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TGIFF – Thank God It’s Friday Flow

Cliché Finds Flow on Friday

Grow flow on Friday with gratitude.

Congratulations, you’ve made it to Friday. And, at the workweek’s end, there is time to find flow. But, where do you go to find flow? First, realize that flow can happen anywhere at anytime. Need proof? Look at this past post on finding flow in a card and party goods store. Simply click right here: https://wewriteitright.com/visit-flow-in-a-party-goods-shop/

How Gratitude Leads the Way

Use grateful eyes to take in the world around you. Then, instead of planning to hit the bars and clubs when the clock strikes 5:00 PM, other options present themselves during these times of pandemic. Why not take a virtual tour a museum? Or, take a walk or bike ride through a park? Or, spend an hour working on a poem, and essay, or a blog post. When you are grateful for the options you have – even if you are working from home amid shutdowns – then that is enough.

Your Turn

Playtime creates greater flow.
Spirographs, Etch-a-Sketch, and Slinkys are just a few ways to re-enter flow through playtime. What was your favorite activity as a child? When was the last time you tried it as an adult?

Think back to grade school, junior high, or middle school. Think about the electives that you took that helped round out your schedule. Did you take dance or music classes? Weight training? Or, perhaps, like me, you did candle making. Whatever it might be, try to reunite your lost teen with your adult self. Take time to write, dance, sing, paint, or play with your Spirograph!  You’ll be glad you did!

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

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Grow Flow With More Laughter

Laughter Leads to Greater Creativity

Laughter creates flow.
Striking a silly pose or telling a joke can create a sense of flow through the confidence that follows the laughter

My first formal photo shoot for my company ended in laughter. It was stressful to strike the power poses, looking intellectual and approachable all at the same time. My photographer, the talented Jennifer White of Acacia Studios, remembered that I had an upcoming speech. It was at a women’s club during their annual tea. She rustled up a tea cup and saucer and got me laughing. We ended up using this photo in the promotional materials, because it was fun and authentic and, well, silly.

Jen travels widely for her work. If you are interested in knowing more about her studio, look here:

 https://www.iloveacacia.com/

Learn One Good (Clean) Joke

When our youngest daughter was a preschooler, she entertained my husband and I – and anyone else who would listen – with her favorite joke. And, the groaner went like this: A mushroom walks into a bar. The bartender said, Hey get out of here! The mushroom said, Why? I’m a fungi! And, she always added: Get it, Mommy, a FUN GUY! emphasizing her point with her small hands holding one word, then the other in the air above her head. Fast forward a few decades and she is STILL telling jokes. I think one of the reasons she is successful as a fine artist is due to her playfulness. Want to see more of her paintings and sketches? Look here: https://coloredbycass.com/

Your Turn

How can you lighten up and find pleasure around you? Laughter is often found in the free association of words and images. Try this: find a silly illustration online, in a book, or a magazine. Then, write a limerick around the image.  And, if you are going to share the poem, try to keep it PG-13. The point is to try something funny, then see where the mirth bubbles up. Just go with the flow!

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

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Three Basic Letters Everyone Should Send

Letters That Encourage, Praise or Forgive

Letters of Encouragement, Apology and Praise are three basic forms of personal writing everyone needs to send.
Letters of Encouragement, Apology and Praise are three basic forms of personal writing everyone needs to send.

Letters express encouragement, praise or forgiveness. Sure, we send texts, in-box messages, and tweets. Social media enables us to write short and snappy lines. Yet, off-the-cuff comments are not true correspondence. Personal letters are heart felt. They transcend a variety of situations. Notes bolster a friend’s lagging confidence after a setback. A hand-written letter to a team player can emphasize a job well done. Or, they can help one find his or her footing after doing or saying something truly regrettable. Words hold tremendous power to soothe, to heighten, and to mend.

How to Write to Others

Sometimes a professional writer can help word letters. Encouraging notes are easier to visualize. These forms are correctly perceived as positive by their sheer thoughtfulness. Correspondence can nudge a person towards an event or pats him on the back. Apologies, too, are positive letters. Why? They acknowledge an error. Then, ask for forgiveness. And, finally, demonstrate a concrete way to resolve a problem. In all three of these cases, the audience is another person, who receives the letter. The sender gains satisfaction by acting on a notion to heal something that is broken.

When the Audience is You

The other audience, which one can send a letter, is oneself. Here, too, a professional writer can help with the wording of any of these three forms of personal letters. A writer can help get the job done by giving draft deadlines, moving the task forward, and completing the letter to be signed by the client. Same as any other job, really, but with bigger personal results for the client. When such a  letter is written, signed and sealed, it is sent back to the sender, who then becomes the recipient. The letter can act as a balm for the blues. Or, perhaps, it can be the compliment on a project that was never given credit by others. Nevertheless, it  can be acknowledged and recorded to give merit to one’s self. Most significantly, a letter that grants forgiveness for a mistake one has made can be life changing. The sender releases the past.

 

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Music’s Rhythm Rolls in Flow

Roll with Music’s Rhythm for Flow

The Rhythm is gonna get'cha!
Take a music break to find flow through rhythm.

Music’s rhythm is a great self-help tool. Creatives can easily put it into practice. The spontaneous drum beat, rattle shake, or chime ping finds flow. How? There are a few reasons. First, movement is forward reaching. Each sound created resonates into the future. Next, the strumming, tapping, or jiggling is a pleasurable physical sensation. The action moves us outside the current situation. And, the rhythm is comforting. Finally, music and other art forms re-enforce the experience. Bongos patted during an enhanced poetry reading is an example.  A synergy heightens both the drummer and the poet. And, that interaction influences anyone listening in a positive way, too.

The Sound of Music

Having assorted instruments in an office makes it easy to take a music break. Then, when tension builds over a looming deadline, a few minutes spent plucking a juice harp can help. And, of course, a guitar or miniature xylophone, or even the soothing sound of a metronome, can do the trick. The point is to find sounds that feel reassuring. Or, satisfying, to listen to or create.

Your Turn

Over the weekend, take time to dig out your harmonica. Or, find the bugle that is in the attic from marching band in high school. Polish up the instrument. Need to buy one? Look at thrift stores or music shops for used triangles, tambourines, or other small-scale instruments. Put them on a shelf in your office. There they will be at the ready for a spontaneous jam session. Work out any block with ease. Realize that the music literally lifts your vibration internally and externally.  As Gloria Estefan and The Miami Sound Machine reminds us: No way, you can fight it every day/ But no matter what you say/ You know it the rhythm is gonna get’cha…. Want the whole song? Click here to watch after the ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-INTCDod2TA

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

 

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Tears: Self-Care Tool Most Avoid

Self-Care Through Tears

Dogs lead with compassion.
Dogs help us to remember that there is always room for kindness.

Sometimes self-care is something we avoid, because it involves tears. And, many folks perceive a good cry and as weakness. If anything at all, tears are a sign of surrender. First, they allow bottled up emotions to find a safe escape route. Second, they help us realign with our inner-strength. Finally, tears help us to move beyond keeping up appearances to make others feel comfortable when a good cry is needed. For these – and so many other reasons – tears are an under-appreciated self-help tool.

Surrendering to Present Emotions

Tears sting. Why? Because they remind us that pain has found a way to escape our hearts through a cry. And, just like others, I try to avoid crying at all costs. Yet, I find myself surrendering to tears more and more as situations warrant them. For example, my dear 14-year old dog, Savannah, is winding down. She has late-stage kidney failure, which was diagnosed over a year ago. While she has been taking a bite or two of food and a few sips of water over the last week, she has lost her zest for life. Sleep, rest, and recovery from the simplest walk outside to relieve herself, consume her days.

She has struggled more lately with keeping her balance as she moves.  As a result, she fell into the deep end of our swimming pool. Luckily, my husband rushed to lift her doing the doggy paddle, wet and shaking, onto the walkway at water’s edge. Soaked, she shook it off as her instincts dictate. Later, sitting on the floor of my office, I read to Savannah from Margaret Atwood’s book of poetry called, The Door. And, when I got to Dutiful‘s second stanza, my voice snagged in my throat and tears flowed as I read: Still, why do I feel so responsible/ for the wailing from shattered houses,/ for birth defects and unjust wars,/  and the soft, unbearable sadness/ filtering down from distant stars? And, yes, for the poolside mishaps of my aging, furry friend, too.

Your Turn

Open your journal and free-write for 15 minutes on any unresolved issue that causes pain. And, by pain I mean anything that hurts emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually. If a mix of the four tumbles out of your pen, then that is fine. Reread what you wrote. Make time in your week to give yourself the room and space to cry. You can tap into them in a variety of ways. Look through an old photo album or in your cell’s photo stream. Watch a sentimental movie, like My Dog Skip. Listen to some soulful music, or, like me, read some poetry aloud. Then, write in your journal about how that felt, too.

Here’s to gently growing your flow,

Marisa Moks-Unger