outlandish considering I almost died a few months ago. Since then, I have been living much more day-to-day. I rarely commit to invitations more than a week in the future, much less a month or a season or a year away.
I’ve spent the last ten years focused very intensely on educational advocacy, especially for my son, and caretaking for other people. I am way out of practice in “creating my dream” or “manifesting my heart’s desires” so doing an exercise like quickly got stamped in my head as ridiculous.

I did it anyway.

This simple yet visionary exercise has made a huge difference in my attitude and my confidence. I am feeling a shift into getting more done right now, today, in more than one aspect of my life. All because I took the time to think about what my life would be like, ideally, in ten years.

I realized as I wrote out my ten-year-vision, I was reconnecting to many of my past hopes and dreams, the ones I buried while I was focused on educational advocacy and serving others not in an intentional way but mostly because needs appeared and I leaped in.

It felt good to take out my old intentions, like rediscovering an old pair of jeans a size smaller than your usual size and they fit and you even look surprisingly good in them!

Here’s a suggestion for you, right now, to connect more with yourself in the here and now if the ten-year-vision feels like too much.

Consider a month from now. Just a month from now.

Consider what you have going on in your life, on your calendar.

Consider what you would most love to see on your calendar if you were living your ideal life.

One example of how this works is when I made a list of my ideal life and I wrote, “lunch with a friend at least once a month.” At the time it seemed like a huge stretch and then it became a lunch and a couple dinners and some coffee with all different friends.

I manifested that ideal and more.

So it doesn’t have to be huge at first.

If you had this as part of your ideal it would be one meal, shared this month. And when you go to that meal, be intentional with your friend.

Talk about subjects that matter to you. (If you would like guidance with that, check out the writing prompts on my blog or the Transformational Questions on my Instagram account and use them to launch into conversational topics).

Maybe the person you would most like to take time with this month is yourself. You may do the same with yourself as I suggested with your friend. “Converse” through writing in your journal or writing a blog post or making a quick video. For the bold among us, I challenge you to make a 5 minute video and share it on facebook, Instagram or youtube or perhaps even go live.

One month from now, what do you want to look back and say, “I did that?” and “I felt that!” and “I am so grateful I did that and I felt that way.”

Julie JordanScott typing a love poem on the edge of a foothill of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Last night I didn’t feel, this morning I wrote…

January 25, 2020 by jjscreativelifemidwife 8 Comments

Last night I didn’t feel well, so I opted out of book club and then tossed and turned and kvetched the night away, shaking my fist at the new moon until I allowed her to hold me close.

This morning I wrote my 35^th haiku in thirty-five consecutive days. I haven’t left my porch yet. I continued with my morning writing practice and lit my candle in another new, sustaining ritual pointing towards intentional connection in all I do, make and live. I did this before I drank my first cup of coffee.

I don’t know what today will hold specifically and I have several distinctive containers – a toastmasters meeting and a book club meeting – for deliberate connections with people. As I wrote that sentence, it occurred to me I may take those appointments (before this I saw them as duties) as ways to truly see and hear specific people who also gather in these groups.

What I mean by “seeing and hearing specific people” is I will not only mindfully listen to people as they speak, I will also initiate conversations with people who may not be engaged – those who may be feeling left out or unimportant to others in the group.

When I show up this way it isn’t so much of a battle to get there, although I believe a shower is in order and I have yet to achieve that!

Why is this worthy of sharing on my blog?

It is worthy of sharing because our future is built on our everyday moments, our conscious intention or lack thereof. If we choose to stay focused on anger and disassociation from everyone who doesn’t think, feel, create and move through the day exactly as we do, we miss opportunities for surprise, delight and increased meaning and creativity.

What of this message today resonates with you?