BS Journal

well, now that i’ve got your attention…. it’s not what you think!  let me explain.  in keeping with my word-of-the-year “imagine”, i’ve started another new practice.  i believe in the power of practice.  i’ve been pretty faithful with this one and am still loving it!  

 i already have a lot of notebooks, journals, etc. that i write various things in, but i saw the need to add yet another.  my bs journal is for brain-storming.  i made a cute cover and divided it up into sections with sticky notes – photo ideas, studio work, blog topics, retreat ideas, etc., etc.

now comes the most important part…. scheduling time to sit down and actually brain-storm!  without that, i run the risk of having this book fall to the bottom of the pile after a few days of lackluster inspiration and joining the ranks of other good intentions gone awry.  ummm…  yes, it has happened before.

 

 i’m only a few days into it.  at first ideas were just bubbling up like soda pop, some of them drawn from other notebooks, but it felt good to get them down in the same place and categorize them.  wow, this is fun! 

then came a day when i sat down and stared at the page. nada.  no new ideas.  i’ve run dry already.  not so fun after all.  but that’s where the discipline comes in.  so i still spend the time… i go back and read everything i’ve already written.  usually that will spark something, but if not i can always add a new detail or two to what i already have.

 

brain-storming should be uncensored.  anything that pops into my head.  no evaluation. so another thing to do on those less-than-inspired days is to go back and re-read, evaluate and choose.  make sure some of those ideas actually make it onto a to-do list at some point.  we’ll see what happens!

doing these little disciplined practices is convincing me of something that i know in my head, but i sometimes have trouble getting it to sink down deep:

creative is not a characteristic 

that a few lucky souls are born with

to the exclusion of the rest of us.  

it’s a LIFE-STYLE!

 

(all photos taken on my morning walk with my trusty Sony point-and-shoot)

Creating Space

lately i’ve felt a strong need

to create space in my life

(is this an aging thing??)

paring down useless things

giving them to the goodwill

or even the trash bin

lessoning my commitments

carving little hollows

in my schedule

taking time to do nothing

which forms empty pockets

in my brain

waiting to be filled

with bursts of inspiration

opening my heart

to allow the spaces there

to be filled

with new bonds and relationships

sometimes i feel like

maybe i’ve gone too far

and other times…

not nearly far enough

isn’t that just typical of life??

 

(all photos taken 3/11 Anza Borrego State Park)

Off the Grid

off the grid

and i’ve stumbled into

a different realm of reality

the sweetness of it all

washes over me, through me

dripping into the parched pockets,

nooks and crannies

that make up the chambers

of all that is me.

from this place

more of me arises

ready to be poured

out of the pitcher

and spilled onto the page

this space infuses me

and allows my inner pieces

to wriggle around

and find an opening

squeezing out of their hiding places

tiny little morsels break free

and come out

into the light of day

at first they are nearly

 blinded by the light

after being held captive

so long in darkness

but i ask you....

who can resist

the light for long?

 (all photos taken 3/3/11, anza borrego state park)

Rust, Decay and a Happy Ending

last year i showed some of the sad and strange dilapidation that is part and parcel of the salton sea experience here and here.   

you cannot visit this place without being affected by its rotting and rusted structures, shouting their messages of abandonment and shattered dreams.

real lives were lived here, conversations, routines, parties, triumphs and tragedies, their stories now buried beneath the rubble.  it’s powerful.

 only one year later and things have changed, 

imperceptibly, hurling toward entropy.  

with one notable exception....

the north shore beach and yacht club.  

here is a vintage postcard from the 60’s.

on the back it's called the "glamour capital of the Salton Sea."

here are my photos from our visit just a few years back:

as we were driving down the highway, 

we were astounded to see that this structure has been revived.  

we stopped and found out that it is now a museum 

and community center 

and will soon once again have 

a beach and boat slips.  

  

wow. 

 

there is hope after all!

when you read this we will once again be heading for the desert. 

our trip ended early and after much deliberation, 

we decided to complete the journey

before it gets too hot out there.  

 it’s the lure of the snow on the mountains and the wildflowers 

that are calling my name and i can’t seem to say no!