Natural Creativity

I’ve always had a deep sense that presence and creativity are not really luxuries, but an essential part of life. This inner knowing has been confirmed by a great book I’m reading, called, “Deep Survival.” It contains many well- documented tales of survival-in the wilderness, at sea, in prisoner of war camps, and in the twin towers of 9/11.

It turns out that the people who survive are not necessarily the well- trained, experienced ones. The survivors are the ones who are able to deal with the reality right in front of them in a creative, flexible way. The ones who die are holding on to a map inside their minds. They have an idea of what is happening, and the idea stands between them and the truth of what is actually going on. They cannot meet the moment, the situation as it is, and respond to it.

So the more we live life according to our maps, our ideas, the less we are able to be present to our immediate, direct experience. And the more we can respond creatively, flexibly, to the demands of the moment, the more likely it is that we will walk out of the situation alive.

The state of presence, and our capacity to live creatively are essential survival skills. And they are not something we can just pull out of the bag, next time we get into trouble.

It was clear, reading ‘Deep Survival,’ that survivors carry these resources deep in their being. Their ability to be truly present, to let go of their mind maps, was a direct result of the way they had lived their lives. The ones who fought with reality, complained, resisted and denied what was going on, simply did not live to tell the story.

Behind my T.V.
in the bedroom,
are four pots of geraniums,
sleeping through the winter.

Three are pale green,
one has no leaves
at all.

I water them
once in a while,
just enough
to keep them alive
until spring.

I love
that they bloom there
in secret,
behind the T.V.
where nobody sees them
but me.

I wonder about
the quiet plant,
the leafless one.

Will it come
alive again,
under blue sky
and warm rain?

I feel curious about
the secret movement
of life.

Life that sprouts
in silence,
hidden away,
forgotten,
but not dead.

A seed can sit
for a long time,
before it awakens.

Some seeds only sprout
when fire
comes upon them.

What seeds
do we carry,
that wait for fire
to ignite them?

·Freedom and Truth-2 core aspects of love
The nature of love is that it gives total freedom to the other person. This does not mean that they can do whatever they want, when they want. This is a very immature understanding of freedom.
The kind of freedom we are speaking of respects their basic human rights:
Their right to keep private whatever they want to
Their right to speak or remain silent.
Their right to take their own space when they need to-ie leave the room , even when you are wanting to engage them in conversation
Their right to go out and spend time with friends, without having to report back to you.

· Building trust-another key aspect of love
Every time we promise something, or make an agreement with our partner, and do not come through, we erode the space of trust between us. Healing broken trust can sometimes take a long time, but the process is very simple:
Do not make a single promise that you do not intend to keep.
And be sure that both you and your partner are clear about the specific nature of the promise or agreement.
For example, don’t just say you will call. Specify the day and time.

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