Cafe Wisdom

One of the simple ways I am renewing life these days is being a member of Jennifer Louden’s membership site, the Comfort Cafe.  I’m a Cafer.  One of the treats we enjoy each month is a WisdomCast, a conversation by telephone with a guest speaker.  Lisa Sonora Beam, the author of The Creative Entrepreneur, joined us yesterday. 

One of my favorite parts of the conversation was when Lisa said something like this:

“If you have [creative] blocks, do something with them.  They are just like wooden blocks a child would play with.  You can grow and learn from them.  [Being blocked] is a process, not something to get over.  Creativity is a relationship you have with yourself.  How would you be a good mother to your child?  Treat your creativity that way.  It will inform you; it’s coming from your heart and soul.  Find processes to dialogue with it.”

Isn’t this refreshing?  So how would I mother my blocks, my creative processes, if they were my son?  I would take deep breaths, I would listen for messages behind the obvious, I would lean into my intuitive hits around what to do next.  Of course, in the dailyness of mothering these responses don’t happen automatically, all the time, for me.  It takes me being mindful…and often giving grace to circle back when I get myself off track.  It takes checking in with others for perspective and encouragement.  It takes trusting the process of healthy development.  It takes always coming back to my intention:  choosing love and trust over fear and frustration.

My creative process these days is asking me to feed it, to rest with it, to explore with it.  To trust it.  Where are you in relationship to your creativity?

If you want to check out the Comfort Cafe membership, sign up this week for Jennifer Louden’s newsletter here.  She’ll be giving away five tastes of the Cafe this week for new readers so sign up soon!  Tell her your friendly Cafer sent ya!