“Lush morning sunlight welcomes me, letting my sisters, the leaves, dance with their shadows. I let the silence dilate for just a moment, and notice a question circling in my mind..”
What a perfectly dreamy and soft way to enter into an essay on the topic of our creative haze. I just love how this came together, Brigitte! A perfect description of a process that feels so difficult to nail down. Bravo!
This was good. Also, the clue later about the phone getting hot in the sun, great way to show passage of time and nod to the discomfort that can come with swirl of trying ideas.
…i wonder sometimes what would happen if i became a happy pillow…one that i or anyone could lay their head in…i share this because the delight you share and seek and share the seeking of reminds me of the spiritual equivalent of becoming a cloud…to which i wonder how much good is the goodest amount of good in a life…i am a see saw so many times…i say what i see saw…i love balanced unbalanced…but what if i was a pile of leaves…
Now I also want to know "how much good is the goodest amount of good in a life"! Just 2-3 hours ago, I read this about writing as an "unbalancing act" which caught my attention, and like so many things, it probably applies to life more broadly too:
"One good way to think about openings is to think in terms of balance. Either things are out of kilter, or they will soon be; there's an imbalance, or a missing link, some mystery about what is happening that draws us into the story. It can be subtle, but it has to be there… that keeps us enough off balance to want to read more and regain our equilibrium." Alice LaPlante (The Making of a Story)
Enjoyed this one Brigette. Esp the close with bricolage. Finding a comfort in that is so helpful with creative work. Finding which way the creative winds are blowing and move forward with those winds at your back. Good writing here.
I love how you weave together the notion of a "creative haze" (Rachel's term) with intriguing details about a "systematic ... delicate inner order" behind the creative process. The *only* way to do this in a way that draws in the reader is to do so in a uniquely creative manner. You really nailed it.
Thank you, Brigitte. What a treasure this is: an exquisite example of free associating on a wavelength of relaxed interest. The tender willingness of your curiosity to move sloooooowwwwwly, savoring, sensing, until the spontaneous click arrives: "These subtle pulls of curiosity? They feel so fragile but vital, and it’s a way of honoring them when I follow them. And I find there also needs to be slack, some space I give myself for idleness. It’s often in this soft, unstructured state of energized tranquility that another puzzle piece finds its way to me." I love that permission you give yourself for "slack, some space for idleness." There is such potency in that permission, and in your summing up: "I’m a bricoleuse, working with what’s at hand. Nothing flashy; just an ordinary person noticing what feels special in the ordinary." Here and now, everything.
Brigitte, I’m catching up tonight on some essays I had bookmarked and not gotten to. Your brilliant and luminous one here is one of them. Thank you for the beautiful images that form a transcendent picture of creativity and the creative process. I especially resonated with this:
“Ideas, layers of understanding – one fragment here, one reference there – come together like a mosaic borne by my taste.”
Thank you James for taking the time to read and share what resonated with you!
Also, I love the synchronicity of us both catching up on each other’s more recent writing tonight (I was planning to read your last piece just as your comment popped up ✨). Hoping to see you on Write Hearted soon; it’s also my intention to engage more regularly again, now that a good and busy summer is winding down.
I agree with Rachel that you circled the wagons artfully for something that is so hard to describe. Though I have to say that the video was an inspired addition to the communication. It's very short obviously, but that visual impression of the flickering light, the fleeting flashes of brilliance dancing on the curtain, so much can be felt there about this untouchable process.
“Lush morning sunlight welcomes me, letting my sisters, the leaves, dance with their shadows. I let the silence dilate for just a moment, and notice a question circling in my mind..”
What a perfectly dreamy and soft way to enter into an essay on the topic of our creative haze. I just love how this came together, Brigitte! A perfect description of a process that feels so difficult to nail down. Bravo!
Thank you so much Rachel! 🙏
This was good. Also, the clue later about the phone getting hot in the sun, great way to show passage of time and nod to the discomfort that can come with swirl of trying ideas.
…i wonder sometimes what would happen if i became a happy pillow…one that i or anyone could lay their head in…i share this because the delight you share and seek and share the seeking of reminds me of the spiritual equivalent of becoming a cloud…to which i wonder how much good is the goodest amount of good in a life…i am a see saw so many times…i say what i see saw…i love balanced unbalanced…but what if i was a pile of leaves…
Now I also want to know "how much good is the goodest amount of good in a life"! Just 2-3 hours ago, I read this about writing as an "unbalancing act" which caught my attention, and like so many things, it probably applies to life more broadly too:
"One good way to think about openings is to think in terms of balance. Either things are out of kilter, or they will soon be; there's an imbalance, or a missing link, some mystery about what is happening that draws us into the story. It can be subtle, but it has to be there… that keeps us enough off balance to want to read more and regain our equilibrium." Alice LaPlante (The Making of a Story)
Enjoyed this one Brigette. Esp the close with bricolage. Finding a comfort in that is so helpful with creative work. Finding which way the creative winds are blowing and move forward with those winds at your back. Good writing here.
"Finding which way the creative winds are blowing and move forward with them at my back” is an image I will now carry with me. Thank you, Matt.
I love how you weave together the notion of a "creative haze" (Rachel's term) with intriguing details about a "systematic ... delicate inner order" behind the creative process. The *only* way to do this in a way that draws in the reader is to do so in a uniquely creative manner. You really nailed it.
I feel humbled by your kind words, Larry.
Thank you, Brigitte. What a treasure this is: an exquisite example of free associating on a wavelength of relaxed interest. The tender willingness of your curiosity to move sloooooowwwwwly, savoring, sensing, until the spontaneous click arrives: "These subtle pulls of curiosity? They feel so fragile but vital, and it’s a way of honoring them when I follow them. And I find there also needs to be slack, some space I give myself for idleness. It’s often in this soft, unstructured state of energized tranquility that another puzzle piece finds its way to me." I love that permission you give yourself for "slack, some space for idleness." There is such potency in that permission, and in your summing up: "I’m a bricoleuse, working with what’s at hand. Nothing flashy; just an ordinary person noticing what feels special in the ordinary." Here and now, everything.
I love so much that you resonated with these descriptions. Thank you, Alden! 💗
Brigitte, I’m catching up tonight on some essays I had bookmarked and not gotten to. Your brilliant and luminous one here is one of them. Thank you for the beautiful images that form a transcendent picture of creativity and the creative process. I especially resonated with this:
“Ideas, layers of understanding – one fragment here, one reference there – come together like a mosaic borne by my taste.”
Was an exquisite image. 😊
Thank you James for taking the time to read and share what resonated with you!
Also, I love the synchronicity of us both catching up on each other’s more recent writing tonight (I was planning to read your last piece just as your comment popped up ✨). Hoping to see you on Write Hearted soon; it’s also my intention to engage more regularly again, now that a good and busy summer is winding down.
Synchronicity is a wonderful thing isn’t it? I look forward to that too Brigitte. I hope your summer has been wonderful! See you soon ❤️
I agree with Rachel that you circled the wagons artfully for something that is so hard to describe. Though I have to say that the video was an inspired addition to the communication. It's very short obviously, but that visual impression of the flickering light, the fleeting flashes of brilliance dancing on the curtain, so much can be felt there about this untouchable process.
I’m glad I hit record for a few seconds on that serene and special morning. Thank you Rick!