“A Rainy Night In Georgia”

It’s raining; it seems like it rains all the time. I tend to believe, partially facetiously, that Georgia is now part of the Tropics. We have a dry season, and then we have a rainy season. It was not this way when I grew up. I seem to remember, though my memory has compartments, that there used to be dew on the grass every morning. Mostly rain was at night. Understand the assumption might be fanciful. I have notions. At any rate, this drift into tropical seasons has escalated over the years.

Alex lived in Nevada for a while, near or in the desert. It rarely rains. We both tend to think and imagine better in motion, walking. He told me, “Thanks so much,” for bequeathing that anomaly to him. This evening, Alex went out in the pouring rain to listen to the novel Armada, and his writing block broke, so he began listening to music and continued walking.

He is moving back to Georgia after traveling the world since he graduated from Alexander High School in 2006. I assure you all his adventuring was not for pleasure. He has been far from a vagabond. Since he has been home, the rain has been pervasive. Rain in Georgia tends to be cold, and there is always high humidity, even when it is dry.

I walk, it is how I lost a significant amount of weight, which I have begun to regain to my chagrin. I do it mostly indoors.

Alex came back in totally soaked, and shivery. He brewed coffee, which we got at Kroger, and has been working on his novel with his headphones on.

Every time I tried to work with “The Dell from Hell” (pardon me, this is the only accurate description of the computer), it was slow as a sloth. I intended to do this post on it, but found, as I suspected that it wanted to update, so I pulled out the keyboard for my tablet and am finishing this on it. I have my headphones on and am listening to YouTube. The tablet/keyboard combination works reasonably well, but I keep wanting a mouse.

You should listen to the song, “A Rainy Night In Georgia.” Had things not become obnoxious with The Dell, I would have linked it. I do not trust myself to do it on this sweet tablet. I have never even used the keyboard with it before, but desperation breeds courage.

Many are the times I have wanted to chunk the Dell against a wall, or shoot it, (I have no gun for secret reasons), but the money invested in the piece of junk does not permit it. When it ate all my files made over two years, I had to talk to Jesus for a while to ameliorate my rage. I still do not have those files, that is why it has the unusual sobriquet.

I have been drinking coffee, even though I got up on Thursday morning and have not slept since, I am probably up as long as Alex is, and he is drinking coffee too. I finally left that lethargic state behind.

I am currently reading, The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, and am enjoying it immensely. The cover is gorgeous, and covers can get me every time. This book is about Words, and I adore words.

I would write a poem, but it seems Shift+Enter does not make single line spaces on this device combination, so that will wait.

It looks as though I am rambling a bit. Often happens when under coffee’s influence. So I shall bid you adieu and find something else to entertain me.

Simple is OKAY

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Time is valuable because it goes in one direction, and we cannot buy it or get a moment back once it has passed. How we spend it is immensely consequential. It is well to use it for our betterment. Sometimes creation is best because it grounds us at the moment, and the accomplishment can elevate our mood. Endorphins are way cool. There is a calming effect with creativity if we can eject the internal critic.

The critic can be a right pain. When we try to write, it can tell us how wrong we are. When we attempt art, the critic is likely to say, “Oh, that is so childish, it cannot be shared.” With poetry, there is a comparison to any number of celebrated poets, and of course, the poem is not worth the words used. A book, “You think you can write a book, you cannot even sort socks.” A song, “Nah, go listen to XYZ, you will never be that good.”

The best advice is to totally ignore the critic unless we are in “editing mode.” Ideally, the first draft is complete before any edits. Most critics are stubborn brats, even if we throw them to the curb, they come back, like significant others we toss out who keep showing up in places we wish they would not be.

My use of we is because I prefer not to use first-person when I can do without it. It is not a tic because of circumstances. Sometimes I am very self-conscious, let’s amend that to always. Life’s a beach.

Anyway, when we create, we are aiming for enlightenment and results, not to please the nasty critic. The critic is a hater, internalized. Most of us would be well to send ours to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, bury the cur there, and leave forever. Good luck with that!

When we write a lot, art or photography can still engage us in the making but allow us some lightness of being, without the hard struggle of language. It is like the valve atop a pressure cooker. We can ease off the accelerator and coast downhill with art, writing can feel like a curvy mountain road’s ascent. Watch out for falling boulders. For some of us, all creativity is a minefield, but when we make it across, we feel ultimately alive.

A friend wants more exposure. This person is extremely talented. The recommendation of a website was made. Maybe it will happen. Advised the name for a site is a priority. The web address should be memorable and fast to type, short because most will avoid extended ones.

Haphazard Creative came to be because there was a desire to highlight creativity as it is an integral part of any process. A mentor recommended a bunch of names that were in a preexisting list. When Haphazard came up, that was deemed right, because one can find almost anything here. This was a new chapter of online life. Chronicles existed before and has the previous Creativity Project on it.

Ah, Simple is OKAY. Everything does not have to be perfect. Perfection is a lie. We do not need perfection, we need to be our best. There are times when just creating whatever is enough because one work can lead to another. Life is hard enough without pressuring ourselves to compete with some ideal. When we do our best, it is all we have at the moment, and we are always precious. Love is all around us, inside us, in anything we do, and anywhere we are. We are not alone; we are cherished.

This meanders, but what we need to remember is the purpose is love. It is simple. Life is given for passion, and creativity expresses love in so many beautiful ways.

Banish the critic, create, be you, reach for your highest goals, be wonderful wherever you wander, because you already are.

Creativity
Love’s living expression now,
Blessing forever.

I once began a novel called “Whispers In The Mailbox.” It wound up like this, slain by the overzealous critic… Do not let it happen to you.

Recalibration

I did not set out to write a poem, as I almost always start with a title. The poem found me and captivated my hand. I think there are times when all of us doubt ourselves and doubt the lives we live. I want you to know everything is in place for a reason, and you are strong enough to get through whatever comes.

I encountered some frustration in the evening that definitely caused undue stress. I decided to change my reading material up, then found the apps for what I wanted would not work on my devices. It became clear that I was going to need an alternative. Though I never used it as a tablet before, I have a tablet PC. I used Chrome to pull up the publication sites I wanted and read them that way, so I could walk while reading. As a tablet that Dell will give an arm a workout, but reading on it cheered me up. I had solved an issue and overcome.

It may sound minor, but sometimes the little things can change the direction of your hours. Even when you accomplish just a step in the right direction, give yourself credit. It can help move your mood into positivity, and there is enough negativity without us adding to our own.

There is wonder in you, there is beauty, glory, strength, possibility, courage, brilliance, talent, goodness, love, honor, joy, ability, gifts, you are you for a reason and a purpose, and you will contribute great things to the world. Small things matter. If one brick is left out of the foundation of a wall, the whole structure is unstable and unreliable, what you do is building something grand, and it is tremendously important.

I feel like I am running on, and I do not wish to bore you, so, as a prompt, create something that expresses affirmations that you can meditate on when you are discouraged.

I appreciate your visit to Haphazard Creative. I hope it has nurtured and inspired you. You may drop down the MENU button to follow, or come back as suits you. I am trying very hard to encourage myself to post here more often and employ my creativity.

Creativity is a quality that grows bolder when more often used. Try it yourself, and you will find it correct. Just do one small thing a day if that is all that you have time or energy for doing. It will help you feel better adjusted to reality and get you out of it for those moments.

I am grateful that I bought the tablet PC and it was available for my time of need. Sometimes we do things without quite knowing why, and things come clear in time. I am so blessed and I bet you are too.

God be with you. Blessings to you and all your kin. Smile, let joy be your aspect even should you not feel it. Smiling will increase the likelihood of you living it.

The Changes You See

I had to make some site changes. I hope it will inconvenience none of you. It was quite harrowing for me. However, when life gets tough, I get stubbornly tougher. There was a disagreement on what fees I owed, so now I get a refund, and the site goes free. Paying was an expense I needed to do without, anyway. If traffic increases or I begin making more money, I may resume the fees.

So, we have a new theme, which I find I actually prefer over the old one. The theme Fusion which I use on Chronicles has been retired. I had to do some looking, trying, choosing, but I think this is okay. It is called SAGA. The main difference is that all the widgets and sidebars are hidden under one button, MENU. I believe it is uncluttered. It frees the page to showcase what I wish to draw attention.

I am looking forward to this new chapter. Maybe it will invigorate my imagination, it seems saving money usually does. I love my tools and invest in them, but you cannot in my estimation beat free. I am grateful the representative was uncooperative; otherwise, it is unlikely I would have stopped my subscription.

Please do not desert us. I and the site intend to have a continuing presence here.

I did this little bit of art through the night. It seems appropriate to give it this home.

God bless you every one. I do not think you can guess how much I appreciate your support.

If you need a prompt, think about the last thing you felt deeply as a personal injustice. Examine it in detail and create something that explains it.

In My Eyes

When it feels like this,
Seeming to have something caught
Under an eyelid.
Where it hurts like a dying,
But there is no removal,
No relief at any cost,
There must be an ejection,
Some rejection of ongoing
Pain, so life may continue
Even though it may thwart desire
Restructuring well-laid plans.
Some arguments will not be lost,
Some conditions must be met,
Some reasons are non-negotiable;
William described a shrew, not me or you,
But a grain of sand in place
Where one should never exist
Can irritate a person beyond
Reason and cause patience to
Evaporate like rain on baking
Pavement after the storm is ended.
I will not say one course of action
Is superior to another,
But I do say, NEVER GIVE UP,
Do not harbor a thought of QUITTING,
You have a right to what is fair,
And if it is not, you can take
Your game and go home to nurse
Your feelings back to happiness.
Rock your world, create your joy,
Be who you are, and do not apologize,
As long as you are genteel, let things
Go as you believe they must, you
Must live with you and take your peace,
Life is too short to lose your advantage
You carry the seeds of greatness
Follow them until you embody it.

Thank you for visiting Haphazard Creative. You may find the follow button under the MENU button. If you do not wish to follow, perhaps you will find your way back again.

All the best to you and yours. May God richly bless you and keep you well.

Project

Notes to A Reluctant Creator

Introduction

Welcome! I am so glad you found your way here. We have things to explore and discover. Jump In!

Oh, sorry, you may be wondering what all this Creativity has to do with you. The thing is you are, whether you realize or not, one of the most creative people on the planet, and elsewhere too, if you like to think that way.

Now, you may not be an artist, writer, poet, graphic designer, photographer, or any of those liberal arts things. You may believe you lack talent, gifts, and skills, but I have something to tell you. YOU ARE CREATIVE!

Have you ever shopped for the perfect outfit and matched up pieces from different stores, to make something decidedly your own? Do you pick flowers and arrange them to decorate your table? When you cook, do you get the recipe and then modify it to suit your needs and tastes? Have you planned a party where you decided the guest list, the decorations, the menu, and desserts, employed a photographer, sent out invitations? Have you written an email on which you took extra time to make sure it said what you meant, precisely? Have you sewn, knitted, scrapbooked? Do you do a bit of home repair or mechanical work on a vehicle? Do you plan and plant a vegetable or flower garden? Are you raising or have you raised a child? Have you trained a dog? I submit, in all these things you have used creativity. There is no hiding from it; you are an individual with creative flair.

In the following pages, I may lean toward the liberal arts, but what I suggest can often be used in other applications. I am going to show you some of my work, and encourage, inspire and prompt you to do your own. Be aware creativity has no rules, though I recommend being yourself as honestly and entirely as you may. Creativity is the quality that makes what we produce undeniably our own.

Creativity can free us when we are stuck and guide us when we are at a loss. It is a significant quality we share with God. *Humanity, made in the Creator’s image, blessed with imagination and ability to create.*

I recommend you get a journal and perhaps, a sketchbook, or if you are like many and more electronically inclined, set up a file for your projects. I am going to put you to work, but it will not seem that way. It will be exciting and fun. You are going to discover what your critic ran under wraps in your soul, and unearth the freedom of creativity you experienced as a child.

So, I do not know about you, but I am very excited to begin. We have things to do and learn together, and we are going to find grace and freedom to embrace our authentic selves. 2017-03-26 Monster after me In Color