2022 Creativity Project – Day 8

Dig deep,
Hold the trenches.
You know
The last line.
Your mission
Is to develop
The concept from
The first.
Do your best
Be tenacious,
Keep the smile
Let it grow.
Invest your
Heart to each,
Every part,
Let love show.

I wrote down a few lines in the wee hours. They grew, changed, and became.

PROMPT
Do you ever make a jotting or sketch on a notepad, scrap paper, or in your journal and put it aside? I challenge you to look through these thoughtfully and find something from which you can create.

This little bear that was Mom’s fascinates me, and he seems to have such an attitude. Sometimes I look at him and think that he has set to sea for an adventure, but he maybe has the thought, “Should I go back?”

We are often like that when we begin something that overwhelms us. There will be many similar days in 2022. We must remember our dreams and toss the confusion in a heap to the side. Twists and turns will come, but turning back is not an option. The past does not hold its doors open for us.

A song by Styx called, “Come Sail Away,” tells the story of a captain who sets sail on seas unknown and encounters memories reflected in the waves. He is propositioned by angels singing, “Come sail away.” The angels climb aboard their starship and fly away into the skies, to his surprise. You may ascertain Styx is one of my favorite groups.

I mention this song because we often set a course and are diverted by what we see as “angels,” which will not bring us to what we intend to create if we allow them space or follow them. Surprises are pleasant, but be judicious. You are the captain of your life.

Today, I read John 10. The main heading was The Good Shepherd; Jesus is our Shepherd and the Door for us. Studying the BE Commentary, I learned something. Did you know that the pens or folds that held the sheep were built of stone? The folds had no doors or gates. Did you know that the good shepherd lay in the gap at night to ward the sheep? If anything happened to the flock, He was right there. Such a beautiful picture of Jesus.

I encourage you to study the Word of God and find the many treasures it offers.

Gratitude List

I am thankful:
1. Somehow, I came up with a few things to share.
2. I called AT&T because my Broadband 1 light had been flashing red for about a week. They were sending someone to do whatever was required for repairs tomorrow, but later they fixed the line somehow and are not coming. WIN, WIN, WIN!
3. The heat works, since we have Winter, at the moment.

Thank you for your time; I hope you have found something to encourage or inspire you while visiting Haphazard Creative. Please follow the site or come back often; I intend to continue this 365 for all of 2022. Likes are always smile-makers and much appreciated. Be well, be blessed, share your love with all you meet – it is needed.

2022 Creativity Project – Day 6

Open the door on a new-fangled year. Somehow it seems unclear who is going on. Will a pose be stuck to endear, or are all acts sheared away.

Maybe everything is unformed as the void was before the Word gave life. Words are the tools to sculpt the way, whatever means each day.

1
I
Light the
Chalice
With a
Headstrong
Libation
From
Somewhere
Distinct
In memory
And moment,
Motion
To see
You
Again.

2
The work
Never stops,
The war to
Keep together
What battles
Left me;
Meaning confused
By voices,
Whether his or
Mine,
Unknown.

3
I sing
Like,
Maybe,
Someone
Would
Take
Interest,
Still,
As usual
I am plagued
By fear
And doubt –
The both
Block
My
Music
Out.

4
Sleep,
Soft ones,
So dear –
Life is
A balmy
Evening,
Where ravens
Appear.

One through three are tanka; four is a haiku. I gave them unconventional line breaks to add emphasis.

PROMPT
Consider something you have created; take it to another medium or form. Please do not presume to know what you make until you take directions you did not first use.

Appreciation
1. Even when I fall, I find the way.
2. What no one knows.
3. Still learning.

Thank you for your time. Follow or come back if you want to do so. Your likes and recommendations are appreciated.

All here appearing is © Jo Ann J. A. Jordan.

2022 Creativity Project – Day 5

Today, I return to my original format used with my first creativity project online, found on Chronicles. I have included my handwritten journal entry for this date.

Prompt
If you have not tried journaling, do that. You may wish to do freeform as above, or you may want to give yourself a topic each day. If you are doing specific creative work, a journal may also be used to work out glitches and problems in what you are doing. Include what you wish; a journal is like a friend whose feedback is in your reading again.

Recommendation
I have listened to the Audible version of Sandman and am listening to Sandman 2. I am usually not a fan of audiobooks, but I find these extremely enjoyable. Both employ a cast of voice actors and required sounds, and it may help that I am already a fan of Neil Gaiman.

READING SUGGESTION
The first book I have completed in 2022 is Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I read this book in 2011 when it originally came out, and I am afraid much reading since fogged my memory of some portions. Since my son, Alex, often references it, I reread it.
It is a good book about computers, simulations, the 1980s, the present, friendship, romance, lost love, and even has some murder thrown in. It is a book with a broad appeal, as relevant now as at its initial publication, maybe more.

1
Maybe, those dreams past
We can make real if we take
This time to attend
To things we began before
Warnings dire started to flash.

2
Who could you become
If you trusted yourself more
Than you have before?

3
We can never buy
What we want most, try we may
But days, past decays.

Gratitude List
I am thankful:
1.
For holidays, and
For average days when routine
Takes hold, and things are
A bit less bold, and one can
Be a comfortable self, like:
A quiet volume,
Not opened to reveal all
The story it hides,
But sitting dreamy waiting
‘Til some hungry soul arrives.
2.
For clever devices
Technologies some devise
Adding joy to lives.
3.
My ability
To read and maybe write,
With some expertise.
4.
These dogs, who call me
Theirs, who willingly share space
And the air freely.
5.
Friends and family
I have had, happily known,
Those lives still present
And those now gone, just away,
Or to their heavenly home.

A gratitude list, made poetry? Not entirely sure what happened there, but I also seem to speak in rhyme from time to time, so I guess I will not worry over something so sublime.

I am afraid all this went a little long, but I hope you enjoyed your time here. If you like, use one of the available methods to follow the site, or come again when you will. I would be most pleased to have you like this post and the others you read. If you have friends who might find this worthwhile, your recommendation is always appreciated.

Everything here is © Jo Ann J. A. Jordan

2022 Creativity Project – Day 4

My son, Alex, gave me this book for Christmas. I was surprised because he complains about the number of volumes I have. Looking at this gorgeous knowledge base, I understand.

Coming into a new year, one is often hopeful for change and positive outcomes. I am mapping out what I hope to accomplish.

Settling into today with a steadfast commitment to dreams with a probability of success.

Be the rebel, maverick, that shakes the floor and elevates everyone toward the ceiling.

Happen: because you are to be.

1
The music trembles
The body mumbles, rumbles, soft
The beginning comes;
Wonder captures wanderers
Somewhere delight shakes, titters.

2
Wherever fear lives
We must courageously find –
Evict the squatter,
No derelict habitude
Has consequence in our lives.

3
Waifs, wayfarers, flit
Like honeybees everywhere
Spites, spirits, going
Somewhere, elsewhere, forever
Temporary wind home.

Gratitude List
I am thankful:
1. I finally tried the wireless earbuds I got for Christmas and like them a lot.
2. Still getting used to the old-style keyboard, but it is getting easier.
3. Glad I decided to do a Creativity Project again.
4. Beginning to accept losing my Facebook account. Trying to like the new one.
5. Wookie and I are getting along somewhat better.

PROMPT
What is one creative thing you can do now that will get you closer to where you want to be before the end of the year? Implement this immediately. {My plan is to create something and share it here every day. I hope to come back and collect some of it.}

Call to Action
Thank you for visiting Haphazard Creative. I hope you found something encouraging or inspirational. Please follow the site by using one of the subscribe buttons. If you prefer, come back as often as you can. Comments, ideas, and suggestions are always welcome, and likes let me and others know you like what is here.

2022 Creativity Project – Day 2

Starting and ending are easy, but the middle gives life to the story. The morass of details, building, deconstructing, together and apart, is where we find meaning for the first and last. As creators, we test ourselves and find the elements we are made from in the uncharted country that stretches infinite inside our boundaries.

Sometimes, the mistakes are where we learn the best and the most when we create. Never be afraid of failure or the line that goes awry. We can recover, but never beginning or stopping when things get difficult serves no one. Perfection is a myth; it can hold us prisoners; creation is the goal, and sometimes the process is messy.

Writing can be bizarre. We work on one thing, then find parts and pieces, fit puzzle-like with our other work. Such was my experience today; it was like chunking ideas at a mind map.

Urgent Origin

1.
Love sometimes silent
Makes one wily and wary;
Trust, a butterfly,
Some pick the brightly colored
Wings off and set them aflame.

Slaking emotion
Within a stranger desire,
Holding back the truth,
When unbeknownst, tears fall warm –
Milk curdled in noonday sun.

2.
Some secrets have ways
Of bleeding out over time,
Leaving stains behind
Hard to cover in the mind
Or in person, once you find.

Everyday becomes
Barred captivity with no
Date set for release,
Creativity invents
Dialogues, reasons, endless.

Tears you comprehend
But cannot ever explain
To those who must pry
Into the brown-paper wrapped
Packages under bleary eyes.

3.
Who knows the flashes
Of memory making you?
Is your life managed
In black boxes mentally?
Can anyone explain fear?

When you smile, statements,
Does someone care, understand?
Years play melodies
Like guitars, dice, ivory –
Peddle pleasures, distant names.

No pictures remain
Glass burst, broken, twisted frames;
To travel back, no,
Claims upon the shattered heart
Too costly to rearrange.

Winners rode away
Without regret meant to say –
Drowning in bottles
Forsaking the meaning – Love –
Ravens, dark dirges – black sing.

Still, shrill the ailing,
Lonely wails, no one listens,
The darkness alone
Harbors shadows whoever
It was and somehow might be.

Castaway – leave shore,
Dump boxes full of shame, woe,
Let bad temper go,
Find the self anew, made free
Voyage into what agrees.

© Jo Ann J. A. Jordan

Prompt
As you work, see how you handle middles. Do you have beginnings and endings within them? Create inside, but aside your boundaries. Share your experience if you wish.

Gratitude
I am thankful:
1. Today, I had an opportunity to talk to my son, Alex.
2. The weather may become colder again.
3. I created a lot today.
4. I can determine how I employ my creativity.
5. Life is like origami; every fold adds value to the whole.

Call to Action
I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Haphazard Creative. Should you wish to share, please ask permission; all material here is © Jo Ann J. A. Jordan. Please hit the like and follow buttons if you have not already. I hope to keep this project going all year; your comments, ideas, and suggestions are welcome. All the best to you forever.