Creativity

No one imagines that a symphony is supposed to improve in quality as it goes along, or that the point of playing it is to reach the finale. The whole point of music is discovered in every moment of playing and listening. It is the same I feel, with our lives; if we are unduly absorbed in improving…we may forget altogether to live.
-Alan Watts

I found this quote on Lynda Klau's website, Life Unlimited: The Center for Human Possibility. It immediately caught my attention and brought forward a question - How do we balance setting goals and living in the moment? Does one preclude the other?

I think not. I believe they must both be present. Without goals/dreams we wander aimlessly, blown by the wind and without living in the present we never realize the pure joy of being blown by the wind.

To me, this is not an either or question. We must have both but be unduly absorbed in either. The goals/dreams set the structure of our moments and the moments combine to make our goals/dreams. The symphony (our life) will reach a finale but do we enjoy the journey?

I have been reading about creativity in Scott Jeffrey's book, Creativity Revealed - Discovering the Source of Inspiration.

In the foreword he states "Creativity is intrinsic to the evolution of life. It is the manifestation of the hidden substrate of all existence, termed "consciousness". "

Scott Jeffrey invites us to a new paradigm of thinking, from the linear to the nonlinear. In the above quote, the linear is about the improvement and finale of the symphony and the nonlinear is about the moments of playing and listening. It is a shift from understanding a process to experiencing the object. Jeffrey proposes Old Word Thinking is cause and effect, we must be able to see it and measure it or it is not real. New world thinking, instead of one thing causing another, is unfoldment, emergence when conditions are appropriate.

In my work as a coach I am very conscious of the conditions we create and live in. What environment do you create at home? at work? with your family? How do you create these environments? I believe it is important to ask these questions, it is part of the unfolding of our lives. These questions allow us to adjust our lives to realize our dreams. But first the dreamer please!

Does the symphony of your life inspire you each day?

Adventure in Oman

Another delightful day in Oman!

This time it was a sea adventure. Just a reminder that Muscat is built between the Al Hajar mountains and the Gulf of Oman, 60 km long and 5km wide. So pick your adventure! Mountains, desert, city or sea.

This day I was delighted to be part of a sailing adventure put on by Oman Sail. What a joyous renewal! Sailing was a big part of my life in Saskatchewan, Canada for many years. I owned a small dinghy and spent many weekends and holidays sailing the numerous lakes in Saskatchewan. I remembered the bliss of the wind on your face and the smell of the waters. Although this time it was salt water!

My sailor's legs were a big unsteady but the passion for sailing and the sea were as bright and vibrant as ever.

Thank you Oman Sail!

Thank you Women's Guild for organizing the day!

Thank you Lois for the pics!

And next......a mountain adventure

This picture is taken from the ruins of the ancient village of Fanja, about 20 minutes from Muscat. What a view - date palms, the new village and the mountain!

I was invited to tour the remains of this ancient village with two locals and a tour operator interested in eco-tourism. One of the locals was a wealth of information on the area. Fanja is fed by natural springs from mountains and is lush and beautiful. The tour operator (a lady) and I took the opportunity to try out the local bath embedded in the mountain. It was a hot spring on a very hot day but was so refreshing! One of the ladies from the village provided us with sweet cool water from the mountain springs. It was delicious and a life saver in the heat of the day!

This may one day be the Venice of Oman!

Once again I am filled with gratitude for this beautiful country and the amazing opportunity to live and work here.

"All experience, to borrow an expression of the mystics, is bounded by the boundless. Every step on our journey adds to what we know but it also reveals there is no end to knowing."

James P. Carse, Breakfast at the Victory