Considering Focus for the New Year
January 5, 2008
Thanks for the great comments on my last post about Simplify or Play as a key word for 2008. You all gave me a lot to think about.
Another word I’ve been considering is Focus, because lately my brain has been feeling like a big gnarly hairball. In yoga it’s also called a Monkey Mind because it jumps erratically from one thought to the next.
Here’s what these three words mean to me in regards to creativity and art for 2008:
- Simplify: Get rid of the clutter, physically and mentally. There’s too much clutter around here, in my studio and house, and it’s weighing me down. Streamline work-flows, and cast off self-doubt.
- Play: Make time to experiment, try new things, and have fun. Don’t worry about what people will think of the art, because when I’m working intuitively and with joy is when I’m at my best.
- Focus: Shut out distractions, especially those over which I have no control. Set aside quiet time to finish projects and wrap up loose ends. Get it done.
Filed Under Inspiration, photography
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PaMdora's Box
The adventure blog of an artist who is currently making a series of humorous quilts and shares a studio in an old peanut factory with her husband, an artist who makes kinetic and interactive sculpture environments.
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All three of your words are perfect! I’ve been working on the same things. I’d never heard of Monkey Mind before, but I frequently have squirrels running around in my head…
I discovered Christine Kane’s site last week. I think I learned about it from Lisa Call’s blog. I really like her idea of choosing a word–and I went with focus. I had been thinking about trying to be more mindful or being more in the moment–and I couldn’t decide if those concepts were the same. Focus seemed really clear. Play and simplify are great, too! I really admire your work and enjoy your blog.
Good words — that’s what i’m trying to be all about this year too! Monkey mind is new to me, but it works. I call it parrot-brain. I have 5 rescued parrots and that thing they do right before I get up (screeching and ranting)sounds very much like monkey mind!
Gisela
I can totally identify with the big-gnarly-hairball-brain concept. It most often rears its ugly head here right after the holidays, as I tend to put art and creativity on the backburner from about Thanksgiving to New Years, fantasizing about what I will do when I get my real life back. And then when the new year arrives, I’m frantic and frenetic, not able to decide what to do first. So, focus is huge. I try to keep a clipboard with deadlines and also a calendar. It doesn’t always work though.
Thanks for helping me work through this. Your commentary is very helpful.
xo
I like all three. When I get Monkey Mind I pick ONE thing to complete before I allow myself to move on to something else. It almost always works to dispel my spinmind- and then I am able to focus on the next thing until completion .. though I always seem to have a few things in the works from which to choose ! I think you have a 2008 plan with merit!
Pam, three great words to create by. In my professional life I always tackled the most difficult tasks I had in front of me first, marching down the list. It can be a curse though, because sometimes you never get to the fun or more interesting things on the list, something I still struggle with.
I love your descriptions of what these three words mean for you.
You have received a “You Make My Day” award from me. Check my blog for details.
PamDora needs to star in a quilt called Monkey Mind — those very words just conjure up an image of one of your quilts!