Welcome fellow creative types! (and that includes painters, cooks, problem solvers, potters, website designers, musicians, jewelers, carvers, writers, dancers, and etcetera covers all the others I didn’t have room for)

It’s “take out the trash” month for your life as you currently know it! In Western culture, we are encouraged to be positive, no matter what is going on, to see the bright side, celebrate what we’ve learned, and look for the silver lining. Perhaps we even feel a little guilty when we indulge in something that could be construed as ‘negative.’ So let’s be naughty and walk on the negative side for a bit. And since most of us love to make lists so we can stop thinking about some things and move on to thinking about others, I invite you to examine a list of things to make lists from that will help you to clear the debris out of the old head-attic.  If you want a clear vision of what is truly essential in your world, set aside time to squirrel away somewhere free of distractions, with pencil, eraser and paper, and work through this list. (And don’t worry about the ‘how’ at this point, just write it down.) You’ll possibly see your life differently.

• What don’t you want in your life?
• What don’t you want as a part of your daily routine?
• What don’t you want to have to do to make time for creativity?
• What aren’t you willing to give up in order to have what you want?
• What aren’t you willing to compromise for your vision?
• What ‘time eaters’ are you not willing to engage with every day? (ie: Twitter, emails from people and organizations you’re not truly interested in, Facebook, getting-to-know-you luncheons, etc.)
• What aren’t you sure of when it comes to your creative dreams?
• What aren’t you making a priority?

Whew! That was a lot to ponder. And granted, some of those things need doing, and who will do them if we all stop doing what we don’t love to do?  Will our partners pick up where we leave off? How long are their “don’t want” lists?

I’m not suggesting that you must immediately quit doing everything on your lists; but just the act of writing these things down is a form of intention-setting. When you set the intention that something will change, things happen. Your perspective shifts. Your body chemistry alters slightly. The Universe listens. And magic happens.

Now, let’s say “yes” to some things:

• What are you deeply passionate about?
• What are you genetically encoded for….in other words, what activities do you feel “made to do”?
• What makes economic sense…. at what can you make a part of or all of your living?

Doing this exercise, especially at a time of the year when resolutions are being made, has helped me to feel more organized inside. I hope it has helped you too.

Yours in new beginnings,  Terrea Bennett

“The mystery of the soul is like that of a closed door. When you open it, you see something which was not there before.”  ~Oskar Kokoschka~

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