Creative Life Midwife

Inspiring Artistic Rebirth

Archives for September 2023

Day 1: Beyond the Ordinary 31 Days of (Self) Belonging

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Last week I said to one of the teachers at the school where I work, “This year my goal is to focus on creating a sense of belonging: both for the students and for me.”

I didn’t plan this conversation before the words sprang from my mouth.

As I heard myself give voice to what was asking to be explored it immediately started taking form.

I realized it was one of those soul things where the intention rises up from the mysterious depths within. I was reminded of almost twenty years ago when I set a goal on a website called 43things.com when I created a goal to “Honor My Son’s Uniqueness.”

Maybe it was time to honor my own uniqueness through using my experiences with belonging on a personal level. I knew this quarterly blogging challenge was coming up.

It seemed like the perfect opportunity and chose to honor this focus by taking steps to develop my personal concept of Self-Belonging and bring it to life.

Why is Self-Belonging Significant?

I remember in my junior year of high school my history teacher mentioned students in “The B Tier” – who don’t get validated for the wonderful people they are. He didn’t seem to realize how many of us were floundering in the C, D, E, K, L, V, Y and beyond.

In my adventures in Self-Belonging, I would say my level of self-acceptance has vacillated over my life history. Researcher Brene Brown tells us belonging begins with self-acceptance.

At some point between when my history teacher talked about “The B Tier” and I thought “I must be on the T or V Tier” and today, my self-acceptance may have fallen way off the radar. To use a metaphor, my self-acceptance may be what Pluto is to our solar system.

Pluto is no longer a planet. At my age and with my experiences, perhaps I inadvertently rendered self-acceptance irrelevant. No longer something to even consider.

Is Self-Acceptance Difficult for Other People?

Another surprising thing was listening to women at a California Women’s leadership conference – hearing the insecurities of the upper echelon of our society – admired by many – who also spoke in clips and phrases that said they also don’t feel a sense of high self-worth or a sense of belonging, either.

I had recently experienced the death of my mother and a very messy (for me) aftermath which I won’t go into right now. I can only do so much vulnerable sharing at once. (If I was speaking, this is where I would attempt to stifle an uncomfortable laugh.)

Amidst all of this thought and quite a bit of journaling and reflection, I heard we had 100 Days left of 2023.

Here and Now: 91 More Days of 2023

During the 31 Days of October, we will focus on self-belonging as a means to leading a more satisfying life. My intention is you will glean a new understanding of yourself and others from a mindful consideration of what I offer here.

The posts will not be lengthy, they will be meaningful, vulnerable and transparent. They may challenge your thought – which I believe is good. That means we’re growing.

Finally, I am grateful you are reading. I look forward to seeing how this month unfolds for each and all of us.

Julie Jordan Scott is a multi-passionate creative who has served people worldwide as a creative life coach, an inspiring voice in the darkness and a presence in her writing, creativity and teaching in workshops, webinars, group facilitation and more. 

Watch this space for more as the month unfolds.

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From Nightmare to a Small and Mighty Action that Made a Big Difference

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As the day wore on yesterday, I got more fussy and cranky. I was planning to go to a poetry event in Newton and instead of not going because I was fussy and cranky, I showed up anyway. I was not my sometimes ebullient self AND I showed up. WIN!

I have been having challenges staying asleep, so I did the entirely wrong thing by procrastinating even going upstairs until way after my preferred time. I went to sleep late and my sleep was interrupted because I thought a war had broken out in Sussex Borough and tanks were rolling down Unionville Avenue shooting recklessly at the homes and churches and were headed to the (tiny) downtown. WHERE WAS MY PROTECTION! Then I remembered: this is what the thunder and lightning of my childhood felt like. 

No wonder I ran away crying from “lightning bugs” aka fireflies.

When I woke up later than I like, I decided I needed something different. I had planned to go for my morning walk – which I did very briefly and then…. I decided to experiment with my morning roll over and write and instead, make it roll over and walk, write outside after the walk. This was nothing short of miraculous. Sitting in the rocking chair with my journal and writing for only about five minutes made me feel completely refreshed – and this was even before coffee!

I wrote longer than I might have made it AND it warms my spirit  to share these moments in time with you.

I went from being grouchy to having a nightmare and being grouchy to taking a simple action that shifted everything.

Is there an action you might take, no matter how small, that has the power to make a big difference in your attitude right now?

A five minute walk might become your miracle (or a five minute brain dump session or a quick phone call to a dear friend or a 15 minute cup of tea gazing out the window.)

Let me know in the comments (or send me a direct message) to let me know what tiny and meaningful action you are willing to take in the next 24 hours to may make a big difference in your life now.

Julie JordanScott is a Creative Life Coach, an award-winning storyteller, actor and poet whose photos and mixed media art graces the walls of collectors across the United States. Her writing has appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List, the Amazon best sellers list and on American Greetings Holiday cards (and other greeting cards). She currently lives in a manse in Sussex, NJ, where she has recently finished her most recent book project, hugging trees daily and enjoys having random inspirational conversations with strangers.

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Let our Words Flow Writing Community: the only one missing is you! Join us in the Private Writing Group

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Trust: Building a Life, One Step at a Time

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On an almost autumn morning last year I came downstairs to my home office and started tidying the desk. I heard a weird sound from outside. Was it Wally, my housemate who some of you might call a pesky woodchuck or groundhog?

I lifted the curtain and there was no Wally in sight and the sound stopped so I put the curtain down and the sound came back.

I gazed out the front window and saw one of the neighborhood wild turkeys marching through the front yard. I haven’t named them yet. I raced to the front door so I could get a clear photo without the window screen getting in the way but by then the turkey was on to my exuberance and he had one again, moved out of sight.

I wondered, “What has happened to make the manse more fairy-tale-like with all these wild animals showing up and hanging out with me?”

I have always heard the geese fly by with their morning greetings. These new friends just keep making everything feel even more magical than it already did.

My affirmation for today comes from Teresa of Avila:

“I trust I am exactly where I am meant to be.” This continues to hold true, even a year later.

Even after a number of occurrences that didn’t seem like they were on the bright side.

I persevered and I trusted. I trusted I was in the right place, ground hogs and all.

Julie JordanScott Comeback Crone Creative Life Midwife

Julie JordanScott is a Creative Life Coach, an award-winning storyteller, actor and poet whose photos and mixed media art graces the walls of collectors across the United States. Her writing has appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List, the Amazon best sellers list and on American Greetings Holiday cards (and other greeting cards). She currently lives in a manse in Sussex, NJ, where she has recently finished her most recent book project, hugging trees daily and enjoys having random inspirational conversations with strangers.

Follow on Instagram to Watch exclusive reels, videos, stories and posts about writing and the creative process.

Let our Words Flow Writing Community: the only one missing is you! Join us in the Private Writing Group

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That Didn’t Work Out Like I Planned

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Otherwise known as THE JOY OF MAKING MISTAKES IN PUBLIC

Is there some sort of an award for mistake prone folks?

I attempted to schedule a blog post today and failed. The blog post posted, but the content had “September 17” on it and talked about the break I was taking which started the end of last week and will end two weeks from now.

Why is making mistakes so easy?

Here’s the thing: I could have pranced around angrily but instead I decided to allow it to stay there. The mistake. Public facing, big mess up and this, my friends, is an attempt to actually schedule the blog post (which will now be this one) on September 17.

Wish me well.

PS – If this turns into a mistake, I will delete it. 🙂

Woman (Julie Jordan Scott Julie JordanScott) seeming to burst through a broken wall on an abandoned home.

Julie JordanScott is a Creative Life Coach, an award-winning storyteller, actor and poet whose photos and mixed media art graces the walls of collectors across the United States. Her writing has appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List, the Amazon best sellers list and on American Greetings Holiday cards (and other greeting cards). She currently lives in a manse in Sussex, NJ, where she has recently finished her most recent book project, hugging trees daily and enjoys having random inspirational conversations with strangers.

Follow on Instagram to Watch exclusive reels, videos, stories and posts about writing and the creative process.

Let our Words Flow Writing Community: the only one missing is you! Join us in the Private Writing Group by clicking here.

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Lesson Gratefully Learned: The Freedom of Boundaries

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I am a week into my period of self-imposed isolation, though I popped onto twitter last night to make one post. This mindful experience of boundaries is different than when I miss out on social media because life is frantic and I can’t post because of a lack of time.

This “I have time but I am purposefully disconnecting” as a conscious choice feels better and it is still strange… different… not what I would have expected.

Sometimes when I have known people to disengage from social media I have questioned their rationale. Some people feel disdain for social media, like it is an enemy or something to conquer. I have always seen social media as another point of connection, not a tool of influence or something I must do, I see it as something I choose to do like choosing to open a gift or not open a gift. 

Allowing those words to appear on my keyboard allows me to see my choice differently. The meaning speaks to me in a deeper, more interesting way.

I initially chose this dark period  (that is the theater term for when there is no production scheduled during a certain period of time.) as a way to minimize the possibility of experiencing more pain than I have the bandwidth for, with this being my first week back at school while grieving the death of my mother. I didn’t know how I would feel, I didn’t know how crushing (or not) my emotions would be.

I didn’t see this time of quiet as a gift to myself, I saw it as an exercise in strength because I receive a lot of energy from hearing your voices reflect back to me in your comments and interactions with me. By choosing to go dark it meant I was taking away the energetic exchange from you to me as well as from me to you. 

A week into the dark period and two days into the school year, I am above fair-to-middling. I am in a space where I can remind myself to smile as I walk around campus, for example. I was able to make a new friend yesterday – the school librarian! Such a natural! I haven’t cried publicly which is good. I have agreed to sing the solo on church on Sunday I was rehearsing the morning I got the call Mom had died which I was scheduled to sing the week she died.

I am taking gentle risks, allowing myself to roll out the soft landing repeatedly without rush or shouldas or if onlys.

As I am writing this I have ten more days to go. In real time when you are reading this, I am probably back. 🙂

I am, as always, grateful you are here, reading.

Julie JordanScott is a Creative Life Coach, an award-winning storyteller, actor and poet whose photos and mixed media art graces the walls of collectors across the United States. Her writing has appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List, the Amazon best sellers list and on American Greetings Holiday cards (and other greeting cards). She currently lives in a manse in Sussex, NJ, where she has recently finished her most recent book project, hugging trees daily and enjoys having random inspirational conversations with strangers.

Follow on Instagram to Watch exclusive reels, videos, stories and posts about writing and the creative process.

Let our Words Flow Writing Community: the only one missing is you! Join us in the Private Writing Group by clicking here.

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Good Morning, Love: September 17, 2023

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I have been away, on purpose, for more than two weeks. It has been profound and strange. Profoundly strange, sort of like me. More than sort of like me.

A year ago my musings sounded like this:

Today’s sunrise was glorious here in Bakersfield. As I drove from the house-sitting gig to my home office I was stunned repeatedly by the extraordinary-ordinary beauty.

My favorite moment was (don’t judge) I was at a red light, and I wanted to take a short video of the ordinary beauty unfolding before me. There was a billboard blocking part of the view and I decided to just be patient – holding my phone low to video when I spotted a Bakersfield Police Department officer pull up two lanes over from me.

I laughed because I was thinking about creative blocks and fear and boom. I could have been in deep, expensive trouble and instead, I slowly lowered my camera and my creative endeavors and laughed from deep in my belly that I was actually paying close attention albeit in a different way.

This morning, a year later, I walked on the front porch of the manse in my stocking feet to take a photo of the cloudy horizon when the sun had not yet made her way up quite yet.

I was busy at work, even then, and preparing for the school year to begin tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will be back on Social Media, posting again – and grateful to have had this time to be fully with myself again.

Turns out I really needed the quiet.

Good morning, Love.

Julie JordanScott is a Creative Life Coach, an award-winning storyteller, actor and poet whose photos and mixed media art graces the walls of collectors across the United States. Her writing has appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List, the Amazon best sellers list and on American Greetings Holiday cards (and other greeting cards). She currently lives in a manse in Sussex, NJ, where she has recently finished her most recent book project, hugging trees daily and enjoys having random inspirational conversations with strangers.

Follow on Instagram to Watch exclusive reels, videos, stories and posts about writing and the creative process.

Let our Words Flow Writing Community: the only one missing is you! Join us in the Private Writing Group by clicking here.

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