WISDOM: various authors

Creativity cannot always be attained at will. 
There are fluctuations that occur in the process.
A certain amount of down time is necessary
for the creative process to run its course. 
Putting the right things into the brain is preparation
so that once those down times take place,
the intuitive part of the brain
has something to draw on for inspiration and content.

~William G. Covington, Jr.
(Creativity and General Systems Theory)

~*~

You can't use up creativity. 
The more you use, the more you have.

~Maya Angelou

~*~

But unless we are creators we are not fully alive. 
What do I mean by creators? 
Not only artists,
whose acts of creation are the obvious ones
of working with paint or clay or words. 
Creativity is a way of living life,
no matter our vocation or how we earn our living. 
Creativity is not limited to the arts,
or having some kind of important career.

~Madeleine L'Engle
(Walking on Water)

 ~*~

  

“In Asia, we say that there are three sources of energy–sexual, breath, and spirit…You need to know how to reestablish the balance, or you may act irresponsibly. According to Taoism and Buddhism, there are practices to help reestablish that balance, such as meditation or martial arts. You can learn the ways to channel your sexual energy into deep realizations in the domains of art and meditation. The second source of energy is Chi, breath energy. Life can be described as a process of burning. In order to burn, every cell in our body needs nutrition and oxygen…Some people cultivate their Chi by refraining from smoking and talking, or by practicing conscious breathing after talking a lot…The third source of energy is than, spirit energy. When you don’t sleep at night, you lose some of this kind of energy. Your nervous system becomes exhausted and you cannot study or practice meditation well, or make good decisions. You don’t have a clear mind because of lack of sleep or from worrying too much. Worry and anxiety drain this source of energy. So don’t worry. Don’t stay up too late. Keep your nervous system healthy. Prevent anxiety. These kinds of practices cultivate the third source of energy. You need this source of energy to practice meditation well. A spiritual breakthrough requires the power of your spirit energy, which comes about through concentration and knowing how to preserve this source of energy. When you have strong spirit energy, you only have to focus it on an object, and you will have a breakthrough. If you don’t have than, the light of your concentration will not shine brightly, because the light emitted is very weak”

  
~Thich Nhat Hanh

~*~

I exist as I am, that is enough.

~Walt Whitman

 

 ~*~

Vulnerability is the only authentic state. Being vulnerable means being open, for wounding, but also for pleasure. Being open to the wounds of life means also being open to the bounty and beauty. Don’t mask or deny your vulnerability: it is your greatest asset. Be vulnerable: quake and shake in your boots with it. The new goodness that is coming to you, in the form of people, situations, and things can only come to you when you are vulnerable, i.e. open.

~Stephen Russell

 

 ~*~

 

 The word "recreation" is really a very beautiful word.
It is defined in the dictionary as
"the process of giving new life to something,
of refreshing something, of restoring something."
This something, of course, is the whole person.

~Bruno Hans Geba

~*~

Our age has become so mechanical
that this has also affected our recreation.
People have gotten used to sitting down
and watching a movie, a ball game, a television set.
It may be good once in a while,
but it certainly is not good all the time.
Our own faculties, our imagination,
our memory, the ability to do things
with our mind and our hands–
they need to be exercised.
If we become too passive,
we get dissatisfied.

~Maria von Trapp
(The Story of the Trapp Family Singers)

~*~

Recreation's purpose is not to kill time,
but to make life,
not to keep a person occupied,
but to keep them refreshed;
not to offer an escape from life,
but to provide a discovery of life.

~unattributed

 

 ~*~

 

 Here is a test to find out
whether your mission in life is complete.
If you're alive, it isn't.

~Richard Bach

~*~

Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve.
You don't have to have a college degree to serve.
You don't have to make
your subject and verb agree to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace.
A soul generated by love. 

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

~*~

I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
but still I can do something;
and because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do something I can do.

~Edward Everett Hale