A Twelve Step Plan for Restless Creatives #12

Tada!

We are on the last day of our journey.  Today is the last step of the Twelve Step Plan for Restless Creatives, an unbelievably inspiring experience for me and all because of the thoughtful feedback and insights you have shared with me as I put this together.

When I began creating the plan, I thought to myself, “I can’t be the only person in the world having a hard time keeping it together, feeling good about myself and looking fabulous on a daily basis!  I bet lots of people know lots of ways to to this.

None of us is as smart as all of us.”

And sure enough, with your help, I learned many ways to get to Wow! and I loved hearing about your unique experiences getting there.

Thank you all so very much for your generosity.

Here is the complete Twelve Step Plan for Restless Creatives:

1 Get over yourself

2 Get off the grid

3 Get local

4 Bring on color

5 Avoid vampires

6 Read like a writer

7 Stop the frenzy

8 Live artfully

9 Thank yourself

10 Do small things bigly

11 Fix your feng shui

And the last step of the plan is:

12 Seek wonder

Do you remember being amazed by things as a child?  Curious about everything, always ready for the next adventure?  That is a wonderful place in time that exists in all of us.  Go back to it. The universe is full of wonder and will meet you there.

Be open to it always.

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day

– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested

– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)

– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?

A Twelve Step Plan for Restless Creatives #11

Someone gave me a plant.

I am sure she meant well and thought that I would enjoy taking care of yet another thing that I have to water, repot, find a place for, figure out what it is and casually toss into my compost heap when no one is looking.

But no.  I kept it on the front porch where I passed its wilty brown leaves everyday thinking to myself that I really should trim it or stick it in a bigger pot, mais non, I just let it sit there annoying me every day.    And sure enough, I grew to resent the sight of it, the guilt of itm and my inability to get myself to spend any time doing anything about it.  All this because someone gave me a gift.

Gift, Shmift

Beware of energy sapping gifts.  These are items that give the giver more pleasure than the giftee.  Usually they are things that the giver thinks are “special” or “something you wouldn’t get for yourself”.  Chances are, you were never consulted about what you would like or what you could really use.  So, the tchotchkas you have accumulated as well meaning gifts over the years have found their way into your precious closet space or forced you to become a gasp! regifter where you run the risk of making a dreadful faux pas should you regift to the wrong person.

What is actually more distressing is the energy you waste dealing with all of this.  Think of the clear space and clarity of mind you would have without these things in your life.    These physical tokens of misdirected love take energy away from you that you could be using elsewhere.

So, early one morning, after a beautiful headclearing beach run, I came home with a plan.  I calmly dumped the plant into my composter where it will become a welcome part of my future garden.  And do I feel better?  Absolutely!

We all need plans and we all need plants.

Now that you know what I did with my plant, here’s my Twelve Step Plan for Restless Creatives.  For those of you joining us, here are the steps you missed:

1 Get over yourself

2 Get off the grid

3 Get local

4 Bring on color

5 Avoid vampires

6 Read like a writer

7 Stop the frenzy

8 Live artfully

9 Thank yourself

10 Do small things bigly

And the step for today is:

11  Fix your feng shui

Is there something in your life that you could find a better use for?    According to feng shui consultant Catherine Brophy thefengshuidetective.com,  ” These things take energy from you that you could expend on something else.”  So the next time I passed by that pathetic plant, I made up my mind to add it to my compost and not get fahrdreht (Yiddish for turned around/crazy) over it ever again.

Believe me, you will feel great once you take care of your dead plant, squeaky lock, or that picture that always hangs crooked and your feng shui will be fei cheong (Cantonese for very) fabulous.

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day

– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested

– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)

– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?

A Twelve Step Plan for Restless Creatives #10

I was born on this side of the ocean.  Millions of metaphoric miles from a time and place in China where women in my family lived a dubious privileged life.  Bound feet, idle rich.  Probably killer mah jongg players too.  What else could you possibly do all day if you couldn’t walk?

Not much.  But me, I do too much.  Too much tous les temps (French for all the time).  At times it feels like the too muchness of each day begins to blur into one big To Do List that I find myself furiously fighting to check off and feel some sense of accomplishment.  The more I do, the less gratified I feel.  Is it me or does that make no sense?

Since the goal of this Twelve Step Plan for Restless Creatives is to get to Wow! it was clear that this sort of nonsense simply had to stop.  So many of us need a plan to help keep us on track so we can feel good, do good and look good and I have to thank all of you who have contributed your ideas to help me put this journey together. Here’s a recap of steps 1-9:

1 Get over yourself

2 Get off the grid

3 Get local

4 Bring on color

5 Avoid vampires

6 Read like a writer

7 Stop the frenzy

8 Live artfully

9 Thank yourself

Now what if instead of doing more things, you do just one thing.  And instead of spreading your energy over many things, you focus on a single thing.  What if you tried the next step?

10 Do small things bigly

What do I mean by big?  Big heart, big  generous spirit, big love.  Imagine if you poured all that into the moment of one small act.  Mother Theresa captures this philosophy in her famous quote,

“We cannot do great things on this earth, only small things with great love.”

Remember, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Bound feet or size 8 1/2 stilettos.

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day

– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested

– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)

– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?

– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day

– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested

– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)

– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?

A Twelve Step Plan for Restless Creatives #9

site of my temptation

It looks like late afternoon on a Tuesday.  My attention span is diminishing with the sunset over the Gantries in Long Island City.  A slight hunger mingled with fatigue sent me searching up and down Vernon Boulevard in search of – what?

Under the awning of the farmers’ market, a cascade of red radishes tumbled over the edge of the table.  On the side, the tops of crispy lettuces tousled like the tops of a forest.  I walk past a young farmer was offering samples of cheeses and instinctively pick up the reggiano parmigiano, sliced paper thin.

As soon as I tasted it, I knew.

It was time for the next step of the Twelve Step Plan for Restless Creatives and, by the way, my personal favorite:

9 Thank yourself

We work very hard – you, me and everybody who gives a thousand percent effort to what they do.  I have spent over a decade in the nonprofit arts world and the days where you are giving your all can fly by until suddenly something inside of you digs their heels in and demands to be fed.

I am not talking about your stomach and your prolific ability to consume chocolate.  I am talking about you and your inner underappreciated soul.

It is time to take a moment to show yourself some appreciation.  To say thank you in a way that is personally meaningful.

For those of you Restless Creatives just joining us, here are steps 1-8:

1 Get over yourself

2 Get off the grid

3 Get local

4 Bring on color

5 Avoid vampires

6 Read like a writer

7 Stop the frenzy

8 Live artfully

Getting back to those radishes.  And the lettuce, the  garlic, the fragrant lemons.  Slowly the vision of a glorious Caesar salad to reward myself presented itself.

It was the beginning of a beautiful affair.  Just what I needed.

I picked up some farm fresh eggs, so important to my divina (Italian for fabulous) gift to myself.  I balanced them carefully in my bag with the crunchy romaine lettuce and those divine radishes that got me started in the first place.

The whole experience was a gift.  A gift of exhilarated expectation, of time spent working with the aromatic fresh greens, of delighting in the stolen tastes tau sic (Cantonese for noshing while cooking).

One deep whiff promised me a fragrant salad that would satisfy my expectations.  And one bite delivered the tasteful thank you my soul hungered for in an ideal Caesar.

Here’s my recipe adapted from Melissa Clark’s Green Garlic Caesar salad with Anchovy Croutons:

Wow! Caesar Salad

You will need:

1/2 cup olive oil

6-8 finely chopped anchovy fillets

3 finely chopped garlic cloves

2 cups day old crusty bread cut into cubes

kosher salt and pepper to taste

1 lemon to shpritz into the salad and to cut into slices for your seltzer

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (I like the one with the seeds)

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 eggs

2 large heads romaine lettuce torn into pieces

2 large rosy red radishes sliced thin

1 cup grated Reggiano Parmigiano cheese

To make:

1. Croutons – Coat the bottom of a skillet with oil over medium heat and add half of the anchovies.  Cook 2 minutes.  Add half the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add bread cubes, toss frequently until golden and crispy.  Season with salt and pepper.

2. Dressing – Whisk together remaining anchovies, garlic, add mustard, Worcestershire sauce, drizzle lemon juice and whisk in remaining olive oil.

3. Softboil 2 eggs, about 4 minutes in boiling water.  Rinse under cool water.

4. Place lettuce, radish slices and croutons in a serving bowl.  Add dressing and toss well.  Crack eggs into salad, toss well.  Sprinkle a generous amount of grated cheese.

Serves 2 – 4 or 1 tired executive director for 2 days.

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day

– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested

– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)

– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?

– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day

– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested

– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)

– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?

A Twelve Step Plan for Restless Creatives #8

Common wisdom says, “Mind over matter.”

Now exactly what is that supposed mean when we are talking about artful living, the goal of the next step of the Twelve Step Plan for Restless Creatives?

How do you live artfully?  If your brain is artful, does that make your body artful too?  What does that look like?

So glad you are asking such fei cheong (Cantonese for extremely) fabelhaft (German for fabulous) questions.  There is absolutely an art to living well and the key to that is creating a healthy lifestyle mindset.  Without the right attitude and behavior, diet and exercise are a dreary duo to live with.  If you feel like you’re running on empty energywise and inspirationwise, here are some simple ways to follow:

8 Live artfully

- the next step in the plan.

Drink water in style

Toast your day with a glass of water in the morning.  Continue throughout the day to prevent dehydration which causes fatigue.  I like to drink water in a fancy glass with ice and a slice of lemon.  It creates the illusion that I am having a cocktail and it fools my system into thinking it is full.

Imbibe an infusion

Fancy schmancy way to say “drink tea”.  However, it is a well known fact that chamomile will soothe you, jasmine increases beta waves, which make you more awake and alert and peppermint will aid in digestion.  There are many herbal teas with a multitude of benefits.    Enjoy a cup after a meal and before going to sleep.

Embrace exercise

Burn calories!  Daily exercise, whether you are running 5 miles a day like yours truly,  taking the stairs whenever you can or walking, increases your muscle tone, diminishes your appetite and brings a tremendous sense of accomplishment.  You try getting out of bed at some unGodly hour to be out running by 5:00 am and see if you don’t feel like you’ve done something.  Trust me, your body will love you for it.

Listen to your food

Stick to foods that are good for you, eat reasonable portions, finish eating dinner early.  Balance your food intake so that your body does not have to work so hard to break it down especially later in the day.  If you feel your creative energy ebbing away, especially between three and five when most people feel a need for a doughnut and coffee, go for popcorn or a piece of fruit.  Remember what they say about databases is true for diets;  garbage in, garbage out.

OK, all of you Restless Creatives who are jumping on board, here are the steps you missed:

1 Get over yourself

2 Get off the grid

3 Get local

4 Bring on color

5 Avoid vampires

6 Read like a writer

7 Stop the frenzy

And for the rest of you, just remember, today is the first day of the rest of your body.

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day

– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested

– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)

– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?

– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day

– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested

– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)

– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?