Universal turtles

I think the universe likes turtles.

I think the universe likes any creature that can stick its head out of its shell.

Even humans.

It can be quite scary to be creative and create something new. The universe knows that; it's creating something new all the time. For us, though, creativity takes a different way of experiencing the world. Sometimes that means we look at the world and take in everything, every sound, sight, touch, taste and even smell. Other times, we focus on one small aspect. Maybe we squint and put all of our attention on a cookie crumb on the desk or pick out just the bass notes in a song.

An amazing thing happens when we allow ourselves to be creative. The universe opens up to us and the more awareness we have of the world, the more world there seems to be. Carl Jung used the word synchronicity to describe what happens when we allow ourselves to be more open to what is around us. Seemingly unrelated events occur with consequences that can be wonderfully exciting or quietly affirming.

I'll give you some examples.

I recently read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. One night when I was too tired to read anymore, I put the book down and picked up a magazine that I had never read before. The first page I turned to showed a photograph of Bury St. Edwards, the hometown of the book's heroine.

Recently, I was rereading a passage in Julia Cameron's classic book about creativity, The Artist's Way. She mentions the old 50's song, Blue Velvet which at that precise moment was playing on the 50' station. Now, probably you're thinking that isn't so odd. I guess not if you listen to a lot of 50's music. I don't. I can't remember if I've ever listened to the 50's station but that day I was avoiding music by a prolific artist who had just died. So what are the odds?

Now those two examples are of the quietly affirming sort. Here's an example of wonderfully exciting. A friend is writing a biography of a man who was in Pierre, South Dakota for Christmas, 1932. She was discussing this at a party and another guest mentioned that her father was also in Pierre, South Dakota for Christmas, 1932. The guest's father kept a journal which corroborates the information my friend had already developed. The party, by the way, was almost 1700 miles from Pierre, SD. How cool is that?

Here's the kick, you as a creative person have to be like the turtle and stick your neck out for the universe to allow those wonderful experiences to show up on your radar screen. You have to be able to say "I'm a writer, . . . sculptor, . . . artist. I am a creative being." And not be surprised if the next day, the universe responds.