Today is Blog Action Day and this year’s theme is “The Power of We”.  So I made up this little ditty.

 

Why is there power in US more than I?

Together WE help, together WE try

THEM becomes US, YOU becomes I

A world of MEs cared for when WE meet their cry.

The best thing about blogging and using social media? I can make a difference with YOU.

Together…

WE helped to create a microfinance project for impoverished women in the Philippines.

WE raised funds last Frocktober for Ovarian Cancer Research.

WE created a book to raise funds for Variety Children’s Charity.

WE helped Mama Lucy build a school in Tanzania.

YOU rock.

Really, you do. There are some really generous people in the world. Every tweet, post, share and donation helps. I think you’re awesome.

WE can do even greater things for World Vision Australia…in particular the West African Food Crisis.  I’m thinking…maybe an AMAZING creative ebook (or something!) this year? But I’d love to hear your ideas. Would you like to be involved? How would you like to contribute? Could you share words or pictures? Expertise? A prize?

What can you do?

I’d love to hear your ideas on how we can make a big difference in the next few months for the West Africa Food Crisis Appeal.  You can also read posts by the other World Vision Blogger Ambassadors that are joining in our Blog Action Day Linkup below. You can tweet or share it on Facebook using  #BAD12 and #WVbloggers. If you have the capacity or desire, you may like to sponsor a child, or donate to the West Africa Food Crisis Appeal.  Or just drop a comment of support and tell me if you believe in the power of we?

Some days, you just need to make a daisy chain.

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This video sums it up just about perfectly

1. We need to acknowledge one another. It’s good for us.

2. It’s good to just get into the zone. A creative zone. Lost in the moment. It’s creative.

3. Pay attention. Often that means paying attention to the person and moment right in front of you. It’s life-changing.

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A few times this week, during school holidays, we ventured to a local park for unplanned play. Yes, I took out my phone to capture a few of the special moments. Yes, I may have checked my emails in the hectic lead-up to ProBlogger Event next week, my mind racing with all the details. But for the most part, I just enjoyed watching my boys construct a cubbyhouse out of grass and sticks. I noticed how they instinctively lay on the deck and discovered creatures in cloud-shapes. How, once they were out of the house and away from technology, they sprinted from one side of the park to the other with a stick in a self-organised relay run.

I put down my phone and began to make a daisy chain. My children asked me to remind them how to make one. My nine year old sat in the sunshine and strung daisies together, eventually creating a crown for me. He placed it on my head and they called me the queen of their cubby. Elated, we came home to plant some basil and parsley together. Later on that night he told me, about school holidays… “This is natural. Life is an adventure.”

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Creativity happens in these moments. We reconnect with one another. With life.

Creativity should be an adventure.

Just like life.

On significant birthdays

Grateful

Happy

Reflective

Stronger

Relaxed

Purposeful

Creative

Play

You know the feeling…you begin a creative project only to find life gets in the way, or something else comes up?

Case in point: this year, I started life drawing lessons. I spent two terms enjoying my weekly drive to the country and time to nurture the creative side of myself. I set myself a goal of at least joining in the group for one year. My drawing improved. I met some wonderfully artistic people. Then two things happened.

The class was cancelled.

I took on some extra work.

The reason the class was cancelled…well at least put on hold for a term or two…was completely understandable. And in a way, I was relieved because, well, “life happened” and I ended up taking on some (interesting!) extra work, which means I technically have less time for creative pursuits.

Don’t stop creating. Keep on trying, even if it’s something new.

Now, I could beat myself up for not completing a creative project. But there’s no point in that, is there? Or I could join another life drawing class, if I really wanted to. But it wouldn’t be the same as the lovely little group meeting in the community house in the hills with their home made choc brownies. Oh, and the once-a-week online art project I mentioned earlier in the year? I didn’t submit something every week. But when I could, I did.

Life happens all the time. It gets in the way of being creative. Or so we tell ourselves.

See, I like to be creative. I’ve realised how much it energises me. I could say I’m too busy and tired to do anything outside of work, family and everyday life. But when I make the effort…I feel alive! I simply do what I can, when I can.

Embracing creative momentum.

I have a busy few months ahead. But I plan to be creative.

How? For starters, I’m spending an hour each week at the library, browsing through books which fire up my imagination. I’m joining in FatMumSlim’s photo a day challenge on Instagram…which issues a single theme for each day of the month, and being more considered about the photos I take. I’m listening to new music, walking more often, trying new recipes.  I’m using Evernote to capture ideas as they happen…so that, at some point, I can make my ideas happen!

Photo for today’s theme “Far Away,” holding some beloved and some borrowed books with tales told long ago, of places far away…

 But most of all….I’m determined to keep on creating.

Will you join me?

Perhaps as I am headed towards a significant birthday, I’ve recently been admiring many things of yesteryear. There’s something so fun and creative in all things retro. This week I headed out to some op-shops with a few girlfriends after working hard on the late-night launch of an ebook (about iPhone photography…loved working on this one obviously!)  However there’s another side to vintage finds. Moments and memories. Treasured memories. Some books I have been reading also spoke of objects from the past.

For instance, I read with curiosity how artist Mirka Mora practically caught memories in her handbags. One day she lost many of them, following a visit from Marcel Marceau in which he advised her to lose some clutter before it took over her life. She gave many of her beloved handbags away to charity. Only to try and buy back as many as she could. You see, she realised, regretfully, that she couldn’t bear to part with so many memories, after all.  (“It is as if my fate is sealed and I cannot change the way I am, or I might lose the art of painting, who feeds on the memories encrusted in my brain.” Mirka Mora, Love and Clutter)

In her older age, Nora Ephron wrote with amusement and a sense of betrayal about her memories. Many had left her. Amusing because she could remember some trivial and useless things. The more important details however, were washed away with time. She regretted not keeping a journal and love letters. I wonder if our blogs will help us to remember some of the moments we forgot to document elswhere, when we’re older. (“On some level, my life has been wasted on me. After all, if I can’t remember it, who can?” Nora Ephron, I Remember Nothing)

In 1989 I visited Berlin as part of a student exchange program and LOVED the op shops. We could buy the American Military’s used Levi 501′s by the kilo. I still remember a silk pyjama top which I wore as a shirt the next year, and a fuschia coloured silk dress which I wore and wore until I couldn’t repair it. They reminded me of the vibrancy of West Berlin, the punks, a creative city and my first trip overseas on my own. Obviously I don’t own them any more. I wonder if I will forget about Berlin. About the op shop owner who had mascara running down his face as he sobbed into the phone. The feeling of being in such a big city as a teenager. About the bizarre feeling of a city divided and the sad, courageous stories she once told.

When I find lovely things in op-shops I can’t help but wonder what memories they once held. Then I place them in my home, on my bookshelf or my wardrobe and forget that they ever held …or will hold…any memories at all.

Know what makes me happy? A creative life. As long as I include creative things in the life of my family, my work and in all areas of my life, I’m happy.

A creative life doesn’t just happen. It’s considered.

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How to be creative

Look around. A creative moment might be found in the glass of water in front of you.
 
Voila! Grab your iPhone and from another angle, it’s more than just a glass of water!

Go out and get inspired. It might be found in attending creative events. From art galleries, to performances, to hearing Ita Buttrose speak at a BusinessChicks breakfast this morning. Ita’s creativity shone through her approach to life “Tough times don’t laugh, but tough people do”. Problem solving and big thinking put into action. Thank you Ita!

Make a date. Get details of affordable upcoming events and venues emailed to you. If you like something, book it in. If you have kids, involve them. I just booked some tickets for our family to see a fun local theatre production. On a school night (gasp)

Walk. Your legs will thank you for it. So will your mind. But don’t forget to stop when you see special moments.

Read intentially. Recently I visited our local library while the kids were in drawing & woodwork classes after school. I enjoyed the luxury of having a whole hour to myself in that library, taking the time to look at a number of books and borrowing lots of beautiful books. From Haiku, to art books, folklore and biographies. My plan is to read them if I find myself wasting time reading unintentionally. To be more mindful of the words and pictures I surround myself. The only problem is I need a new bookcase! I also have a few ebooks in my Kindle app and a few creative blogs I like to read (Do you have any favourites?)

Do you add creative moments to your life?

It might take a little effort, but I find the reward of considered, creative moments in your life is just wonderful. I’ve listed just a few ideas above. How about you? What’s your favourite creative thing to do?

I sat in the quietest of rooms at BlogHer12, stunned by the lack of attendees in a session hosted by some incredible women who have changed lives. Wow, that’s interesting. “It’s not interesting. It’s an issue.” replied the political commentator live-blogging behind me. Here I was at a conference with over 5000 bloggers all wanting to learn about many aspects of blogging. There were several sessions held at once, to accommodate the different needs of the diverse and large group. I understand most were there to learn about everything from SEO to iphoneography and content creation. Still, it was a shame that so many missed out on this particular session. I wish these women would have been part of the keynote with Soledad O’Brien, Christy Turlington Burns, and Malaak Compton-Rock.

So, the wonderful facilitator Cheryl Contee introduced the panel and what they have been doing with their blogs. Her introduction actually caused a few tears to unexpectedly fall down my face in appreciation. Moments before,I had been wandering around a massive conference expo with lifestyle brands promising me tastier treats, free manicures, gadgets, gizmos, better health and even better skin. I had spent the previous five days enjoying and exploring New York and all of her wonderful sights and delicacies. Now I was hearing stories of women using their blogs to stand up for the basic rights of young mothers, teenagers and babies around the world. It was a slap of reality in my face. They spoke of not having time for fear. Of people having a voice, but how bloggers become the voice for those people.

Please meet:

Ana P. Santos, Philippines, publisher of Sex and Sensibilities and Ana Santos Writes who is helping to prevent teen pregnancy in the Philippines through much needed birth control education. She is not only helping to educate, but she is also overcoming cultural attitudes to give women a better life.

Fungai Machirori, Zimbabwe, publisher of Fungai Neni. Fungai is a smart and beautiful soul who writes about life in Zimbabwe…and continues to write despite frequent power cuts. Last year she was denied a visa to attend, so it was wonderful to have her along this year her share about her experiences as an outspoken blogger.

Maha Elsanosi, Sudan, publisher of Mimz, an incredibly fearless young woman blogging about issues in Sudan, and working on projects such as To Sudan With Love (which she founded), the newly launched Voices of Sudan, and the newly launching 500 Words Magazine

Tara Livesay, Haiti, publisher of The Livesay [Haiti] Weblog. who provides prenatal and midwifery support as well as a birthing center, a residential teen mother program, and more.

Take a look at their blogs. These women rock.

Truth Telling

Nothing moved me at BlogHer12 as much as the stories these women shared. Their determination. Audacity. Fighting spirit. Truth telling.

It got me thinking about the words and stories we share on our blogs. I observed the hunger to grow bigger, more popular blogs. More readers. More interesting trivia. Funny memes. Some women are doing this really successfully. But I’m not sure it’s right for this blog.

I hope that I can always be a truth teller.

Last night on an independent art show, artist Amber Wallis said something along the lines of  “there’s some kind of truth to drawing which influences everything else.” I think this is why I’ve enjoyed life drawing so much this year (although the class is on hold for a term..and I’m missing it terribly!) The same can probably also be said for photography and words which find themselves on all sorts of blogs.

I ran into Zoey aka GoodGoogs briefly at a BlogHer12 “invitation only” party hosted by Hasbro. I like Zoey. I like the words, pictures and the truth she tells on her blog. I couldn’t help but notice this post after our time in New York. “I am going to be on social media to be there. I am there to have fun. I am there to share things that I create so that people will connect with them. So I’m no longer worried about the conversation happening on my blog. I am using social media as a digital publishing medium rather than a link following medium.”

Your Inner Voice

This post. On Copyblogger. You know whe you’re thinking about things and then you read a post which sums up what you wanted to say? It’s a good post about ambition, polularity, the pressure to lie and the drowning out of our inner voice.

“Everywhere we look, we see supposed evidence that bigger is better and more exciting is best. “…..”We feel financial and personal pressure from our spouses, our peers, and our competitors to bring in more revenue, have six-figure launches, and quit our day jobs to become professional bloggers. We often go to bed thinking of ways to grow our businesses so we can have better, richer and fuller lives, and at every turn, we get hit with marketing messages from questionable online marketers who flaunt photos of their sailboats and mansions. “…

“I think we can also reconnect with our best selves when we take care of our bodies and minds. I think we can try to eat good food, get a little exercise, and try to get more sleep.”

Popular Posts

I could create a blog which resounds with the publishing tone and marketing smarts of a glossy magazine. It could do well. Who knows, maybe one day I will.

For now, I’m happy with my blog right here. My voice. I hope to blog twice a week. To live a creative life, “reconnect with my best self” and share truth as I see it. I have a hunch that more people will become happy doing that too – and that brands (like Hasbro, thank you) will be happy to engage with us.

After all, popularity is often subjective.

 Thank you to ProBlogger for sending me to BlogHer12

Lag lag lagetty lag. Your mind wanders and you try to make sense of time. What day is this? Have some supper with your breakfast.

Lists. I write one more. List list list. Work. Life. Things I want to change. Go and pick some flowers from the garden. You’re home.
The words move around the page. My list. It’s not helping, this time. So I go pick the flowers, which are heavy with raindrops. My scissors break. I fetch some more.

I feel like New York has been calling me since I was 17. Stacks of Warhol’s Interview magazines filled my head with dreams. New York. She intensifies every creative cell. Every exchange is some kind of reflection.

We walked. We walked and walked. The humidity and grit of the city clung to each movement. The CITY. My mind still seems to be wandering the way it did in NYC. It wanders my page, expecting to turn the corner once again. To walk into the warm air of the subway. To be surrounded by the sights, smells and sounds of a new city.

Now, between emails. I ring the local modern art museum. One family membership, thank you. New York awakened a sense of cultural debt to my children. An article in the in-flight magazine about the Boyd family summed it up, in a way.

“Growing up in the Boyd family was different.

Art was everywhere.

It covered walls and lined hallways, and was done casually in the mornings,as other families might do crosswords.”…

“Their parents, Merric and Doris Boyd, believed it was the divine right of everybody to be creative.”

Museums might not be the only place to find creativity. But it’s a starting point. We didn’t actually make it inside the Guggenheim (at least, not past the entrance), as it was closing time.  Sitting outside the entrance for a moment, to rest our feet, inspiration could still be found close to Frank Lloyd Wright’s (quite poetic) cylindrical creation.
The conference? I’ll write about that later, although I have to mention some women making a difference in their world made me cry. I didn’t expect to. But their bravery was exceptional.

Thank you New York. Your people were charming and pleasant. Your food was delightful. You even gave me good coffee.

I hope to visit again.

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Many thanks to ProBlogger for sending me to BlogHer12.

More to come…

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PART ONE: NAVEL GAZING

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I thought I’d share a  few more things about me before the trip, because hey, it’s always helpful when you’re meeting new people!

• I never got a degree but I did get a Masters.
• I never thought I would get married, in the official sense. But (to my surprise) I got married in big Greek church many moons ago and now we have three wonderful boys
• I’m the eldest daughter of four siblings from three different marriages.
• See that girl who just flung her pen across the room as she was talking? That’s me. Clumsy.
• Because I’m prone to clumsiness I was never particularly good at sports. So I prefer to swim and walk instead.
• I hate making mistakes. But I’m never afraid to try again.
• I overthink things. And I’m a visual person. Put the two together and it can get messy :)
• I like to sing. Perhaps this helps me to stop overthinking :)
• Money doesn’t impress me at all. But amusingly, over the years I’ve discovered I have an odd knack of helping others to make money.
• I once was vegan.
• My very talented and creative mother has unfortunately had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for over 20 years.
• One of my brothers has Asperger’s Syndrome
• Planning is my thing. Ironing is not.
• Manners matter. People count. And a smile goes a long way.
• I love the country. I love the beach. I love the city. And the ‘burbs ain’t so bad, after all.
• I’m generally optimistic, but I play devil’s advocate very well. “What if….”
• I’ve always enjoyed volunteering for no other reason than….I can. In my early teens I used to volunteer at school holiday programs. In high school I was part of the Equal Opportunities committee. In my twenties I was a foster parent.  It just feels right to give.
• When I need to rhyme words, I do so by quickly sounding them out alphabetically in my head. Maybe that’s how everyone does it?

Over on Facebook I asked if anyone had questions..and here they are!

Jo from Dusty Plum asked “Where have you traveled before Jazz? Where is your favourite place to travel with your family?”

When I was 16 I lived in Germany for two months on an exchange student program. As I was explaining to my 7 year old last night, this was in the days before internet, skype, Facetime and Facebook. I didn’t see my photos until about a week after I arrived home and the only correspondence with family was a brief weekly phone call and letters. Actually, I think that was part of the whole experience! I stayed in a small village most of the time, a few days in Stuttgart with another family and a week in Berlin (this was before the Wall came down…and we were told it would never happen.)

When I turned 20 I moved to Melbourne from Adelaide on my own. I’ve lived here ever since.

I’ve also been to China (southern), Italy and France. Since having kids (at one point we had 3 under the age of 5) our holidays have all been in Australia until now, after all I love this country…but it is so big and there is still so much to see and do! We have explore much of Victoria. I love the high country, the beaches at Phillip Island and of course there are so many other wonderful places. We have been to the Gold Coast, once. Northern NSW. Sydney and Tasmania. My favourite place to travel with my family is anywhere near water and good food!

Shai asked “What’s your career been like so far and how did you end up doing what you do now?”

Wow Shai this could be a long answer, but I’ll keep it short and post about it sometime! In high school I was determined to find my vocation but just couldn’t decide between the arts and health. Maths and science weren’t my strong points, so technology was never part of the plan although I may or may not have been in the lunchtime computer club! So my career so far has always been about finding out what I love to do, doing it well and meeting some awesome people along the way. And in a roundabout way, everything has come together to the point where I get to work part-time, from home, for a blogger, managing ebooks and blog events and freelancing on creative projects. I’m very fortunate.  That’s the short answer, anyway!

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PART TWO: THE OTHER SIDE OF NEW YORK

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I’ve packed my bags and I’m off tomorrow morning. My first trip overseas since my honeymoon. The first time I have left my kids for a long time. Off to have fun, to have an adventure and to discover what lies ahead at BlogHer’12.

I may have packed too many clothes and not enough business cards. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t read fashion/women’s magazines or know all of the big labels, I just happen to think clothes are fun and NYC seems like a fun place to dress up :)

See you on the other side of New York! You can keep up-to-date with my NYC adventure over on my Facebook Page for the next week.

Now to finish the domestic duties before I leave my boys and husband for 10 days. There are hand-me-down school uniforms to re-label. A few shirts to iron (if I get time….yes, I’m very good at avoiding ironing) and a bit of movie night (that is TV and popcorn) to enjoy with my lads.

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