Take a Break

This summer I have an opportunity to teach a class at the college where I work that I haven’t taught in 10 years.  It is General Psychology, basically an introductory course.  I like General Psych because it covers a little bit of everything: the brain, the neuron, human development, learning, intelligence, memory psychological disorder, well, you get the picture.

But because it has been so long since I have taught it that means there was a new textbook.  So that means new lecture notes, new power point slides, and new exams.  So I have been studying.  I joke that my textbook is my new best friend.  I take it everywhere.  If I can get a couple of minutes to read it, I do.  While I enjoy recreating my lectures, it is taking up a lot of time.

But I have learned something in this process: you have to take a break. So even though it meant taking me away from my preparation, I made sure I did some needle work.  (If you read my last three blogs, you will know what needle work I mean).  It was the best thing I could have ever done for myself.

Taking time to do some needlework let me take a break from the very cognitive work of preparing a course (we also cover cognition in my class.  haha).  It let me think about something else and do something a bit more physical with my hands than just typing.   It actually felt like a mini-vacation (or stay-cation).  I usually spent an evening while watching TV doing my embroidery. 

It is good to change up the routine once in a while.  It gives you a new perspective with whatever it is you are doing.  When I went back to my class preparation after some stitching, I was more energized and I actually found I was able to concentrate more on the preparation.  And it helped me come up with new ideas on how to present the information from the textbook.

So remember when you are working on a big project, take some time to be creative.  It may seem like you are getting off track for your goals, but it will help in the long run.

©2019 Cheryl E. Fillion

Do What Makes You Come Alive

When I began doing research to open my Etsy shop, I got a lot of advice about what to sell, what to do and how to do it.   But the best advice I ever got actually came in a quote.  Howard Thurman (a minister known to have influenced Martin Luther King Jr) said.  “Don’t worry about what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive and do that.  Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.”  That quote made me come alive.  If I was going to open an online shop, I probably should open one that excites me; that gives me pleasure; that makes me come alive.

If you are going to do something creative whether it is starting a business or a piece of art, do something that makes you come alive.   In business it is good to follow the trends.  Trends tend to show what people are interested in buying.  But you can also have too much of one trend.  If you have one shop that specializes in tote bags because bags are the ‘in’ thing, that shop will make money.  But if you have 2 or 3 shops selling bags, the sales are going to be less for each individual shop.

And what if some of those shop owners don’t really like selling tote bags, they are just following the trend of tote bags. That shop owner is not really going to be excited about his or her inventory. And customers tend to sense that.   The same is true in anything we do.  Are we doing it because it is the ‘in’ thing or are we doing it because we can’t stop thinking about whatever ‘it’ is? 

It is OK to do trendy things but don’t keep doing it if it isn’t giving you pleasure. What is the point in that?  A couple of years ago I tried improvisational quilting (in this case sewing random pieces of fabric together without realy knowing what the end product will look like.  One style of improv is the traditional crazy quilt block.). Now I often make things up as I create so I thought this would be the best class for me.  Oh was I wrong.  I like to have an idea of what things will look like in the end.    And at least the way this improv quilting was being taught didn’t do that.

So even though a lot of quilters in my guild were interested in it and talked a lot about improv quilting, I didn’t stick with it.  I didn’t even finish the project I started in the class.  It didn’t make me come alive.  It actually gave me a headache (haha). 

If you are going to spend your time doing something for business or creatively, do something that has you smiling all the time. Do something you can’t stop thinking about or keeps you up at night with ideas swirling in your head (I say that only because I was up early this morning writing ideas down for this blog.)

If you are doing what makes you come alive, you are then a role model for others to do what makes them come alive.  And then they in turn might influence others.   And as Rev. Thurman said “what the world needs are people who have come alive.”   So start giving the world what it needs and do something that makes you come alive.  

©2019-Cheryl Fillion

Filling the Well

If you are just starting your creative life or have been in it a while, you will find there are times when you come up empty.  You have nothing to create, no ideas whatsoever.  It is almost like putting a bucket in a well and coming up with dust.  Your well is dry.

The well is that part of us that collects all the drops of ideas, inspirations, dreams, joys, every little part that goes into our creativity.  It is not a matter of just picking up a brush and painting we must have something inside to paint.  It does not mean putting down one word and the rest follow, there must be a thought and emotion behind that one word for all the rest to come. 

This well can be fed by anything: working in the garden, going to a movie you want to see, reading a book, wandering through a flea market, listening to your favorite music without interruptions, smelling a lovely bouquet of roses, doing needlework or even cooking. How you fill your well may differ from how someone else fills theirs.  The variety is endless.  And the choice is yours.

You may find that ideas come when you are not even searching.   How many of you have come up with ideas while in the shower?  I occasionally get entire poems while soaking in a bath.  I hated that because I would have to get out of the tub to write down the poem before I forgot it.  (My brother has helped with this by finding some water soluble crayons for me to use in the tub.  Now you are just as likely to find poems on my bathroom tile as on paper.)

Where ever and what ever you do to fill your well, the important part is that you fill it.  Don't wait until the well is dry and you're scooping up dust, continually fill the well.  Make sure that you include on a regular basis those things you enjoy, that fill your soul.  Don't worry about what any one else thinks, this is important to your creativity, so it is important for you to do.

You might want to keep a notebook of the ideas you come up with.  If you record it somewhere, just a word or a brief description, you then have it for safekeeping and your mind can move on to gathering more drops for your well.  (If you are one who gets ideas in the car, take a recorder - don't try to write it down while driving.

 So now go out and gather your drops and get that well over flowing.  

© 2019 – Cheryl Fillion

 

It’s Resolutions Time

Well it’s the end of another year.  Where did it go?  I feel like it just started.  Now is the time we traditionally make resolutions for the next year. Usually our resolutions are to stop doing something like smoking or over eating but sometimes a resolution is a goal, a plan to do something.

I like making the second type of resolutions.    I like setting goals, making plans.  Sometimes my plan making is more fun than the actual event itself.  And again this year my resolutions are goals.

I want more music in my life.  Not in the way of learning an instrument – although you never know – but just in listening to more music and watching less news.  The last couple of days with Christmas music and holiday movies pushed the news off my TV and radio.  I have noticed a difference, a more upbeat difference in my mood.  

I definitely want to do more of the needlework my life is filled up with already.  I always tell people if I could figure out how to do my needlework while lecturing my classes, it would be perfect.  (The big problem is not me.  I can multi-task.  I just have a feeling my students would be watching what I am doing and not taking notes.  Not good for their grades.).

I definitely want to take more needle work classes.  Not sure in what yet.  I didn’t know at the beginning of this year that an art quilt class would be a high-light of the year so who knows what this upcoming year will bring. 

And speaking of art quilts, I want to do more of those.  The class I took included using paint on fabric.  At first I thought, no not for me but then the idea started to grow on me.  So one gift idea I gave to my brother was paint and sponge brushes; which were both under my tree.  I can’t let his gift go to waste so I will be playing with paint and fabric this year. (I’ll let you know how it goes.)

I want to read more just for pleasure.  You would be surprised at the ideas you can get from reading a novel or a mystery (my favorite type of books).  And read more biographies; there are so many people in the world to inspire us by their example.

So those are my resolutions for 2019.  What are yours going to be?  I hope they include needle work, creativity, and most of all, fun.  Happy New Year!!!!!

© 2018  Cheryl Fillion

Unplugged

I learned something about myself recently; I spend too much time at my computer.

Now it is true a lot of my work involves a computer. I have college classes where much of the grading is done on a computer, my online Etsy business and of course, this blog. But there are times when I am just surfing the net or looking up things in my personal files or playing solitaire and I spend more time on doing those things than I need.

My computer needed some repair work done so I was without it for a couple of days.  Since I don’t have a laptop, tablet or smart phone, I was basically unplugged.

I usually check my emails first thing in the morning.  In fact I often eat my breakfast with my email. But with my computer gone, I enjoyed what I was eating more.  I could concentrate on the taste of the food rather than just putting the fork or spoon in my mouth. I found there were times I would think “I need to look such and such up” and would go to my computer only then to remember it wasn’t there.  I apparently look up things a lot and knowing me I would have stayed on the computer after looking up what ever that such and such was, probably looking more things up.

I finished a lot of things while off the computer.  Got more reading done.  Actually wrote the first version of this blog in long hand (and that is a first for this blog).  Since I didn’t have my computer, I didn’t need to sit at my desk and my back thanked me for that.

Now this doesn’t mean I am going to give up my computer totally as I mentioned above I need it for much of my work (and in full disclosure I didn’t give up the computer entirely.  I did go to the library to use their computers once a day so I could check on my students and customers.)

But I can make a conscious effort to walk away from the computer when emails are read and assignments graded.  If I need to look something up or check out Facebook, do it maybe in the evening when I’m watching TV and even then limit my time.  I can get a lot more non-electronic work done if I just unplug myself more.

Do you find yourself at the computer or on your smart phone more than you need?  What could you accomplish if you put down the electronics?  Think about it.  You don’t have to give it up entirely (and shouldn’t if it involves your business) but maybe a little less of it wouldn’t hurt.  I am going to add less computer time to my New Year’s Resolutions.  Well, I will as soon as I create a page in my personal file for resolutions.

©2018  Cheryl E. Fillion

Celebrate Christmas All Month Long

I really love Christmas.  I tend to go all out.  I start playing my Christmas music before Thanksgiving.  I get out the books I have on Christmas customs and traditions and reread why we do the things we do.  I try to make my yearly ornaments to give out in early December.  I try to make the holiday last as long as I can.   

While looking for a celebration to write about this month besides Christmas, I found there are all kinds of days in December set aside to get you ready for the big holiday itself.

December 6^th is St. Nicholas Day.  In some parts of Europe and even here in the States, this is the day when St Nicholas (Santa Claus) comes for an early visit.  There actually was a St. Nicholas who was an Archbishop in Turkey back in the 5^th century.  He became the patron saint of boys and December 6^th is his birthday and on this day he is known for bringing little gifts for the good children, and sticks for the bad. 

If you are Christmas Card sender, December 9^th is Christmas Card Day.  If you haven’t gotten your cards yet, this might be a good day.  Or maybe this is the day to make cards.  Wouldn’t Grandma prefer a hand made card from the little ones than a store bought one?

Poinsettias, considered the flower of Christmas, have their own day on December 12^th.  So make sure you get out to your favorite garden store to pick out your festive plant.  December 14^th is Roast Chestnuts Day.  If you are not much of a chestnut person, how about picking up those other nuts you might eat.  A favorite part of Christmas growing up was going to the local grocers to get our bag of mixed nuts (only available this time of year).  They would have bins of unshelled nuts.  My favorite then and now were the walnuts.

And what is Christmas without the cookies.  Well, December 18^th is set aside just to get those holiday sweets completed for Santa’s visit with Bake Cookies Day.  And so you don’t forget that tree, Look for an Evergreen Day is December 19^th.  And while you are getting ready, why not take a break on December 20^th and celebrate Go Caroling Day.

If by now in the month you are bogged down with shopping and decorating and feeling a bit overwhelmed, there is a day for you to go ahead and just feel a little like Scrooge.  December 21^st is Humbug Day.  Just don’t let it last more than a day.

And finally on December 24^th, hopefully all the preparations are done and you can sit back and enjoy a little eggnog for it is not just Christmas Eve but also National Egg Nog Day.

If you are one who likes to have Christmas last as long as you can, go ahead and celebrate it all month long.  And Merry Christmas to you.

©2018 Cheryl Fillion

Be Grateful For…

November is when here in the States we celebrate Thanksgiving.  It is a day developed to be thankful for the harvest and the good growing season.  It has become a day of wonderful food, family and friends, parades and football.  November also has become a month where people put on their social media the items in their life they are grateful for.

I have mentioned before in this blog that I teach at a local college.  For many years I gave an assignment called the Gratitude Inventory (I still use it occasionally when someone needs some extra credit).  The assignment was to “Make a list of 20 things for which you are grateful.  Think about your family, friends, and talents as topics of gratitude.  Look at your life.  Respond to something in the news or the course content that you are grateful happened or didn’t happen to you.  Gratitude does not have to be something dramatic and life changing.  You might just be grateful that it is Friday.”

It was a great assignment and often the students would comment that they would continue   doing Gratitude Inventories because it reminded them of the good they had in their lives.  What would you put on the list if you had this assignment?

I decided today to give me this assignment.  So here is my Gratitude Inventory:

1- My health

2- My brothers

3- My parents

4- My home

5- A heater when it is cold

6- Air Conditioning when it is hot

7- My friends

8- My fish

9- My fingers

10- My eyesight

11- My hearing

12- My tastebuds

13- My job

14- Clean water

15- My embroidery ability

16- My needle felting

17- My spool knitting

18- My Etsy shop Heartfully Cheryl

19- My blog Heartfully Cheryl

20- That it is Friday.

© 2018 Cheryl Fillion

 

I Wouldn’t Do That

I have written before about trying new creative things.  But have you ever thought about just trying something, anything new.

I teach psychology at a local college.  For years I had an assignment called “I wouldn’t Do That”.  The idea was for students to try something they said they would never do.  I wanted them to get out of their comfort zone. 

My students did all kinds of things that they wouldn’t normally do.  The big one was trying sushi.  Every year I had at least one student who would try sushi.  Of all those students, only one ever said he would eat it again.  And that is OK; at least the others tried something new.

Other students would try another restaurant like Chinese or Thai.  Some students would go to a restaurant alone and found they enjoyed their food more since they did not have to talk to others.  There were also a couple of students who made a meal for their friends and found they were great cooks.

Another popular one was giving up their electronics for a day.  They turned off their phone and computers.  You would be surprised what you can get done when you unplug.  You can actually have a conversation with someone face to face.

Other students were more adventurous. I had one that took a hot air balloon ride, another who sky dived (with an instructor).  Some would travel to another city. 

 I had students who went to a church of  a domination different from theirs.  Some would go to a play or symphony concert or a sporting event.  One student wondered why she had never gone to a basketball game before.  She found it was fun.

What would you do?  Is there anything you have said “ Oh I would never do…”  How about trying it?  You don’t have to do it alone, find someone else who would like to be adventurous or maybe even supportive of you.  I remember one student had never gone swimming in a lake.  She wanted her children to have that experience and was afraid they wouldn’t do it if she didn’t.  So that was her project.  She thought it felt funny with the sand beneath her toes and little fish swimming around but she did it.  And hopefully her kids are enjoying lake swimming now as well.

So this week, go try something you have never done before or would never think you would.  You can start off small like turning off your phone.  But just start somewhere.

 

  ©2018- Cheryl Fillion

Positive Thinking Day

With all the negativity on the news these days, September 13 is definitely needed.  No, not as in Friday the 13^th but as in Positive Thinking Day. This is a day set aside to think of positive things.

Now how do you celebrate Positive Thinking Day?  You can wake up thinking about all the good things that will happen that day like maybe what you are going to eat that day, who you are going to see, and how the weather will be (even if it is raining, the rain is a good thing for the grass and the flowers),

Every hour think of 3 things in which you are grateful.  Maybe it is the people in your life or your health or the job or school you attend.  How about being grateful for your 5 senses?  Or even grateful that it is Positive Thinking Day and it gives you an opportunity to practice positivity.

Give compliments to everyone you meet. Everyone likes a compliment.  Or maybe extend some random acts of kindness.  This could be as simple as letting some go ahead of you in the check out line to paying for the meal of the car in the drive thru behind you.

In the evening, turn off the news (and don’t read the paper).  Watch a funny show or read an inspirational book instead.  What is usually on the news is the entire negative events that has gone on in the world during the day.

And of course the best way to keep yourself positive and spread positive vibes is to smile.  It is amazing how smiling can change your mood.  And smiling is contagious.  Have you ever noticed when you smile at someone, they will smile back (unless of course they are a Scrooge).

So while one day might be set aside to be positive, why not spread it to the next day and then the next week and then every day after that.  Happy Positive Thinking Day.

©2018 – Cheryl Fillion