Vincent Van Gogh, The Digger, 1881

The title of this post comes from a review of a book on creativity by novelist Steven Pressfield called Do The Work.  This piece reminded me that one of the many myths about creativity is that you need to wait for inspiration to descend upon you in order to be creative.  Those who believe that’s true often assume that creativity is a matter of genetics or luck, and often feel powerless as a result:  Got writer’s block?  Grin and bear it (or maybe catch up on back episodes of  Real Housewives) until your muse reappears.  Well, nothing could be further from the truth.  Study the lives of the great masters of art, and you’ll discover that they all share a particular skill:  DISCIPLINE.  That’s right!  Creativity depends as much on discipline as it does on talent.  Whether you are an artist, musician, crafter, businessperson, or someone who wants to change your life, discipline is essential.  When we are disciplined, we:

·        Are able to quickly return ourselves to the task at hand if distracted

·        Recover quickly from disappointment and failure

·        Adopt habits that help us work consistently and effectively.

·        Stay engaged in the task at hand for as long as we need to.

·        Hold ourselves accountable for following through on actions to which we are committed.

No artist can reach her highest potential without discipline.  None of us can live lives of highest purpose and meaning without discipline.   So if you don’t feel like doing what it takes to move your [work, project, life] forward, do it anyway.

P.S.  If you are curious about why I included the Van Gogh drawing in this message, reply to the post, and I’ll be happy to explain !

Creatively yours,

Kathy

I never knew Laura personally, but my daughter Erin shared many things in common with Laura.  Both were talented and humorous military wives and bloggers who enjoyed connecting to each other frequently over the last few years.   One of Erin’s best friends was Story, who knew Laura personally from their mutual time at Fort Drum (worst place in US to live.)

Laura and Matt Gillette on their wedding day

Erin and Laura shared a similar trajectory:  Both had brilliant husbands who graduated from West Point only a few years apart.  Both undoubtedly had similar dreams—to be the heart of a family where children could grow and bloom, making an invaluable contribution to their communities, country and the world.

When you marry a military guy, you worry about whether the love of your live will return from deployment with life, limbs, and mental function intact.  As a military wife, you never think about your own health and well-being.  Erin suffered through her husband’s two painfully extended stints in Iraq, plus multiple Special Forces deployments that we can’t discuss.  But I’m sure Erin never imagined the scenario that Laura and her family have bravely endured in the last year.

On October 1, 2011, Erin safely delivered her second child.  Her husband Doug, an Army Captain (like Laura’s husband Matt), had the good fortune to both serve his country and enjoy his children.  Erin and Doug have the incalculable blessing of their young healthy family.  It hasn’t been easy for them. Both pregnancies were complicated.  This round, Erin almost delivered prematurely at 23 weeks—which would have been an unsurvivable birth. But miraculously, Erin and Doug now have 2 healthy kids.  Laura and Matt won’t have that blessing.  Yet somehow, in the path that Laura and Matt have been given, there are incalculable gifts.

It will take Laura’s family and friends many years to recognize the small blessings that now seem overwhelmed by the grief of their loss.  I have no words of wisdom.  I can provide no comfort to Laura’s family and friends.  There seems to be no grand plan or justification for why someone with Laura’s gifts, love, humor, and sparkle should be ripped from her family/friends and the world so prematurely.

I only know that Laura’s mission is not over.  We don’t have the details yet.  She may be physically apart from us, but she is as vibrant as ever.  It will take time to discern how she is going to have the most “insane” positive impact on our world.

As a military parent, I send all my love to you, Gary and Leslie.  We do not choose our childrens’ path, but if we are lucky, we understand why our daughters fall in love with their military husbands.  And in the end, that is a gift.

A footnote to whoever may be reading this:  As soon as I heard about Laura’s journey, I decided to register with the bone marrow registry that Laura had promoted so many times in her blog. Unfortunately I learned that people who are 60+ are ineligible. That includes me (at almost 62.)  So, if you want to do something that would make Laura very happy, don’t delay:  Sign up to be a bone marrow donor.  And if you have the opportunity to save someone’s life because you are a strong match, don’t wimp out.  If you have information that the best odds for saving someone’s life is to let the docs harvest cells directly from your bone marrow, go for it.  There are less invasive ways to contribute stem cells.  We will never know the impact of Laura’s donor’s decision to opt for more comfortable–but perhaps less effective- way to donate.  But really:  If you have an opportunity to save a life—do whatever will create the most favorable odds for the bone marrow recipient.  How can you compare your very short term pain with the increased odds of survival if you are a good match for someone who needs a bone marrow transplant?  And—if you are like me—too old to be a donor—send as much money as you can to support bone marrow transplantation.  I feel bad that this may be the only way I can contribute.  But at least I can contribute financially.

Love, prayers, and the support of a military parent. xoxo-k

Kathy Jordan

If you work for a business in the US, your employer deducts taxes from your paycheck, so most people end up either not owing any additional taxes, or getting a refund when more taxes have been deducted than they owe.  But independent business owners, such as Reiki practitioners, writers, consultants and other freelancers, are responsible for estimating how much tax they owe and making payments to the US Internal Revenue Service throughout the tax year.  This can be a very imprecise process, since for solo practitioners, income can vary substantially from year to year.   If you’re fortunate to make a lot more money in the current year than the last, you may end up owing a lot more taxes than you were prepared for.   Of course there are ways to avoid being blind-sided by unexpected taxes—such as hiring a good accountant to keep you on track throughout the year.

After a few rocky financial years (2008-2009), a combined result of inattention to finances and a global recession, I finally admitted that financial management is not my strong suit, and engaged the services of several financial professionals, including a business manager (my incredibly talented sister Dottie) who keeps my finances in order throughout the year, and a certified public accountant (CPA) who does the final assessment of my tax status and prepares my annual business and personal tax returns.

Having taken these measures in late 2009, I felt I was finally on the right track.  I was paying estimated taxes on time (something I had not consistently done in the past) and I had financial experts in my corner to keep me from going astray.  I was set.  I was in good shape.  Or so I thought.

At the beginning of March 2011, when it was time to start work on my 2010 business and personal tax returns, my sister Dottie began the organization of my tax records by reviewing my tax returns from the previous year.  I got an unexpected call from her.  In the gentlest voice possible, Dottie told me that my CPA had not reported $15,000 of my business income for 2009.  I was upset.  There was a huge lump in the pit of my stomach.  I immediately descended into fear mode.  Would the IRS go after me for a fraudulent return (a punishable crime in the US)?  How much in additional taxes plus penalties would I owe for 2009?  And could I even pay what I thought I would owe for 2010 taxes?  Would I have to raid my retirement account to pay my taxes?

If it hadn’t been for Reiki (a Japanese mind/body healing modality), I might have lost my mind.  I mobilized one of the original Reiki meditations:   Deep breath into the belly.  Then deep breath out into the space surrounding me, focusing on the pure experience of that energy, such that worry was impossible.  I also mobilized the habit of frequently whispering a traditional Reiki precept to myself:  “Do not worry.  Fear is a distraction.”

Focusing on this precept gave me the clarity to quickly hire a different CPA, and move forward to correct tax reporting errors of the past.

I’d be lying if I said that Reiki practice eliminated all concern or worry.  But whenever I did find myself feeling discouraged or anxious about my taxes, I spent a few minutes reciting the precept “Do not worry…”  And I also made sure to spend at least 10 minutes several times a day practicing the most basic Japanese Reiki meditation Joshin Kokyu Ho.  In this meditation, one focuses on the breath, feeling energy coming in via one’s breath deep down into one’s abdomen.  On the out breath, one feels energy expand out of one’s body, not just through the mouth, but through all the pores of one’s skin.  When one is fully engaged in this meditation, it’s impossible to worry.

Joshin Kokyu Ho can’t be found anywhere on the US Internal Revenue Service website.  Your accountant will never recommend it as a tax preparation strategy.  But this powerful Reiki meditation could very well be the most important part of your tax preparation process.  It certainly was for me.

Postscript: After all my worry, and all my work to dispel fear, it turned out that I owed only an additional $425 in 2009 taxes, and only an additional $1500 in 2010 taxes beyond what I had estimated and already paid.  That’s not trivial, but it meant I could pay additional taxes out of normal savings, and that my crazy fantasy about needing to gut my retirement savings to pay taxes was completely off the mark.  For me it was a lesson about the wisdom of the precept “Do not worry…”  The precept teaches us that not only is fear a distraction, but more often than not, it is unwarranted.

 Online PR News – 09-April-2011 –Piano lessons … so many adults would love to play piano. For many, that dream faded away with work, having children, and a life filled with things to do.

But not anymore. At least not according to online piano teacher Edward Weiss.

Weiss, a pianist, composer, and bestselling author, has a ’new age’ way for people to learn piano. For those who don’t know what that means, Weiss explains:

 “New Age music is much more than what most people think. First, it’s easy to get started playing it. Just a few chords and a bit of instruction and students are able to create something that sounds like music – usually on their first attempt. And secondly, it’s a very soothing, relaxing style to play in.”

The course Weiss teaches online now has over 100 lessons. Titles like “Reflections in Water” and “Summer Morning” abound as students learn how to improvise and compose their own music. Students are first introduced to something called the open position chord – a structure that allows for both hands to play together.

Students also have access to a message board and a special email address where they can communicate with Weiss.

When asked if learning how to play piano online is doable, Weiss remarks:

“Absolutely. We now have video and that changes the game. The lessons are explained in detail first and then it’s demonstration time. Students see what I’m doing and then use that as a springboard for their own creations.”

A free piano lesson ‘Summer Morning’ and book ‘Free to be Creative at the Piano’ are available at Weiss’s website at http://www.quiescencemusic.com

There are careers or activities I’m drawn to, that I’ve dismissed on grounds that I’m too old…Now these two reminders that there is no age limit to creativity, and no excuse for not doing what’s in your heart to pursue.  What potential passion have you ruled out?  How might you bring it into your life now?

Not that I’ve been procrastinating

I had an hour phone conference with a client, followed by a radio interview about my book Becoming a Life Change Artist.

Then I was hungry, having skipped breakfast.  Definitely had to eat.  No, not procrastinating at all.  That first step, even into something as minor as a blog post, can be overwhelming.

Given my physical stride, a thousand miles is about 2 million steps.  Why is it so hard to take only one?

It isn’t that I’m not moving at all. In fact, I’m very busy taking steps—though on another path.  I’m moving steadily on the path of the known, the familiar, and the vaguely unsatisfying.  I’m doing what I’ve been doing for quite awhile.  Staying safe.  Keeping myself so busy on the well-traveled path, that I’m unwilling or afraid to venture off the beaten path (cliché alert!) to move in a direction more closely aligned with my true purpose.

How can I help others in the way I feel called to serve, if I’m not willing to take that first step?

How much time would it take to change direction?  A moment? A minute?

How risky is that one new step? If I took one step on a new path, could I change my mind and scurry back to the well-worn path of my life as I know it—despite its discontents?

What is one step I could take?  Today. Now. To move me toward my thousand mile journey of helping others heal–helping others express themselves more creatively.  As I reflect, I realize all I need to do today to change my trajectory is to make a phone call.  One call.  Ten minutes.  One step.   I need a working space for my new Reiki practice.  There is vacant space in an office complex nearby.  I have the number of the property manager.  I can make this call.  It’s just a phone call, not a thousand mile trek.  Do I have the courage to make that call?

Do you have the will to take one small step toward your best future?  What would that be?

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Daisy is a writer who always motivates me with her creativity and warmth.  Daisy just celebrated the first anniversary of Sunny Room Studio, and I’m happy to celebrate with her.  As you’ll see, I ended up writing about something different than planned.  Life is like that sometimes most of the time.

Heidi, Ardith and Elsie, please use my blog’s contact form to send me your street address and the book will soon be on its way to you.  Enjoy!