Days 2 & 3

Okay, so Days 2 & 3 were quite different from the first and quite different from each other. Perhaps is was the change in scenery, perhaps it was my change in mood but this challenge was definitely not what I expected and perhaps a bit too ambitious, but fun none-the-less. So here is what occurred.

Day 2:

I realized that once you open up the flood gates of creativity it's AMAZING what just begins to flow! While Day one felt like pulling teeth and gave me a headache, Day 2 was just like non-stop creative mental vomit onto the page. If I took a nap, I'd wake up with twelve new ideas. If I saw a street sign that would spur five new book titles and on and on the day went. It was absolutely great. It's amazing how little of our brain we actually use but when you force/challenge yourself to use more of it, it is completely receptive and it's so ready to come alive after so many years of non-use. I was on a big high all day and these are the things I came up with. (Now are these all award-winning ideas? Of course not, but I can say it's more than what I've come up with in the last three years, and that's a great start!)

Carlos the collector

Flowers Bloom and Bridges Collapse
Point me in the direction of the sun and I will be reborn.

Marriage is about listening when you don't want to and laughing
because you have to.

Blood is a funny thing. It can tell you so much about a person. It can
control what you decide to do next. It can save your life. The wrong
kind can kill you.

Inspired by my friend Maria:
When struck by a crippling illness I for one am of the opinion that
words speak louder than actions because one cannot do much of anything
and we find strength in being able to speak out about our pain.

Title of my next chapbook: Volcanic Eruptions.

Title for memoir I may never finish: Lying Dormant

Where this all came from? Believing that while I may be still on the
outside deep within I am brewing words and thoughts that will soon
erupt and change everything i touch. And my ash will turn into
beautiful collectable rocks you will want to take home with you and
stare at everyday.

If you open your eyes long enough to see yourself you may be surprised
at everything you find.

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Now, Day 3 was NOT as creatively productive. I don't know if it was the weather (which threw my body into soreness, achyness and just an overall bad mood) or the fact that I'm in San Antonio visiting family and that consumed my day. BUT Day 3 of the challenge provided me with NO creative one-liners. And mind you, I DID attempt. I would look at my Iphone and think, and think and then get restless after about 30 seconds, so I'd avoid FB all together, put the phone down and go do something else. Something less mental.

Now, although I didn't have one liners I did spend the morning of Day 3 drafting my 3rd children's book. So perhaps that is where all my creative energies went. And you know, now that I think of it, maybe it was an exercise in growth. Because Day I had many short one liners and names and titles, as you can see by Day 2 I had longer thoughts, more complicated ideas, and on Day 3 I was able to write a book! (A short 3 page children's book) but a book none-the-less and I fleshed out one of the ideas I had on Day 1. So I guess I'm more successful than I was originally giving myself credit for! (Woo hoo, I love epiphanies at 9am) :)

Ok, so if you were skeptical of my challenge at first, now I am living proof of what channeling your Facebook efforts elsewhere can do for your creative exploits. So, give it a try, don't be afraid to fail because the worst that can happen is you'll have a few useless and few great ideas for that thing you've been putting off or too afraid to tackle.

Be Still and Be Well my friends! And don't forget to challenge yourself every once in awhile, you'll be amazed at what you can do.

Jas