Learn + Explore + Share

Learn: Stop to Smell the Roses

Most mornings as the bus pulls away with my daughter safely on her way to school, I meander through the yard. With birds chirping above and around me and maple leaves rustling in the breeze, I notice incremental changes as the flowers in their garden beds stretch closer toward the sun each warm spring day.

This time of year, I eagerly watch the daily progress of buds in the garden: roses, peonies, dianthus. I marvel at how intricately the petals are swaddled atop their stems and imagine I can see a bud ever-so-slightly beginning to open right before my eyes. I look for ants working diligently on the round peony buds.

Grumbling over the rabbit-nibbled phlox and lilies, I breathe in the sweet smell of a delicate white rose in the front yard. I admire the bright pink flowers of the weigela, knowing the blossoms will soon whither and drop away. I dribble water onto flowers that need a drink and stoop to pull a weed or two. I consider which flower might work well in a bare spot and make note of which flower patches could use thinning.

At a recently transformed rock-patch-turned-flower-garden, I pause and wonder to myself: Will the phlox survive its new home? Will these lilies bloom this season, or will I have to wait until next year for them to flower? Taking one last glance around the yard before reluctantly entering the house to begin my day's work, I breathe deeply and feel the peace and calm of my morning meander, telling myself I can return to this moment in my mind throughout the day. And again tomorrow, when the bus drives off with my daughter safely aboard.

Not only did I stop to smell the roses and admire the blossoms the day I wrote this post, I also took time to take photos of our flowers and to practice my newfound aperture skills. Take a look at my More Aperture Practice set on Flickr if you'd like to see more shots from our spring garden. 

Do you have a regular ritual that helps remind you to slow down and appreciate what's around you? Share your practice in a comment here, or connect with me on twitter.

 

What ELSE (Explore Learn Share Etc.) Wednesday

 The weather here has been sunny and mild over the past week, and I've spent plenty of time outdoors and in the garden. Here is what else I've been up to: 

A wrong turn yesterday evening sent me inadvertently exploring a residential area in Minneapolis's Tangletown neighborhood. I wound up and down hills and around curves amongst beautiful homes before I made my way back out to Nicollet Avenue. When I have more time, I'd like to go back and see the water tower that sits upon the neighborhood's highest hill. 

After I found, Simply Jane, my Tangletown destination, I spent the evening learning and experimenting with acrylic painting techniques. Mainly, I learned (a) the importance of the base color and (b) I need to mix more paint because I usually run out.

And here I'm sharing the final result of my evening painting Simply Jane's (leftover) April fauna selection:

(Etc.): Aside from being a day for exploring and learning, yesterday was also the first anniversary of Learn + Explore + Share! I've been looking at ideas for redesigning L+E+S, so watch for a new look in the near future.

What ELSE? What have you been exploring or learning? What do you have to share, (etc.)? Comment here or via twitter.

 

52 Birds: Week 18

52 Birds: week 18

Explore: The Value of Creativity

What is creativity?

Educator and creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson defines creativity as "the process of having an original idea that has value." Here's his 2006 TED Talk, one of the most-watched with more than 1.4 million views:

 

(An aside: In the 2006 talk, I found Robinson's argument that schools kill creativity to be weak. You might find, like I did, that his follow-up talks on reforming education and changing education paradigms effectively flesh out the overall argument.)

Jonah Lehrer, author of the current bestseller Imagine: How Creativity Works, similarly defines creativity in this interview describing: 

[Creativity is] the invention of something new that's useful. The second part of that is crucial. It's not just about random new things; it's not about erratic expression. It's about a second life. It's got to be useful or beautiful or meaningful to somebody else.

Generally, society agrees with these twin definitions of creativity. Disagreement and tension arise at the part of the definition that brings up value and usefulness, beauty and meaning. Sure, businesses need creativity, says society ... but dance? art? They're ancillary, not necessary.

What if creativity held more value in our society? What if we developed and exercised our brain's creative abilities and fully accepted and infused creativity into all disciplines? Might it mean more potential solutions to society's problems? Might we experience a greater acceptance of creative solutions and of change?

What do you think? Join the conversation in a comment below or connect with me on twitter.

 

 

Share: 12 Most Awesome Places to Visit in the United States

Inspired by 12 Most AWESOME Spots in America posted recently by Jake Iannarino here is my list of the 12 Most Awesome Spots in the United States:

1. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota
   Just hours from my suburban Minneapolis home, the BWCA consists of more than 1 million acres of pure, unspoiled nature without crowds of tourists.
2. Gasparilla Island State Park, Florida
   After my most recent visit to this Gulf Coast park, I felt like I had spent the afternoon at a luxury spa. Relaxation came from feeling the sand on my bare feet, watching the birds ride the wind and becoming mesmerized by the waves continually rolling onto the beach—all for a $3 parking fee plus a $5 toll for crossing the bridge to the island.
3. Little Bighorn Battlefield, Montana
   Walking along the battlefield path and honoring the fallen warriors and soldiers was a surprisingly moving experience for me. Visualizing history in the actual place where it occurred made it feel more real.
   
   The enormity of Yosemite: Joel & the girls at Glacier Point (Half Dome in background).
   
4. Yosemite National Park, California
   At Yosemite I learned the true meaning of the word awesome. The immense and stunning landscape made me feel more like a speck than I'd ever felt before (or since).
5. Sequoia National Park, California
   If Yosemite presented awe, then Sequoia NP oozed reverence. Some giant sequoia trees are more than 3,000 years old. On average, giant sequoias can grow to be 150 to 280 feet tall (about 20 stories) and 16 to 23 feet in diameter. As strong as stately as these massive trees are, their root system lies within only four or five feet of the soil surface and can be damaged by too much traffic.
6. Double Arch at Arches National Park, Utah
   The more than 2,000 natural stone arches around the park come in different shapes and sizes, look different depending on the weather or the time of day, and serve as natural frames of the surrounding landscape. My favorite of all the arches is Double Arch, pictured here. (Do you notice the tiny people?)
7. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
   Each time we visit RMNP, we wind our way up to the Alpine Visitor Center and trek up the Alpine Ridge Trail to take a photo at the elevation sign. Once we drove up the one-way Old Fall River Road. (Once is enough for me!)
8. The Grand Canyon, Arizona
   When I was 16, my family visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The morning my dad and I watched the sun rise over the canyon, it seemed like we were the only two people on earth. Someday, Joel and I will bring our daughters to see this natural wonder.
   
   Places I Have Not Yet Visited (But Are Surely Awesome)
9. Yellowstone National Park
   The nation's first National Park has the world's largest geyser collection.
10. Washington, D.C.
    D.C., where monuments and history abound, sits toward the top of our list of future family destinations.
11. Hawaii
    Some day, I would like to experience the lush green islands of Hawaii.
12. Alaska
    Just one word: Denali.

Those who know me aren't likely surprised that my list focuses on nature and the outdoors. As I was writing this, I asked Joel what he'd put on his top 12. Aside from Gasparilla Island and Sequoia National Park (redundant to Yosemite, he says, since Yosemite has sequoias), our lists are the same. He would add two places he has not yet visited: Gettysburg and Acadia National Park.

What does your list of the 12 Most Awesome Places to Visit look like? I invite you to share you favorite destinations in the comments below, or send me a note on twitter.

 

52 Birds: Week 17

52 Birds: week 17

 

Explore: Sailing Lake Superior's Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

After our 11-year-old daughter, under direction from Captain John, guided the 38-foot sailboat back into the harbor, I didn't want it to be time to dock the boat and call it a weekend. This resistance bubbled up despite my initial reservations about even making the last-minute Lake Superior trip.

Last June, my family was filmed for an 8-minute segment (embedded below) as part of a locally produced television program called Life to the Max. The family who had planned to go on the sailing trip had to back out, so my uncle, the videographer and a producer of the show, invited us to explore the Apostle Islands area on an overnight excursion with Dreamcatcher Sailing.

 

During our too-short time on the boat, we experienced dense fog that burned off more than once that day, only to settle in almost imperceptibly just as dense. Joel donned a wet suit and jumped from a rocky precipice into the chilly lake. All of us took our turn at the wheel, piloting the boat across the beautiful blue water. We hiked and explored Stockton Island before enjoying a dinner of grilled fresh white fish purchased in town.

Watching Lauren steer the boat into the marina was bittersweet: My heart swelled thinking about how she would always remember this experience and sunk as we left relaxation and approached reality once again. Now, looking back, I am grateful we jumped at the opportunity to embark on such a wonderful adventure. All four of us, I think, consider the sailing trip to be our 2011 highlight. We dream together about the possibility of another sailing overnight in our family's future.

 

What's your family's favorite adventure? Tell me in the comments below, or connect with me on twitter. I'd love to hear your stories (and get ideas to add to our family's to-do list)!

 

Learn: Living a Life True to Your Heart Takes Work

Setting out to discover and follow your heart's true path takes dedication and time and, yes, work.

Dedication

More than simply wanting to find the heart of your life's meaning, you have to be dedicated to the way you get there. Have you ever picked up a book, maybe The Artist's Way, and gotten through only a couple chapters? Not dedicating yourself to the process is like hopping into your car with a mapped route toward a destination, then intentionally leaving your map at a rest stop and losing your way. You might still lose your way along your heart's path journey like I have, but when you rededicate yourself to the process, you will get back on track.

Time

Just as driving to a planned destination takes time, so does getting to the true path of your heart. Schedule time each day to focus on the activities that will carry you along your route. Start small—maybe 10 or 15 minutes a day—and work up to a half-hour or an hour. Dedicating time is necessary in order to make progress.

Work

Simply buying the maps and planning your route won't get you to your destination; you have to do the work of driving or traveling. Likewise, discovering and following your heart's true path takes more than just buying the books and reading them. It requires that you do the exercises, uncover your inner self and answer tough questions. It is work—heart's-path work—and it's vital to the process of discovering and following your true path.

 

In my own heart's-path journey paved with dedication, time and work, I have used "maps" like I describe here and guidebooks, listed here. And, because music always plays while I'm driving, I have a theme song, The Soft Pack's "Answer to Yourself," for my journey. The song's lyrics are relevant to this heart's-path work, especially these:

You gotta answer to yourself
Two days a week outside yourself
You take an hour a day, an hour a day
And you don't respond to anyone else

 

What would happen if you took time each day to work through some of your heart's questions? What answers might you discover and where might your heart lead you? Share a story from your journey in a comment here, or drop me a line on twitter.

 

52 Birds: Week 16

52 Birds: week 16

 

Explore: 7 Tools for Finding Your Heart's True Path

In Learn: 3 Ways to Your Heart's True Path, I mentioned just a few self-discovery resources. This post is a complete list of the books that have guided my exploration of my heart's true path over the past several years. I've listed the books roughly in the order in which I experienced them.

Full disclosure: While no one is paying me to promote these products, if you were to click through to and purchase any of these books at Powells.com, I would earn a commission.

 

Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort of Joy
Sarah Ban Breathnach teaches six principles of abundance and authenticity:
gratitude, simplicity, order, harmony, beauty and joy.

 

Strengths Finder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths
 An online quiz identifies your six strengths. The book's strength profiles describe each area and suggest ways to live your strengths.

 

The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity: A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self
Working through Julia Cameron's program reintroduced me to journaling, taught me to accept my talents where they are right now and encouraged me to explore.

 

The Not So Big Life: Making Room for What Really Matters
With her architect's perspective, Sarah Susanka shows how to recognize and respect the personal values and activities that offer meaning in life.

 

Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live
The key lesson I learned from Martha Beck's book was how to pay attention to and respect the physical signals my body provides regarding finding and staying on my life's true path.

 

Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally
Discovering Patti Digh's book rekindled my dormant love and need for practicing creativity in my daily life.     

I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion
Dawna Markova points out that without a connection with our community and the people around us, we are unable to complete the circle of personal fulfillment.

 

Reading and working through these books, has inspired me to change how I approach my life each day. What books or other resources would you add to this heart's-path list? Share your suggestions via twitter or in the comments below.