the creative minimalist

darren r hill : writer, minstrel and journal keeper

By Leave a Comment

All that flickers isn’t gold

The sun is shining. I went out earlier, a morning at the coffice. I followed that with a walk to the beach. I listened to the waves. Contemplated the vastness of the ocean. Pondered the insignificance of one individual person, liking them to a grain of sand on the shore. Then realised that if there were no individual grains there would be no beach. The usual sort of walk.

I was going to talk about St Swithin, considering that today is this esteemed saint’s day. However, when I went digging for some information it seems that his history is based on more legend than King Arthur. I know saints and other religious figures often haul around a lot of myth and legend, but Swithin has more than his fair share. Needless to say, it hasn’t rained today so we may be in for a bit of a dry time ahead… although that’s only if you believe in the myth and legend.

Instead I’ll return to the image above and the song that those lyrics are from. Currently keeping my iTunes account busy are Future Islands. I have enjoyed their music for a few years now and this particular track is echoing around my room with an enjoyable regularity.

The ‘sort of’ chorus resonates quite a bit with me and I love the imagery conjured by the ‘flickering bits of my life’. As for dealing with my own apathy, well, enough said. The chorus lyrics are below and a live performance of the song follows.

TOO MANY WASTED DAYS AND NIGHTS
OBSESSED WITH THE FLICKERING BITS OF MY LIFE
FORGETTING WHAT GIVING AND LIVING CAN BE—WHAT IT CAN MEAN
FIRST FORGIVING MYSELF AND STEPPING OUTSIDE OF MY OWN APATHY
TO SEE, I JUST WANT TO BE
Future Islands

Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox
If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

By 2 Comments

Discovering an organic creative workflow

Journal pages

I like lists. I like bullet lists. I have, and still use a bullet journal. I have a digital to do list as well. But, before you all jump to any conclusions, I am not a list addict. I know the dangers of too many lists. I fall into that particular procrastination trap every so often, but I’m not too bad… really, honest.

Lists are great for getting things out of my head. They clear the space for the creative magic to take place. Out of my head and I no longer need to worry about them. But the lists get longer and longer. Once they are on the lists, I worry about the lists. I’m not a worrier per se… really, honest.

I am always looking for ways to get my stuff done. And I’m worried that lists don’t always work for me. One of the dangers with lists is that they are rigid. You add to them, cross or check off items… they are always there. But even though they are immortal, they are not truly alive, they lack a soul, they lack spirit – even if at times they can feel demonic.

I’m looking for something alive. Lists are ok, but I need more life. The stuff is out of my head but things are a little too structured. I like to be organised but I also like organic. Right angles create boxes, create rigidity. You can get perspective from straight lines, but it feels static. Curves allow flow and movement.

A little interaction with a much respected friend on YouTube got me thinking. In all my planning and listing and structure, I am losing the flow and movement. I want lists, reminders and so on, to be more like organic signals. I want my actions guided like the seasons or like the plaques you find on the walls of buildings telling you who lived there. My lists and reminders should prompt and inspire and point out things I might miss or not know, but should they be the actual path?

My life, including all my work, is a creative journey. I travel a creative road or path. I don’t want to spend that journey looking at rigid to do lists and next actions. However, I do want some signposts and guidance, both natural – seasonal, lunar, landscape, personal energy – and ‘memade’ – maps, rituals, reminders, prompts.

I have been thinking around this for my New Moon Ritual. This is an organic ritual, it varies in time and focus, and is pretty much the sort of thing I have hinted at above. When looking at the dates for the new and full moon I found that this lunar cycle includes a couple of eclipses. There was an eclipse at the new moon and there is an eclipse at the full moon. I read that an eclipse is ‘a cosmic harbinger for irreversible change’. And in my journal I noted that change means letting something go.

Is it time to rethink the lists and my current process?

Do I need to ‘let go’ and open the door to a radically different creative approach?

It sounds like I am always reworking my process and procrastinating over my actions, but I’m not… really, honest.

Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox
If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

By Leave a Comment

Get out of your cell

Get out of your cell sticker on a journal page

A shell protects yet it can become a prison

  • We can make our own shells
  • Others can make shells for us
  • Some shells look and feel natural
  • Some shells are clearly artificial

Fear can be a shell. We fear what is outside so we protect ourselves and stay inside. What begins with practical common sense can calcify. The protection, the boundary, the border becomes hardened. It no longer just keeps the outside out but stops us from venturing beyond.

But there is danger out there! That’s why I needed protection in the first place.

True, but look at what you have lost through being protected.

  • You can no longer explore: seek and discover new and unique sensations.
  • You can’t grow beyond your boundary, your shell.

And the fear, quite often is unrealised. It is sensationalised by others. It is a virus spread from willing host to willing host with a long unnoticed incubation period. Eventually it spreads to you.

And so you created your boundary, your border, your shell… get out of your cell.

“Get out of your cell” is one of the journal/planner stickers available from my Etsy shop. I use it whenever I feel that my comfort zone has become a little too permanent. I find it far too easy to stay inside, to let my shell calcify and harden. It’s a reminder I need and use quite often.

journal page with text added to sticker

Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox
If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

By Leave a Comment

My journal and planner set-up for July 19

My journal and planner set-up for July 19

Video update to take a look at how I have set-up my planner and journals for July 2019. My planner has become a bullet journal with an inbox – it might work we’ll see. Also a look at how I am using my Iconic journal alongside the planner. You can find the stickers at my pLAnarchy store.

Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox
If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

Stay in touch