Never was.

So who are you waiting for, sweet pea?

What are you postponing until
the right words spring
from the right mouth?

Screw it.

Set your own thermostat,
and bask in the flames.

You did it again. Or not. Again.

Did it wrong. Did it late. Didn’t.

Our human shame is swiftly triggered and deeply wired.

Primal. Ancient.

And while it might sometimes be useful in an evolutionary, survival-of-species sense, the amplification of such discomfort is of little help much of the time.

How about this, darling monkey: What if you received the pinch as a simple whisper?

A whisper that loves you dearly, and wishes you well.

A whisper to call in support, perhaps. From within or elsewhere.

A gentle reminder that there is yet more goodness in you.

A curious wiggle in the direction of your bestness.

Just a whisper.

Not of doom, but of possibility.

How about that?

Being ‘too generous’ means being taken advantage of, yes?

And that can only happen if we’re attached to a particular outcome.

And if we’re attached to a particular outcome, we’re not being generous – we’re being manipulative.

We can’t be too generous, if generous is what we’re really being.

So when you give – if you give – let it be with both hands.

Generosity doesn’t have one fist clenched behind its back.

You don’t need to attain, improve, practice,
win at, pay for, or be taught authenticity.

It was yours before, it’s yours now, and it always will be yours.

Relax, my love. You have no-one else to be.

]]> http://zenatplay.com/authentic/feed 0 http://zenatplay.com/creative-panic http://zenatplay.com/creative-panic#comments Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:37:09 +0000 Lisa Baldwin http://zenatplay.com/?p=1589 Creative panic: the moment at which whatever you’ve been working on – no matter how enamored you were just a moment before – suddenly appears to be pointless crap. Again. Oh gawd. Not again.

While artists might be especially sensitive to the drama of making, it is not ours, and we are not alone in it.

The drive to continue to make and do, despite the impossible, inevitable pointlessness of it all, is the thread that connects all human experience.

Creative panic is just a flat tyre on the tractor, a hammer blow to the thumb, a bucket of water spilling onto your freshly cleaned floor.

The tyre can be fixed. The thumb heals. The water is mopped up all over again.

It’s no big deal, really. Just part of the job.

And so I offer you this, in lieu of comfort:

Of course it’s pointless, my love. That’s the point.

Pick up your pencil anyway.

When I asked 23 glorious humans if they’d like to write a love note of encouragement to your glorious self, they said: Yes please!

So here it is, my lovely. Just for you. A gathering of wise, gentle nudges to remind you of your magnificence, your sense of possibility, your beauty and your truth.

Your notes of encouragement, smartness and truth come from:
Alexandra Franzen. Amanda Oaks. Chris Guillebeau. Chris Zydel. Danielle LaPorte. Darrah Parker. Dyana Valentine. Goddess Leonie. Fabeku Fatunmise. Heidi Fischbach. Hiro Boga. Jamie Ridler. Jen Louden. Julie Daley. Karen Maezen Miller. Kylie Springman. Leo Babauta. Marianne Elliott. Mark Silver. Susannah Conway. Tammy Strobel. Tara Gentile. Tara Sophia Mohr.

Download: 23 things you might not know about you

With love,
From us to you xo

This book is free to download – no hoop-jumping required. If you enjoy this offering, please do tell your lovely friends about it – there’s a good chance they’d enjoy some encouraging truths as well.

If you’d like more of this kind of big love delivered to your inbox, please go ahead and subscribe so I can send you more yum. Yum!

It could all go horribly wrong.

It’s daring, this thing you long to do. Unheard of in your own life.

Laden with risk. Crawling with goblins.

There are countless opportunities to tumble.

You could choose to not do it. That might keep you safe.

Not doing is always an option. Always.

But here’s a thought: what if you did the thing, with one condition?

I promise not to be an ass to myself if it all goes wrong.

Hmm? What then?

See also: Be a safe place to land.

The internet holds countless opportunities for disagreement. Bless it.

Watch in amazement as your buttons are pushed by wrong people all over the world.

Pinched. Tightened. Wound up.

Take a breath.

Who will be served by your outrage?

The world needs people who care – people who are willing to stand up.

But!

Direct engagement is not always useful.

I know, sweetheart. You want to do something, say something, right the wrong, set ‘em straight.

Sometimes that’s the thing to do.

Most times, all that big energy is better directed elsewhere.

Wash out your mouth with hope.

Amplify your love. Go make your art. Build stuff. For every grrr you read, link to ten hell yeahs. Point your world at what you do believe in.

Pollyanna? Head in the sand?

No, honey. This is discernment. Selective engagement.

In lieu of locking horns in small places, you might also like to:

Look for the hook. An oversized emotional response holds useful clues. Engage with your stuff. Let anger uncover your own concealed weapons. Dig deep.

Exercise your right to leave. Unsubscribe. Unfollow. Change the channel. Change the subject. Social media is not an endurance event.

Energy. Attention. Time.

These things are powerful. Fragile, too.

And when the lights come on at the end of the night, even the best arm wrestling match is still just two dudes in a bar.

Related goodness

Some wise and wonderful humans will be talking about self-care, mindfulness and social media on March 7. The call is free. I’m looking forward to it very much.

Making them. Carrying them. Doing things that require them.

Functional. Aspirational. Gone.

It’s an experiment, both loving and brutal. Yes.

Because I’m wondering what might happen if I stop piling things on the plate of my future self.

And I’m watching to see what I choose if I must choose in the moment.

Act or release. Now or maybe never.

Trusting the vital to float back to the surface – at the grocery store, in my work, and in my self.

I’m anticipating little deaths. These will make way for bigger life.

I list my life away, you see.

Maybe you do it, too.

Or maybe you practice some other form of  life-postponement and pretend it’s just organisation.

If that’s the case, I wrote this little list for you, my love. Carry it in your pocket if you wish:

live.

life.

now.

xo

When the rich pass proudly by
on big, smooth horses,
I feel foolish
riding my scrawny donkey.

I feel much better
when we overtake
a bundle of sticks
riding a bony man.

Wang Fan-Chih
(590-660)

Comparison. It’s really not helpful.

It hurts to compare and fall short.

Yet to come out ahead is to carry the same burden in a different pocket.

Ahead. Behind. Either way, hooked.

You are immense. Unstoppable. Exceptional.

You are insignificant. Fragile. Ordinary.

So are the people ahead and behind.

And it doesn’t even matter.

.