Welcome to Let Your Words Flow: a Daily Quote, Prompt and Image for
Let's explore infinite passion in your life.
your Creative Inspiration.
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Now - on with today's inspiration -
Quote
"There is no beginning and no end, there is only infinite passion."
Federico Fellini
Questions
How would you define "infinite passion"?
What is a time in your life you remember experiencing infinite passion?
Lists
Make a list of 5 - 10 people you consider to be infinitely passionate -
Make a list of 5 - 10 ingredients you believe create infinite passion
Traditional Writing Prompts
When I think about infinite passion, I remember the time....
I feel so much passion for ______ it inspires me to......
Thank you for your reading & participation in Let Your Words Flow! Please come back as we offer new prompts to spice up your blogging, writing and creative thinking every day!
Julie Jordan Scott is a writer, creative life coach, speaker, performance poet, Mommy and mixed-media artist. Her word-love themed art will be for sale at a First Friday soon, when it is warmer than it was in December!, 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.
Raise Your Hand if You Never Want to Be Bored Again!
I will be the first to raise my hand and admit to being more
than just a little bit quirky.
I wonder if you will be surprised to hear it is that very quirky nature of mine that keeps me from ever being bored.
I’m not overly fond of being called “weird” or “nut job” or
“strange” but quirky, charming, unique – these I will take.
Being this way means I am attracted to some rather unusual
subjects which usually boil over into one or more of my creative projects.
Here’s what I mean:
I love finding strange, beat-up and not entirely legible
signs along the roadside that point to either something that no longer exists
or something that is an eraser smudge of what it used to be. Since I live in
Bakersfield, California, the majority of such signs are right here within the
range of my normal, everyday activities.
Today one of my activities was dropping sixteen-year-old
Emma off for her final performance of “Les Miserable” at a high school far from
home. I have become rather expert in the drive and usually take it from one of
three ways, specifically so I can see more and also so I get less bored.
This Quirky Pig was once the Logo for the Kern Valley Packing Company, since 1915!
I had been having a happy celebration in my mind when I
started thinking of the photo challenge I am currently participating in called
AugustBreak13. I was thinking, “Sound, I need to find something related to
sound,” when out of the corner of my right eye I saw… this pig, up in the air.
Given my unconventional leanings, this meant I had to take a
short detour to come to know this sign better. The back of the sign, the one
which faces sweet, gentle sunrise versus tired, cranky late afternoon into
sunset, told more of the story:
The Eastern Facing Side of Quirky Pig was much easier to read....
Over the past few months I have found these signs
fascinating:
In Oildale, I noticed an old ice cream joint:
Another find on my way to and from Emma’s rehearsal and
straight out of the grapes of wrath:
This treasure is easily missed... the Kern Motor Inn... South Union in Bakersfield
And finally, there are my beloved shopping carts. Since I
discovered a shopping cart library last Spring on the way to my daughter’s
school last Spring, I’ve been addicted. Last night I found a lonely shopping
cart from the Tractor Supply Store – you can’t get much more Bakersfield than
that –
I Never Stage My Shopping Cart Photos - it is as if they pose and wait for my attention.
and I could swear I could hear it humming country and western music as I
snapped photos of it.
Here’s a challenge, a dare perhaps – for you. You see, I don’t understand when people say
they are bored or that the places they find themselves are boring. I don’t live
in a space of that ever being a possibility.
Allow yourself to join me in the consciously lived space of,
“Oh, that’s interesting…” which yes, I actually say aloud.
Instead of talking yourself into being bored by saying, “I
am bored” or “This is boring” talk yourself into making your life a daily
treasure hunt for quirky, oddly wonderful things that catch your attention. You
know those things that make you smile and you don’t know why they do?
Become even more aware of those and get to know how easy it
is to eliminate the whiny “I am bored” persona from your life.
How to Put "Be Here Now" into practice starts here
“...to be lost is to be fully present, and to be fully
present is to be capable of being in uncertainty and mystery.”
Rebecca Solnit
I sat at my desk chair this morning and immediately felt
happier, uplifted.
It is simply because I am using my son’s chair which is
higher than mine, but I am surprised – though I shouldn’t be – how much better
this chair’s height matches my natural style of sitting.
I can feel my spine, straight. I notice my shoulders
normally relaxed. I mentally create and tick off a check list: feet –
underneath knees, bent, willing to take the reign and simply be it.
Recently I have been totally out of whack emotionally. It
has been one of those “sprint out of the here and now to fixate on the ‘what
might happen’ ”. Even though I know better, even though I literally tried to
drag my thoughts in a different direction, I failed.
Today is brand new. The sun is low in the sky, the children
are ensconced in school and today, as much of the day as possible, I want to
fully experience my work and my creativity as deeply and profoundly as
possible.
Yesterday my racing mind was barreling down the “what might
happen” railroad track. Now my mantra for today is “Be here now” which I
understand comes from Ram Dass. I had heard the name, but didn’t realize how
different he was when he first started teaching the concepts of presence back
in the 1970’s.
Giving myself the gift of presence, blessing myself to be
here now today, allows me to create and work and play and organize and plan
without worry about anything but this. Exact. Space. And. Time.
In what ways will you practice being present today in your
work, play, organization, creativity?
What will you do to implement “Be here now” to each aspect of
your life?
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?
You would never guess from the number of my posts on the Creative Every Day Weekly Check In that
my creativity has actually been at an all time high lately.
I know, I know – I don’t have much to show for it!
Here’s the thing: I am so close to being done on a couple
mixed media pieces – I
smile as I say that because for the first time I
completely took my time and added layer after layer after layer and they are
not half bad. I feel almost like I know what I’m doing enough to follow my
intuition and feel good about what I am creating!
To the right here is the start of one of those projects.
Now, since I don’t have anything finished I would normally
not show you anything and not even show up.
I decided I should just show a taste of creative progress.
Tonight when I was stuck with language – the words were not flowing at all – I decided
to edit a couple photos.
Actually, I edited the same photo twice, but I really like
how they turned out.
What do you think?
Here is the first editing job I completed....
And here is the second one:
Thanks for bearing with me. I hope you forgive my lack of
presence and support me for showing up… now.
I look forward to the inspiration I receive from you and hopefully this small slice of creativity may inspire you, too!
My friends have heard me repeatedly talk about my usual
“relationship trajectory.”
I have lived by a pattern over my lifetime: usually I am
very excited about someone (or something) in the beginning. I am passionately
drunk about the person or idea or activity. I rearrange life to make space for
the object of my passion and for a while I can’t imagine life without it.
This is like a firework that flies up in the air and
explodes…. And falls to the ground.
There are also fireworks that zoom up into the air, seem to
disappear and then KABAM!
Their booming demise is remarkably loud though not very
colorful.
Then there are trajectories that go up… and up… and up… and
float around up and up and up… usually profound friendships, love for my
children, appreciation for my parents look like this.
Finally, there is my love of language and all things
word-based.
I can’t even put into words the passion I feel for words,
but today I was in office max, copying pages of paper I have painted, I have
sprinkled, I have torn and photos I have printed over a painted sprinkled page.
I found myself stroking the paper: the originals and the
copies.
I loved how they both felt: very different but both
absolutely heavenly. As I made more copies, I spread them out on the table behind
me. This may have gotten on the nerves of other customers there at Office Max
but I couldn’t help this public display of
paper affection going a bit over the
top.
More paper and more paper and more paper all in varying
shades of pink and purple: so feminine. The pages were such a reflection of me.
I actually had to self-talk myself away from the copying
machine. My frugal self met up with my creative self and said, “Julie – these
are enough copies to start with, really.” So my creative self rearranged the
papers on the table and taking photos of the paper.
Each satiny sheet of paper delighted me. The multiple copies
of the same pages arranged differently delighted me. The resounding shout of
the click click click of the camera fueled me more.
You might think the two images I posted here are the same. They are not. The bottom image includes one of the very first pages I painted and created with several years ago. It was from a book I thought I would love that I ended up hating. I thought making art would help my feelings for it and it did.
In the bottom photo, you see a heart from that book, with a quote that reads, "A poet must be more useful than any other citizen of her tribe." Those words both ground and inspire me now like they did when I first read them.
My relationship with word-love trajectory goes beyond
anything quantifiable. There are no metaphors or illustrations that can capture
it. My romance with words is longer
lasting and has more of a future, perhaps, than any relationship outside that
of
my children.
I can’t even put into words the passion I feel for words,
but today I was in office max making love to them in a blazing display of
public affection.
It has been a while since I have allowed myself to become
possessed by a vision outside my family or local creative pursuits. I am not
sure the genesis of my resistance or my fear, but today it lit up like that
perpetual light bulb waiting for me to flip the switch.
I believe my resistance is this: if I work hard to build it
all up again, something bad may happen that will knock my breath away again. I see
I am playing the game I abjor – the all or nothing game – instead of simply
putting my head down, running. Assessing, Revising, running some more – without
attachment to the initial results.
I used to be able to make all of this into a game but now I
have forged it into a large, ever-present, slippery wall covered with moss and
with bricks that don’t necessarily stay in place so you may fall down at any
point of the climb.
Now that we have that conflict identified, it is time to
continue seeking and allow the possession to continue sweeping up me from the
soles of my toes to the ends of my shorter-than-before hair.
Even with all of this as I write I feel the energy of
passion prickling my veins.
I take a moment to stretch my neck.
I stretch both sides.
I breathe into the tension.
I let the tension out as it rides the wave of my breath.
I remember a long ago meditation when I held my head off the
massage table for about five minutes. My neck felt like heaven when I slid back
down the table for more body work.
Relaxation was no longer a necessity it was a given.
I am on fire with the creative process.
My embers are crackling with passionate creativity today. I
had forgotten how good that feels.
This is my twenty fifth post (of 31!) for the October Ultimate Blog Challenge.
Watch here for challenge posts which will include Writing Prompts, Writing
Tips and General Life Tips and Essays.
Julie Jordan Scott
has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator
and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award
winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother
Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam
champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS &
this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring this
unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she
finds the passion & the interest.
Did you enjoyed this essay? Receive emails directly to your
inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via the
Daily Passion Activator. One inspirational essay and
poem (almost) every week day. Subscribe here now -
I don't know anyone who wouldn't like more passion, joy and pleasure in his or her life. These five methods are so easy to incorporate into your life and yes, even though simple they will make a significant difference. You will be able to take your life today and make it better for tomorrow. Keep repeating until all of a sudden you notice your life has improved without much an effort at all. This stuff is easy!
Let's start now -
1. Show up wherever you are with all your senses turned on. Sometimes practicing using the less dominant senses – for example, sense of sound rather than using vision for all your information – will help you observe life differently. Remember the sense of smell is our most ancient so its memory power is incredible. Your first grade teacher’s perfume on the first day of school is probably tucked away in there. Plus taking a deep breath to smell it all in will also help you learn to practice calming down through using your breath.
2. Keep your eyes on the metaphorical ball while scanning the horizon. There was an old saying when I was in Drivers Ed back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. “Aim high in steering” they told us. I think to this day I get some of my best insights and a-ha’s while driving because my eyes are constantly scanning and my brain is constantly engaged. Wisdom just floats in. Sometimes I even pull over to take notes other times I tell my brain, REMEMBER THIS! And guess what? It does!
3. Listen to all the sounds around you – the most surprising messages may be there.There is a famous book called “Do what you love and the money will follow”… I say "If I'm not having fun, its not getting done,"because my philosophy is I can make anything fun by simply being creative. Yes, even washing dishes and doing laundry can be fun. If you can’t change what you do, change your attitude about it. Be more childlike - remember how children make everything fun?
4. Don’t be a creature of habit! Simple things like taking a different road will open your eyes to wonders right in your neighborhood you never knew were there. When you hear yourself start to say, "Well, you know me I always do it..." stop! Replace with, "Well, you know me. I love adventure and discovering new places, people, activities... you name it!"
5. Devote yourself to trying something new as often as possible. Give yourself a weekly goal, perhaps, and a challenge goal of two new things a week. It can be simple, like eating a new veggie or a new flavor of ice cream. It can be big, like actually volunteering to learn the hula in front of a bunch of strangers. Always wanted to rock climb? Take a class! Never been to an art opening? GO! Dress up! No one will point and laugh at you. I promise.
Here’s a bonus example from my life just this week:
I woke up way too early yesterday morning. I opted not to go back to sleep since before I knew it I would be getting the kids ready for school. What did I do? Some small chores, some writing. I took the trash out and on the way to the outdoor trash can I looked up.
I was instantly awestruck. The sky was more beautiful than any painting I had ever seen. The day was dawning at a time I was normally asleep. If I had kept my head down, focused only on my tasks and to-do's, I would have missed it completely.
It took less than five minutes to have a complete transformation of mood because I was alert to life and I took what life spooned up for me. I didn’t get angry about waking up too early, I took care of business and noticed the beauty of nature right outside my front door. It doesn’t get much better than that… and you can do this anywhere, even in the middle of an urban area you will hear crickets or hear dogs barking far away or see stars or notice how differently the neighborhood smells in the fresh new, before sunrise day.
I will remember August 21, 2012 for the rest of my life simply because I agreed to stay awake rather than go back to sleep.
I wouldn't change waking up early for anything now.
Would you gain benefit in applying any of these principals or just make your life more fulfilling? Call for a complimentary coaching session now - 661.444.2735.
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield.
I never knew my cell phone would become such an important part of my life. I thought I would be texting and searching the internet, catching up on facebook and twitter and other fun, playful aps, but I didn't realize it would actually help me with so many of my writing adventures.
Here are ten ways you may use your cell phone as I do for writing purposes. Try one of these you don't currently use and please comment to share either a new way we may all use our phones OR let us know how you experiment with these ten ways to use your smart phone.
10 Ways to Use Your Phone to Write Articles, Top 10 Lists, How-to's, Poetry and More
Listen to conversation being spoken around you. Eavesdrop to capture rich/true dialogue
Take photos, especially those surprise images to write about later. Once you set the intention to be surprised visually, your eyes will begin to see more and more intriguing sights.
Collect "jots" of writing in three words or less... what you see, hear, smell, taste, touch, feel emotionally
Use your timer: Do timed stream of consciousness writing at any time in any space. Do timed writing with your notebook while on a hike. Do timed writing on your laptop sitting in a coffee shop. Do timed writing directly into your smart phone.
Keep a one sentence journal. At the end of the day, write a one sentence summary of either the entire day or whatever stand out event happened, even if it is “The intersection at Stockdale and California was more annoying than infomercials as I drove through it fourteen times today.”
Haiku everywhere and then tweet what you write from your smart phone. You may want to make one day a week your haiku day or make it a practice to see the normal differently – such as writing the dawn every day for a week or month.
In your calendar note times (and set alarms!) for sunrises, sunsets or other "time attached" subjects. For example, an older slightly battered truck rolls by my house at about 6:40 a.m. daily. I consciously make a point to be out there so I can wave as I take notes. This truck and its driver has become a rich part of my writing life and we have never officially met.
Take notes when people think you are texting. I recently did this at a birthday party where I didn’t know anyone. Since people are used to texting, in some circles this isn’t seen as rude. Be careful to not be totally oblivious to social nuances. Interaction at the party itself will also give you gems you can capture as you sit in your car before leaving or on the bus on the way home after the party is over.
9. Create writing prompts from what you see. There is never, ever, ever “nothing to write about.” Look around as you live. Examples: “The waitress with the very red lipstick reminds me of…” and write, using your timer, for at least five minutes stream of consciousness style. “The fallen tree on the side of the road made me feel…”. “The old man waiting at the bus stop looked….” Or “I wonder where the old man at the bus stop is going? It could be…. Or… or… and why isn’t someone from his family driving him?”
10. Write how-to articles. What technology do you suppose I used to write this one?
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS & this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring this unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
Did you enjoyed this essay? Receive emails directly to your inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via the Daily Passion Activator. One inspirational essay and poem (almost) every week day. Subscribe here now -
Today’s prompt from the Blog Dare from Bloggy Moms went something like this today:
It's all about _______________
The extra note from Tiffany Noth, founder of Bloggy Moms is “{Fill in the blank - I encourage you to be more original and not fill it in with 'me'. It could be, all about Twizzlers.}”
I decided I would seek some help from some of my wise readers. What would you like for me to write about in this “It’s all about” category?
I have written some suggestions – so pick from one of these ideas or make up your own. Perhaps you might even like to play along. As I wrote possibilities I kept thinking “This would make such a great writing exercise!” so naturally, I am trying it first… here… with YOU!
Thanks in advance. So, your best choice for me to write is….
It’s all about breaking through
It’s all about surrender
It’s all about the weather
It’s all about being a mommy
It’s all about Three Musketeers bars
It’s all about Special K
It’s all about grammar
It’s all about living a life outside rules
It’s all about passion for writing
It’s all about being precise
It’s all about laughter
It’s all about having a good time
It’s all about being present
It’s all about waking up to the sounds of the ocean
It’s all about connecting with people just like me
It’s all about connecting with ginger haired people
It’s all about writing limericks
It’s all about controlling the conversation
It’s all about wearing blue gingham and singing
It’s all about putting water in the coffee maker before a writing session
It’s all about helping my son understand rituals are not the only way
It’s all about making vintage paperdolls
It’s all about making time to make those certain kind of collage cards
It’s all about taking self portraits daily
It’s all about writing self portraits daily
It’s all about learning algebra
It’s all about being an exceptional party hostess
It’s all about living in Bakersfield without air conditioning
It’s all about giving only home made gifts
It’s all about learning new salad recipes
It’s all about sewing my Fall wardrobe
It’s all about respecting my neighbors
It’s all about daily devotions
It’s all about reading a classic book weekly
It’s all about tricking your kids into eating veggies
This is my Ultimate Blog Challenge Writing for the Day. Be watching for my challenge posts which will include Writing Prompts, Writing Tips and General Life Tips and Essays. This is Blog 10/31 for July!
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS & this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring this unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
Did you enjoyed this essay? Receive emails directly to your inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via the Daily Passion Activator. One inspirational essay and poem (almost) every week day. Subscribe here now -
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