Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Do You Have A First Aid Kit?


As part of a creativity class I am assembling a first aid kit that I can open when I get thrown off centre and land somewhere in the street below, stunned and wondering what the heck I am doing and why I bother, and all those other hair pulling questions we ask ourselves in moments of frustration. I am filling this funky vintage first aid box with all kinds of elixirs and remedies, wake up calls and bread crumbs to follow through the forest of my sometimes dark and tangled mind, things to remind me of my essential intention when I create. Things that remind me what I am doing here and why? Things to lift the spirit and pull me forward when my inclination might be to melt into a puddle on the floor.

Of course the kit contains a Buddha and a lovely little Quan Yin statue and a tiny bridge that reminds me to cross back over into the land of inspiration and courage. There is a tiny stone to remind me of strength and groundedness. And a card I have kept for many years that says: "your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart give yourself to it." It's about living whole heartedly. I can't be reminded of this often enough. And of course the wonderful Mary Oliver line: "What is it that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" That one always wakes me up from my somnambulant state.

And there is a Jack Kornfield quote from his book, "A Wise Heart": ""Thomas Merton once advised a young activist, "Do not depend on the hope of results .... you may have to face the fact that your work may be apparently worthless and even achieve no results at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself." By aligning our dedication with our highest intention, we chart the course of our whole being. Then no matter how hard the voyage and how big the setbacks, we know where we are headed."

This quote reminds me that it's all about process and intention, not the end result. When I get too focused on what things are looking like and judging and editing and being critical, there's no quicker way to close down the whole of Santa's workshop. I need lots of reminders to "just do" and not look over my own shoulder like a some sort of circus contortionist. There is a time and a place for the editor but it isn't during the creation period.

And I will go off in search of other quotes that remind me to carry on. Here's another Jack Kornfield one that will likely go in with the gauze and tweezers: "Setting an long term intention is like setting the compass of our heart. No matter how rough the storms, how difficult the terrain, even if we have to backtrack around obstacles, our direction is clear... It is good to question our own dedication, even if it makes us uncomfortable. To what have we dedicated our life? How deeply do we carry this dedication? Is it time to rededicate our lives?"

And I think I will put my Pipi Longstockings book in there too to remind me to have fun and be outrageous and adventurous and love my life. Perhaps when I stand at my easel I will channel Pipi. So let me treat you to just a little delicious tidbit of Pipi in an artistic mood: "Next she had gone into the parlour and painted a large picture on the wallpaper. The picture represented a fat lady in a red dress and a black hat. In one hand she held a yellow flower and in the other a dead rat. Pipi thought it a very beautiful picture; it dressed up the whole room."

And now I am starting to wonder, what's in your first aid kit?

8 comments:

  1. love the pippi quote. and your box is just wonderful, with all the totems and tokens that hold meaning for you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I actually have what I call a "comfort box" :) It serves much the same purpose as your "first aid kit" - when I journey into "the dark forest." It's filled with cards with notes of love from special people, mementos, photos of places and animals I love, and loved ones now gone, quotes that speak to my Heart, emails from special friends,and some fairy dust to remind me to be playful :) All things to comfort this Heart and remind me keep my Heart open and live wholeheartedly...

    Here's a quote that I pulled out just now:

    "Supportive people hold the vision of who we are and who we want to be in moments of insanity." (a friend)

    And don't forget the flashlight and star gazing map :)C

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ihave a box in my office given to me by a Middle-Eastern woman whose daughter committed suicide. It contains quotes from a mini-calendar, a New Years Chinese coin, river stones and see glass, and two reeds. I'd forgotten about what this box holds. It's been patient with me all these years. Thank you for re-uniting us. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Suki and I'm glad you enjoyed the Pipi quote. Bet you a have a few of your own!

    MeANderi - Why am I not surprised to hear you have one of these little "kits". Thanks for reminding me of the flashlight and star gazing kit. It also tweaks my memory to add the secret decoder ring!

    108 - And I'm not surprised to hear you also harbour an inspirational box of treasures. Glad to be part of the reunification committee!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love this post Carole...I would have to say that my First Aid Kit is my studio....the whole kit n' kaboodle buoys me just to visualize it...and then there is that bench and towering pine back at the water.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love the first aid box idea. I use a similar concept to help me along my spiritual path, although I keep my items on my bookshelf. I also have a statue of Quan Yin, Buddha, and a Bird Goddess, a number of stones, and I also have a beautiful talisman that was given to me and my husband as wedding gift. I find these things helpful and grounding, and a reminder that I'm not alone.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The first aid kit is a great idea.
    I love the pipi quote about the painting.

    ReplyDelete
  8. first aid kit are very important in anyone house. having no first aid kit are to be compared to being unprepared. Here is my list of Common Medical Equipments Found at Home. Check it http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474980468595

    Smith | stethoscopes

    ReplyDelete