Julie Unplugged

Stop Singing the Gremlin Song: Change the Pattern & Step Into Your Purpose

 

The first step in silencing the gremlin is to take the power away through listening only to what serves your purpose and the greatest good.

This was the year of the most NOT doing that I’ve had perhaps so far in my life as well as the year of making space to listen to the non-gremlin voices who actually serve my purpose rather than detract from it.

There is no way I can fully engage in my life work if I am chronically riddled with gremlin invoked self doubt. Instead, the choice is an active daily one to listen to what serves my purpose. Wisdom from like hearted friends who understand what I am up to serves my purpose. Taking time for self-care and creativity serves my purpose. Avoiding the energy of other people’s drama serves my purpose. (For those who have a challenge in this area, I use a mantra of “Thank you, I wish you well and now I’ll move along” to increase my awareness and release myself from the very strong force field these situations create.)

It was a year of taking a huge responsibility for my Grandson which meant I didn’t have space for theater, I couldn’t participate in a social life as I am accustomed, and the way I express myself creatively has also changed dramatically due to the time I am investing in his little life.

It was also a year understanding the power of lifelong pattern recognition.

I am one of those folks who consistently fight for the underdog at times forgetting myself. This year I stopped forgetting myself and in fact, got better at sticking up for myself. It wasn’t (and still isn’t) easy, but I am doing it. It is incredible how gremlins rise up in moments when one is changing patterns. They get angry and argumentative and tell you all the reasons you can’t do that! That isn’t who you are!

 The New Year  is bound to include many rousing songs from the Gremlin Chorus.

 

It is up to you to choose whether or not you will sing along with the gremlin choir. You have the power to stop the gremlin song!

 

 

The thing is I get to choose whether or not I sing along.When one is up to the really big, the really significant and the life changing, the presence of gremlins or whatever form of limiting belief talk one believes in - this is where those voices become the most ferocious.

Consciously knowing this as one takes bold actions helps fuel all that is good and pure and right. My work is to love people into transformation so that the world is transformed as well. This is too big to let any gremlins or limiting beliefs have power over my actions and my conscious inactions.

2015 is my year of action: passionate, bold, life and world changing action. There are no gremlins, gremlin choirs, or people who will hijack my vision. It is time.

 

 

Julie Jordan Scott is a writer, creative life coach, speaker, performance poet, Mommy-extraordinaire and mixed-media artist  whose Writing Camps and Writing Playgrounds permanently transform people's creative lives. Watch for the announcement of new programs coming soon!

 

   Check out the links below to follow her on a bunch of different social media channels, especially if you find the idea of a Word-Love Party bus particularly enticing.

 

  Please stay in touch: Follow me on Twitter: @JulieJordanScot    

 

   Be sure to "Like" WritingCampwithJJS on Facebook. (Thank you!)

 

  Follow on Instagram

 

   And naturally, on Pinterest, too!

 

   © 2014

 

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Want to Be Happier? Minimize Hyperbole and Maximize Your Appreciation for Whatever Is Up in Your World.

 

My reverb writing reflects a lot of what I live right now and have lived for a while. The photo - I love it so much! Was taken on a restorative photo walk on Monday. Random Water Fountain, automatically flowing... and flowing... and flowing. It simply is....

 This morning Kat inquired like this:  “It’s all too easy to put off loving where we are until everything is perfect. What can you love about where you are now?”

For the last few years my life has been shaped by the principle of loving what is.

One of my catch-phrases is “It isn’t good, it isn’t bad, it just is!”

I have become an advocate of minimal hyperbole and maximum “is-ness”.

In fact, my daughter Emma has caught the craving and has lately been the wise sage with her Buddha Moments. She reminds me so much of me that sometimes, in moments of pure cranky-ness, I lash out.

The other night, for example, we were on our way to the Apple Store after her IPhone 6 gave up its ability to do anything. It had been dropped, shattered and just stopped working. I don’t like malls, I don’t like retails shopping, I don’t like crowds and I don’t like worrying about replacing expensive electronic gadgets.

I can’t remember what she said exactly but I can remember Samuel laughing when I very unelegantly - I know it isn’t a word but you know what I mean - said, “Shut up, Buddha!”

The phone got fixed for a lot less than a replacement and yes, I bought protective gear from the very nice apple salesman who offered to lend me a hand with my life. I ended up giggling all the way home.

This is one of the ways loving what is shows up. It doesn’t have to be glittery or steeped in esoteric spirituality, it can be as simple as being upset and not hiding it. It can be as pure as telling a salesman, “I’ve had a rough couple days.” It can be as sweet as capturing the perfect sunrise photo and posting it on Instagram to the adoration of people who’ve never met you and even some who have met you.

Loving what is means all is well no matter what, like the favorite hymn says, “It is well, it is well, with my soul!”

Sometimes we need to talk ourselves into loving what is, but when we finally surrender to the need to live out someone else’s idea of perfection or happily ever after, all of a sudden what is becomes our happily ever after. You don’t have to live the myth anymore. You don’t have to make yourself wrong anymore.

Sure, I could be in better shape. Absolutely my bank account could be fatter. Yes, yes, yes I could’ve been more proactive in smoothing over certain areas in my life. If I waste my time lamenting what isn’t I miss out on the glorious of the simple “this”…. that even in Bakersfield, life can be grand just because it is....

Just because it.

Just because it is.

The light after the rain. (Yes, we are in a drought but that half inch of rain yesterday was so refreshing!)

The smell of the clothes I will take out of the laundry in a few minutes (Naturally I have many more loads to go but hey, at least I started this one!)

Poem in process along with a spontaneous #365feministselfie. I love the result. So me. So... me.

I wrote a haiku this morning after a long gap in this particular well-loved practice. I did! I did!

 

I sat in a fast food place this morning waiting for a friend who didn’t show up. Did I complain about her not showing up? No. I wrote in my journal. I conversed with a couple unlikely souls. I wrote a rough draft of a poem. I created a really cool selfie using an overlay of my notebook pages. Awesome!

I didn’t have to buy a book or take a course or “wait until this or that” I simple chose to live each moment fully just as I will continue to choose to love what is.

 ====

 

 This post was inspired by Reverb: most specifically the prompt from Kat McNally. You may follow along as well. Visit Kat's World at "I Saw You Dancing" and receive the prompts by email and plug into the extraordinary group of writers pondering, reflecting and taking action daily throughout the month of December. 

Julie Jordan Scott is a writer, creative life coach, speaker, performance poet, Mommy-extraordinaire and mixed-media artist  whose Writing Camps and Writing Playgrounds permanently transform people's creative lives. Watch for the announcement of new programs coming Fall and Winter, 2014 and beyond.

   Check out the links below to follow her on a bunch of different social media channels, especially if you find the idea of a Word-Love Party bus particularly enticing.

  Please stay in touch: Follow me on Twitter: @JulieJordanScot    

   Be sure to "Like" WritingCampwithJJS on Facebook. (Thank you!)

  Follow on Instagram

   And naturally, on Pinterest, too!

   © 2014

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"It takes courage to love..." Eleanor Roosevelt's Inspiration for Your Blogging, Writing, Personal Application & Creativity: -

  Each day, a quote, an image, several questions and a writing prompt are offered to you to use for  Your Blogging, Writing & Creative Inspiration in order to increase your creative thinking as well as your personal and soulful  development.

 

In this edition, I also included some business applications as well as an everyday bonus application so that you may more easily integrate and use this inspiration in a blend of your life areas.

 

= = =

"It takes courage to love, but pain through love is the purifying fire which those who love generously know.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

Questions:

What does it mean to you to “love generously?” For business, how do you love your clients or customers generously? Describe this in writing.

Has there been a time in your life when you didn’t have enough courage to love someone or something completely?

Lists:

Make a list of 5 to 10 people you know who “love generously”.

Make a list of 5 to 10 ways you want to improve your own “love generosity.”

Make a list of 3 to 10 times you demonstrated courage.

Use these lists, then, to create personalized writing prompts. You may start with the words I remember, I see, I hear, I know, I feel, I felt… etc.

Traditional Writing Prompts:

When I think of loving generously, I…

Courage means…..

It takes courage to…. (use a business or life work example.)

Bonus Every Day Application:

For the next week, do something every day that scares you. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount of fright, but even just breaking your routine may sometimes take courage.

Write about the experience.

   >> ---<<

One helpful strategy is to read the quote, questions, prompt and list and not to "take them on" all at once, but to allow them to simmer in the back of your mind throughout the day. Sure, you may "write" one immediately, but don't call it "done" until you have allowed your powerful subconscious mind to bring up some unexpected responses for your conscious mind to create within.

Remember, though - there are no rights and wrongs, there is only showing up for your life and your creativity. Brava for being here!! 

= = = = = =

Julie Jordan Scott is a writer, performance poet, Mommy and mixed-media artist. Her word-love themed art will be for sale at First Friday each month in Downtown Bakersfield. Check out the links below to follow her on a bunch of different social media channels, especially if you find the idea of a Word-Love Party bus particularly enticing.

Please stay in touch: Follow me on Twitter: @JulieJordanScot    

  Be sure to "Like" WritingCampwithJJS on Facebook. (Thank you!)

Follow on Instagram

And naturally, on Pinterest, too!

 

© 2013

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Inspiration for Your Blogging, Writing & Creativity - A Quote, Writing Prompts & More

Inspiration for Your Writing, Blogging & Creativity: The Road to More Passion & Satisfaction -

Quote, Writing Prompt, Questions & More -

Each day, a quote, an image, several questions and a writing prompt are offered to you to use for  Your Writing & Creative Inspiration in order to increase your creative thinking as well as your personal and soulful  development.  

 

The most helpful strategy is to read the quote, questions, prompt and list and not to "take them on" all at once, but to allow them to simmer in the back of your mind throughout the day. Sure, you may "write" one immediately, but don't call it "done" until you have allowed your powerful subconscious mind to bring up some unexpected responses for your conscious mind to create within.

 

Quote

"The saddest people I've ever met in life are the ones who don't care deeply about anything at all. Passion and satisfaction go hand in hand, and without them, any happiness is only temporary, because there's nothing to make it last."

-- Nicholas Sparks

Questions

 What is it that brings you to life, stirs your passion into action?

What were some moments of recent satisfaction (hopefully deep satisfaction)?

In what ways do you bring your passion to your life work?

Lists

List 2 to 10 people, places, things or ideas you care deeply about:

List 2 to 10 people you know who are passionate and satisfied with their lives:

List 2 to 10 people you know who appear to be disatisfied

Traditional Writing Prompts

When I walk hand-in-hand with passion, I notice...

A day in my satisfying like looks mostly like this....

Life Coaching/Personal Growth Ideas

What action steps are you willing to take to create a life of increased satisfaction?

A call to transparency: On a scale of 1 - 10, how satisfied are you?

Now, what are you willing to do to increase it to one higher number on the scale.

  © 2013 by Julie Jordan Scott

 

>> -- <<

This Blog Series was created to increase your creative thinking process as well as inspire writing and ideas to take form that may not have taken form without these specific quotes, questions and prompts. If you find them helpful, I hope you will pass them along to friends as well.

I’m so glad you are here, reading and creating.

Follow me on Twitter: @JulieJordanScot

 Be sure to "Like" WritingCampwithJJS on Facebook. (Thank you!)

 Follow on Instagram 

And naturally, on Pinterest, too!

 Welcome to my twenty seventh post (of 31!) for the October Ultimate Blog Challenge. Watch here for Your Writing & Creative Inspiration! Word-Love to YOU!

 

 

Silence: One of Passion's Best Kept Secrets - 31 Days of Living a Passionate Life

 

This photo was taken at Sequoia National Monument: A Sacred, Holy, Passionate Place

Have you ever walked along a tree lined path and suddenly the rays of sun become three dimensional? Have you noticed how that third dimension feeling of light is almost like a divine affirmation to continue walking, creating, moving, loving – whatever it is that brought you there that day?

 

Have you also noticed that in order to see that light in such breathtaking beauty, there needs to be at least a millisecond heart beat echo, exhale of silence?

Silence gives space for your truth to slowly be filtered through all the muck of the everything else, the stuff that may seem essential to day-to-day life, but squelches the expression of pure passion.

I know there are times when many of us, myself included, crave noise.

Sometimes in the noisiest places I have found the greatest experiences of silence.

The kind of noise I request you allow to fade into stillness are the scratchy old school in between radio station sounds, when you add noise to “keep you company” because you are concerned that if you allowed yourself the luxury of silence you either might not like what you hear OR you might not be able to follow through with what the divine, three dimensional light invites you to do.

You figure, “Why bother?”

Silence and I gather you up now in our arms to say the ubiquitous mother sounds, “husssshhhhhhh, ssssshhhhhhh, there… you’re ok… shhhhhhh… husssshhhhh” replicating womb sounds, comfort sounds, “I am safe” sounds which usher us all into a sanctuary of silence when you can really hear what is being spoken to your heart.

Are you brave enough to try it for today or for ten minutes today or tomorrow?

I invite you to stretch your noisy safety net into the silent sacred sanctuary that lives wherever you are, ever ready for service to you and to your passion.

I know you will find it heavenly.

Let me know what happens: after all, you have everything to gain – especially a more passionate life.

 

 Day 1/31 – Let’s Begin

Day 2/31 - A Passionate Attitude

Day 3/31 - Choice + Intentional Action

Day 4/31 - Passionate Detachment

Day 5/31 - Curiosity & Passion

Day 6 - Creating a Monthly Theme

 Day 7 - Gratitude

Day 8 - The Art of Receiving

Day 9 - The Artful Power of Making Requests

This post was inspired by the #31Days challenge on TheNester.com

So far it has been a wonderful experience of creativity and community. I hope you will continue to follow along on my adventure AND the adventures of others.

= = = = = =

Julie Jordan Scott is a writer, performance poet, Mommy and mixed-media artist. Her word-love themed art will be for sale at First Friday each month in Downtown Bakersfield. Check out the links below to follow her on a bunch of different social media channels, especially if you find the idea of a Word-Love Party bus particularly enticing.

Please stay in touch: Follow me on Twitter: @JulieJordanScot    

  Be sure to "Like" WritingCampwithJJS on Facebook. (Thank you!)

Follow on Instagram

And naturally, on Pinterest, too!

 

© 2013

Useful Advice? Save Yourself the Sorrow - Think Before You Speak

Learning to Keep Your Mouth Shut is a Very Important Lesson

Today's Prompt From Blogtember:

Thursday, September 5: Pass on some useful advice or information you learned and always remembered. 

 One of the most horrible situations that cropped up in my adult life came as a result of me making a snide comment about one friend “in jest” that got reported to her by another friend. The one who I spoke off was naturally hurt, but she was also a woman who “wasn’t going to let anyone get away with saying that about her!” so at a meeting where all our mutual friends were present, she stormed into the meeting and just lit into me, yelling about how I was a “small person” and how she “took pity on me” and what a bad job I did in general.

My then six-month-old-daughter Katherine was asleep in my lap as I sat there, cross-legged on the living room floor.

I stayed there, same position, and didn’t argue back at all. I replied things like, “I am very sorry, that is a stupid thing to have said. You are right, I shouldn’t have done such a thing.” And “I am sorry you feel that way,” and each time I didn’t get upset with her or argue back, her ferocity deflated.

She left the room still seething and I imagine later the telephone wires were buzzing with discussion over what happened, but I just kept my cool.

Was I mortified? Was I embarrassed? Was I sorry for saying something really stupid that I shouldn’t say, even and especially in jest? Yes.

Was I angry at whichever friend in that same room passed along what I had said, No. I wasn’t. I basically took time to catch my breath, picked up my metaphorical marbles and went home. My friends in that room stayed my friends. There were no “sides” that I felt, even as some of them felt compelled to recount the times she had talked behind my back about me.

I wanted to wash it all off. I was reminded then to be careful with words always. Check in with yourself and mentally ask, "Will this comment be constructive or potentially destructive?" If I had asked myself that simple question, that void between friends would not have happened. I never felt as easy-going with that particular group of friends ever again. The awkwardness and my sorrow were always there in small remnants, perhaps, but they were there.

The woman who I spoke unkindly of and who came into the room screaming at me eventually moved away. I saw her several times before she did and we greeted each other not exactly warmly, but we didn’t totally avoid one another.

My advice is this: don’t don’t don’t say mean things about one friend to another, even in jest! Only say things to one friend about another that you would say if the other friend was there and even then, think twice about saying it. You are better off not saying it at all.

I can hear my son’s voice in my ear, “How would you feel if that was you she said those things about?”

Follow along with the Blogtember Writing Challenge - click the badge to be connected.

I realize as I type this is a reminder to me as well as you. I have been much more lax with myself lately.

The fewer words said, unless the words are authentic and positive, the better.

My Mom said it to my sister over and over when we were kids, "Think before you speak!" Conscious thought before blurting whatever pops into your head will change your life drastically.

I hope you never find yourself getting publicly humiliated by someone you thought was your friend.

= = = = =

 

Julie Jordan Scott is a writer, performance poet, Mommy and mixed-media artist. Her word-love themed art will be for sale at First Friday on September 6 in Downtown Bakersfield. Check out the links below to follow her on a bunch of different social media channels, especially if you find the idea of a Word-Love Party bus particularly enticing.

Please stay in touch: Follow me on Twitter: @JulieJordanScot    

  Be sure to "Like" WritingCampwithJJS on Facebook. (Thank you!)

Follow on Instagram

And naturally, on Pinterest, too!

© 2013

 

Community & Connection: Why Visiting Off-the-Beaten-Path Places is More Important Than You Think

At the Entry of Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park: Let's Keep Gems Like This ALIVE!

We – as the human community - need to learn about places where community and connection were or are paramount so that we may continue to live in a world with community and connection. Our is world filled with people isolating themselves with too many people with earphones stuck in our ears to separate us or cell phone conversations as we take a walk in nature or just holing up behind Netflix or the pages of an escapist novel.

These activities aren’t bad like nothing is bad in moderation. Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying.

 Our children need to know of these places not only to learn about what was, but to feel the spark of inspiration still burning in these places.

It happened to me yesterday when I set out to visit a place I had thought of going but had never made it to in the past. Yesterday was different.

The small sign told me I had almost arrived at Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park with an arrow pointing across the railroad tracks. “Out here?” I thought. “There is nothing here.”  I expected lots of visitors.

From my perspective, this was a more important place than it appeared. It is close to both Delano and Tulare, not huge places, and a smattering of tiny towns such as Earlimart, it didn't make sense to be so deserted.

Johnson's Bakery - 100 Years ago, a Woman Owned Business. Brava!

Then I saw the small, green clapboard house. I stepped out of my car and immediately fell deeply into fascination. I was in my own little world until a not-so-new sedan pulled up and a tall, older gentleman got out of the car.

His name was George.

It was pure coincidence that we both arrived at nearly the same time. I was walking away from the first spot on the tour when George pulled in.

I am not one to know a stranger, so it is completely normal that I called out, “hello!” as he got out of his car. “Have you been here before?” I asked him.

“No, I have not,” was his soft voiced answer. He spoke slowly, with intention upon each word. “We didn’t learn this history when I was in school. No, ma’am.”

“I just wish there were more people here,” I said. “People need to know all sides of history. These stories need to be told.”

We commiserated a bit about what we didn’t learn when we were children. I found out George was from Fresno, recently retired, and now had the time to discover and explore and come to know what we both would declare exceptionally important. He taught me about the Buffalo Soldiers and an event soon to come to nearby Sequoia National Park.

By calling this number, (you can click to have the photo get larger) I learned about Johnson's Bakery. Later, I called it with a friend. You can call it from your home, too.

I told him what I had learned, "This building here was a bakery as well as a home. Mrs. Johnson ran the place when her husband left town. This was a woman owned business so many years ago! Isn't that fantastic?"

The smiles on our faces were kept alive by our mutual enthusiasm. We were both here at this place – seemingly deserted – that was once a thriving community settled by what was called “race pioneers, with its commitment to limiting the parameters of prejudice, served as a beacon of hope to blacks in the Golden State and across the nation. The community, Allensworth, belied the notion of African-American inferiority and, in so doing, generated excitement, hope and confidence,” wrote B. Gordon Wheeler in Wild West Magazine.

I had a few free hours and was closer than I had ever been to Colonel Allensworth State Historical Park. I had no idea what to expect. Since I love history, especially history that is overlooked by so many for so long, it was one of those places I knew I should have visited long ago. I had seen the sign off the freeway, but since it is in a location I am normally only driving through, it never seemed important enough to me to stop.

Today was different.

It felt so vacant at Allensworth,  so dry and prickly, as many Central Valley open fields feel. The sun was so bright I had to shade my eyes to see what was around me. Clapboard buildings, primarily. I noticed a few crape myrtle trees. Some barns scattered about.

I felt something else. I felt connection, invisible and perhaps the echoes or shadows of the connection that once thrived there.

I am so grateful I stopped, I stepped inside, I listened to the stories and I pledge to return, with friends. With children, students and friends of friends of friends and others.

It is so important we visit places, preserve memories and share those places with others.

What is an interesting, out of the way place you will pledge to visit this Summer?

 

This photo was taken at Emily Dickinson's home. All history is important.....

Please stay in touch: Follow me on Twitter: @JulieJordanScot    

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And naturally, on Pinterest, too!

© 2013

3 Discoveries from Urban Nature - Lessons from My Kitchen Window: The Finches

It is the best science class I can imagine right now.

All I do is sit and watch. Watch and sit. Laugh quietly. Sit some more.

I watch the finches outside my kitchen window as they learn to get along, as they move and jockey to take a place on the great-finch-stairsteps to Super Finch.

On many mornings you will find me writing in my notebook and looking out my window. The house is usually quiet so I can sit at the table, drink coffee and splash words on the page as recklessly as I feel called.

This morning, Samuel came alongside me as I wrote. “The birdfeeder is empty,” I said to him, “so not very many finches.” The words flew from my mouth and I realized it was a very stupid sentence to speak. The good part of it was this: it got me moving.

I went to the cabinet and scooped some lovingly mixed bird seed into a large drink cup, went outside and poured it into the feeder. By the time I got back to my seat and my notebook, the finches were feasting away.

The biggest finch – I called him Father Finch for Samuel – stood for a while at the top of the bird feeder. He seemed to be calling the other finches to come eat. He was notably larger than the males eating the seeds below. Once two birds were happily eating there, a third would flutter in. He or she would either chase off a bird or be chased him or herself.

Samuel and I laughed and giggled, covering our mouths so the birds wouldn’t be frightened away.

At one point, all the birds left suddenly. My guess is one of the neighborhood cats came prowling. This is another lesson FatherFinch needs to teach the little ones.

I am sure there are interesting lessons to be learned from your kitchen window as well.

My top three take-aways from looking out my window include:

• 1.        The power of leading but not spoon-feeding. Helicopter parenting or supervising teaches children and those we are training they are not capable. Giving instruction, modeling and then giving space for others to achieve both successes and not so successful attempts teaches so much more than us leaping in “to help them get it right.”

 

• 2.       It helps to have someone have the sole job of leader and look out. Yes, there are times for being a daredevil but more often than not, there are times of being conscious as well. Having a look out – someone whose primary duty is to be alert and conscious on behalf of the community – is a benefit for all.

 

• 3.       Clever is more valuable than big or fast or strong. Growing “clever” skills will help anyone of any size succeed. Most of all, coming alongside others and sharing strengths is for the greatest good of everyone, even the people watching from their kitchen window.

 And Now You: Look out your kitchen – or any favored window – of your home today. Watch what happens there with curiosity. What do you see? Repeat for several days and let me know what lessons YOU are learning from looking consciously out your kitchen window.

It is the best science - and life!- class I can imagine right now.

 

Please stay in touch: Follow me on Twitter: @JulieJordanScot    

 

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© 2013

The Befores and Afters Will Have to Wait... Its time for Us to Begin It Now

Tuesday June 11, 2013: The Blog Dare from Bloggy Moms today was simple. It just said:

Taking steps to fix it.

I don’t think Tiffany and the gals at BloggyMoms and the Blog Dare meant to make me hang my head in shame as I read today’s prompt.

I had just looked at my table and said, “Sheeesh, I must fix this!” and then I promptly walked away.

I have a lot of “stuff” in progress. Art projects, sewing projects, DIY projects and stuff for making said projects tend to dominate more than they should space in my house. I started to organize the garage so I could move some of it out there and then Christmas came and believe it or not – I know some of you do – it has been since the New Year that I worked on my garage.

I remember all the time mavens who talk about “baby steps” and “eating the elephant one bite at a time” and you know, tips for this and that and the other you know but you've never actually done? Or maybe you started but you never continued?

Between what I know and the not-meaning-to-guilt-trip me blog post, I will devote myself, dedicate myself to giving thirty minutes a day in my garage as well as at my various table top work stations. I will make space for my “in process stuff” that doesn’t encroach upon the rest of my family.

I tell you what.

I’ll even start right now and report back in thirty minutes.

Ready? Set? I am now taking steps to fix it!

Approximately 30 Minutes Later:

Well, friends. I did a couple significant things.

I cleared a path to work from in my garage.

You see, I have put boxes along the walls of the garage. In those boxes are other works and materials and things like Christmas Decorations. I like having a place for all this stuff and I like having a way to get there. One of the other adults in my home is not a neat sorter who uses boxes or shelves.

Instead, things get thrown anywhere, my things get broken and normally I get too frustrated to begin again.

Today, in a matter of moments, I took steps to fix it.

I am on my way.

Plus I now have a load of laundry in the wash and an extra coat of sweat on my brow. It is June in Bakersfield, the extra perspiration can’t be helped.

I will purposefully NOT overdo. I will go back tomorrow and do more.

For now, I am content in what I have accomplished so far as I will be satisfied tomorrow when I do only thirty minutes more. I have a feeling the more consistent I am, the faster this task will be completed.

Do you have any tasks like this that have been nudging you forward, saying “One step at a time. One step at a time.”?

So, what’s stopping you.

Set a timer for thirty minutes and go begin it now.

# # # # #

Please stay in touch: Follow me on Twitter: @JulieJordanScot    

 Be sure to "Like" WritingCampwithJJS on Facebook. (Thank you!)

Follow on Instagram

And naturally, on Pinterest, too!

© 2013

5 Keys to Discovering How to Never Be Bored Again

YES! Replace Boredom with Aliveness & Passion

It was a day like countless other days. Get up. Get the kidlets to rise and shine. Get in car.

Go south, turn left. There, at the end of the road almost like the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow is our first stop, Emma’s school.

I rarely expect for anything new to arrive on the short trip, but earlier this year I noticed a flock of birds sitting at all four traffic lights at an intersection. Every day we would watch them swirling and following each other and landing and the next set swirling and following and the next set in a natural synchronized flying adventure.

Lately, though, my eyes have been caught up and intrigued by an entirely different form of eye candy.

There is an empty lot on the way to school that is in a rather “sketchy” neighborhood. I use that term because that is what my daughters would say. In this empty lot there has recently been a shopping cart convention underway. I watch it every day to see if any new “members” have arrived or if anyone has carefully arranged them or pulled them apart.

The view changes each day.

The first time I noticed, I was drawn by the rainbow of shopping cart colors. Someone had arranged the carts in a tidy almost bouquet looking arrangement.

Yesterday in the afternoon when my son and I were driving there, we saw a little girl and her father there, in the empty lot. The father was emptying out one of the blue carts – from Petsmart – and was apparently going to use it in some way.

Maybe it isn’t a shopping cart convention, perhaps it is a shopping cart library where you can check them in and out as needed.

For me it has been another fascination to follow both creatively and sociologically. It is a sign of the times in my town and a sign of what to you?

My creativity has certainly been heightened. First, it was a sight that begged to be photographed. I responded, naturally. Samuel was patient with me – again – as I pulled off the road at a random place for the great shot I stumbled upon.

• Choose to be aware of even the smallest change along your usual routes or in your usual places. I am literally never bored from living this lifestyle of being alert and awake. Instantly the most mundane turn into fascinating subjects.

•  Ask others what random surprises they have had lately. If they haven’t had any random surprises lately it is like an invitation you have both issued so that random, interesting “stuff” will begin to show up. Change your conversations from pop culture talks to what is true and tangible in the world you share daily with others.

•  Create SOMETHING from the surprises you find. Write a poem, a couple sentences in your notebook, a sketch, a photo, a conversation with others. Post your words or images on facebook and see what your friends see and notice.

•  Make connections – sometimes the odd images that pop into our surroundings actually have a message for us when we use our intuition rather than our logical, thinking brain. Think of synchronicity as defined by Carl Jung the experience of two or more events that are unlikely to occur together by chance, yet are experienced as occurring together in a meaningful manner.

•   Continue to engage yourself and your curiosity in conversation” about the surprise you encountered. I know after I found the shopping carts I had an incredibly wild, detailed and refreshing dream. I haven’t had that sort of dream in years with so many scenes and vivid colors, characters and textures. I can’t stop thinking about the shopping carts nor can I stop looking at them. As crazy as I sound, I can also tell you it also fits in the ridiculously fun category – and that is enough for me to pursue almost anything.

It would delight me to know how you replace boredom with aliveness and passion. What are your favorite strategies?

Why not try one of my suggestions and report back here?

I would love to hear from you.

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© 2013 by Julie Jordan Scott